Arkansas Wrestle (All images via lyonscots.com)
BATESVILLE, Arkansas — Scots women’s wrestling coach Emma de Brum sat down with us to preview their upcoming season.
Coach de Brum is entering her first full season as the head coach for the Scots, as she took over as the interim during this past season in January. The Scots will have their season opener this Sunday at the Carl Albert State College Viking Women’s Open in Poteau, Oklahoma. She talked with us about the transition from wrestling to coaching, her expectations for her team, and the overall landscape of the SLIAC conference competition this year.
After taking over during the middle of last season, what did you learn to prepare you for your first full year as a head coach?
“Taking over in January, it wasn’t as bad because our practice schedule and season schedule had already been set, I just had to in fill that coaching position and keep the team running. Going into this season, I learned a whole lot about leadership. Having to step into that leadership role, especially with still being young and so close in age to the girls on our team, three of which were my teammates when I was wrestling here; Having to make the switch to now being the coach, having to lead the practices and lead the team was definitely a dynamic switch. It also forced me to grow up and be the adult in the situation, and have that mindset of ‘I’m leading this team and it’s on me now.’ It has taught me a lot about myself.”
Has that sudden transition from student athlete seemingly directly to head coach been as difficult as you might have initially thought?
“Yes and no. I’ve been here at Lyon for five years, so by the time I was finishing my last year, I was mentally preparing myself with my time as a student athlete officially coming to an end and being ready to move on with my life and grow. So taking over the head coaching position had made all of that happen a lot faster, and part of me was scared. Now being that ‘grown-up’ in this coaching position forced that growth to come a lot faster, which I think is a good thing. It has been scary and daunting at times, but it’s been super fun at the same time to learn about myself and not only push myself, but the girls as well in order to continue to grow. As long as I’m continuing to grow as a coach, I can continue to lead by example, instead of having to be that ‘drill sargent’ type that I had initially thought. We can all do this together at the same time, I just have to lead by example.”
What specific areas of growth do you expect to see from your team as the season moves along?
“I am big into growth, and the idea that it isn’t always about the destination, but the journey to get there. And as long as we’re constantly putting our best foot forward, that’s all I can ask for. Give your best, don’t give up when the going gets hard, we have to continue to pick ourselves up and tell ourselves that we can do it. Positive talk, and continuing to chug along because it’s not always going to be easy, it’s not always going to be dandelions and rainbows. But hard work can be fun, it can be fun to put your head down and work hard, and then you can enjoy the fruits of your labor afterwards. That’s what I try to explain to the girls and set my example by as well.”
Two of your girls will be competing this weekend, what do you expect to see from them as you head into your season opener on Sunday?
“Those two specifically are scrappy wrestlers. Rubi Gonzalez will be at 110 [pounds], she won the SLIAC last year at 109 pounds. D’Mysha James is so strong, it will be her collegiate debut so I am excited to see that. I just want to see them go out and there scrap it out and continue to put their best foot forward.”
Going into your team’s second year in the SLIAC, what do you expect the landscape of the conference to be this year?
“We have some pretty tough girls in our conference. Schreiner has numbers as well as depth on their team, same with Eureka. There’s a whole bunch of talent in our conference so the girls will definitely be challenged and I’m excited to continue to see them to grow as we head into the conference season, because we will see these teams at other tournaments along the way. Just continuing to get better, work towards our goals and accomplish what we want to get done. I’m excited to compete in this conference.”
