Gabriela Ochoa wrestling to make a difference

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For most the time spent in high school is meant to prepare them for the next step in the education process which is college. For Gabriela Ochoa a chance at wrestling on her high school team would change the direction of her life in more ways than she could have ever imagined.

When she started wrestling for the team she would have never thought that one day she would not only be the coach of the program but also save it from being shut down.

“I started wrestling when I was a junior. It wasn’t meant for me to wrestle because they wanted me to be a stat girl. There wasn’t any girls for me to wrestle,” said Ochoa

What was to be an invitation to keep stats, soon turned into a challenge from another girl to wrestle for the first time. Having felt the pressure, Ochoa took the challenge and within minutes was applying moves she had just learned in an effort to win the challenge.

“She kept calling me out and I didn’t want to look like a wimp so I said yes. My pride and my ego are in the way so I couldn’t let her beat me. I scored a double-leg and pinned her,” said Ochoa.

That win was enough to have the coach at the time offer her a spot on varsity in exchange to join the team. She would go on to wrestle both her junior and senior year.

After graduating from Long Beach Jordan High School, Ochoa was asked by a friend to step in and apply for the newly vacant position of head coach.

“I was a personal trainer and wanted to get back into wrestling. Having just graduated I called a friend to find out about practice time,” said Ochoa.

That inquiry led to her finding out that the head coaching job was available and soon she was a final candidate.

This was a bit overwhelming for a 19-year-old and she initially turned it down. After more pressure to step in and save the team by taking over, she applied. Soon she was a final candidate and was offered the job.

“It came down to me and another coach but he wanted a teaching position also so when he turned down the offer, the job was mine,” said Ochoa.

Taking over the program which was on the verge of being shut down meant she would be working with a shoestring budget and have to prove herself capable of bringing the team back to prominence.

“The last time that Jordan had a successful program was back in 2000 and before then was in the 70s,” said Ochoa.

She was now responsible for recruiting assistant coaches to help her out. She was able to do so by offering her friend a chance to help her.

“I had a friend help me coach and I split the check with him and told him to work with the heavyweights and technique and I would handle the rest,” said Ochoa.

The other challenge was not only recruiting but also keeping students onboard once the training and her requirements were enforced. While the basic required G.P.A. is 2.0 for high school students to participate in athletics, Ochoa raised the standard to 2.5 as a means of having her wrestlers strive for better grades.

“I started with six wrestlers and no budget. When I asked if we had uniforms, they told me whatever was in the storage,” said Ochoa.

Having lost the original wrestling room, she describes the area they first used as a small room certainly not meant for wrestling.

“There was no ventilation and it was narrow. So narrow the kids would get concussions from the concrete walls,” said Ochoa.

Without a budget she was forced to fund raise in order to buy new shirts for the team. She had brought cardio equipment from home for the team to use and soon everything was stolen when the wrestling room was broken into.

“I went to the school and told them that our shirts had been stolen and that we needed replacements. Luckily they replaced them and we had new shirts again,” said Ochoa.

The area in Long Beach where Jordan is located has a reputation for being tough. Ochoa was well aware of this having attended the school herself. No matter what she experienced, she wasn’t about to let those incidents discourage her from continuing.

Her plan was not only to have students learn wrestling and compete but to use the sport as a vehicle to advance the educational goals of the team. Having been a former student who went on to college, she was able to use her personal story as an example of what can be achieved academically.

“Every year the size kept doubling. The first year I eliminated the varsity team and had everyone wrestle on the freshmen and sophomore team. By the third year I was able to allow the wrestlers to move into junior varsity and varsity based on their skill,” said Ochoa.

Part of the process is taking freshmen and sophomore wrestlers and building them up slowly so that their knowledge and technique improve at a rate where they belong and can compete on an even level.

“By the fourth year I had 40 kids and a full team. I was already too invested into the kids to think of stopping. Some of the kids called me mom and others didn’t have stability at home. Wrestling was there escape,” said Ochoa.

Having just completed her sixth year as head coach of the program, Ochoa has been able to get her wrestlers to compete at California Interscholastic Federation tournament and at the Masters. This is a big achievement for a team that was once close to being done.

That comes from the discipline she has taught them and that has been noticed by faculty members who commend her efforts. An example of this is telling her wrestlers that they are not allowed to fight.

It’s more than coaching for her that keeps her motivated. The experience of working with the team and all the different challenges and personal experiences they encounter made her realize this was something she wanted to do.

That led to her current studies as a senior with a double major in Psychology and Human Development at Cal State Long Beach. The skills and information she has acquired in the class are knowledge she can apply to working with the students.

From having to use old uniforms when she first took over to now, things have changed. Having found success and respect as a female coach, Ochoa is now awaiting the completion of a new wrestling room which is under construction. The new room will have new mats and equipment so that future teams can have the tools to train and compete against anyone.

This is a legacy that Ochoa can look back on and be proud of. Her choice to start wrestling became something more than a personal challenge and developed into a labor of love. She has now seen students grow and move onto universities and she couldn’t be any prouder.

“I’ve had so many kids that I know if they weren’t in wrestling their mentality would be in gangs or something else. I think that kids need that structure and definitely need an outlet but they also need someone to have expectations for them. Not just oh they gave up on me so I get to do what I want,” said Ochoa.

That level of understanding is what makes her a valuable asset to her school and the students that go through her program. The development of young minds starts with people who can see what needs to be addressed and Ochoa knows that better than most.

Editors Note: Gabriela Ochoa also trains mixed martial arts and is a photographer. She has shot photos of various fighters in Southern California and is now a part of the BoxeoMundial staff as a photographer and editor.