Carolyn Wester coaches wrestling at “Wrestling Prep” in Manassas, Virginia, but her reach goes far beyond that.
She is known around the world as one of the only women who coaches at the very top level of both wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting.
“I didn’t start coaching until I was 42 and I’d never wrestled before,” Wester explained. “Initially, people weren’t exactly sure how they felt about that, but the better athletes could tell that I understood something, saw something and could coach in a way that others could not.”
With a unique approach, she is often considered the missing component for success.
It’s complicated, but essentially Wester uses math to help fighters get an edge over their opponents.
“The way I coach is very evolved, and … I teach the technique that’s best for their body,” Wester said. “I can predict, based on how another opponent uses their muscles, how far they could possibly strike and how far their reach would be.”
Wester frequently goes back and forth between Northern Virginia and Las Vegas, coaching professional wrestlers and MMA fighters.
She also jets off to other countries: “End of this month, I go off to Finland to coach the Finnish Wrestling Federation’s World Team. … I’ve been to Estonia already this year, and I’m going to Phuket and Croatia and Albania.”
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One of her students, 20-year-old wrestler Amit Elor, is currently in the Paris Olympics. In fact, she is the youngest female wrestler to ever compete for Team USA.
“She’s wrestling on Monday … and I’ll be watching for sure,” Wester said. “Her family is out there, I’ve talked to them every day and they’re really excited.”
Wester started working with Elor when she was about 7 years old.
“In her case, she has a very long torso and very long legs,” said Wester. “The way she can turn her body is probably 85% better than an average person who learns how to wrestle.”
To Wester, it is more than a sport, as she believes wrestling and MMA fighting can teach people important lessons from a young age.
“That’s a really good learning tool and probably one of the hardest things people have to do as a young adult or even younger, that’ll carry them forward when something major happens in their life,” Wester said. “They’ll be able to be passionate about overcoming it as opposed to being scared.”
