Victoria Trabysh, junior psychology major from Amarillo, Texas, found a passion for boxing after her senior year of high school. She found inspiration in her favorite professional female boxers Ava Knight, Mikaela Mayer and Claressa Shields, and dreamed of one day becoming a boxer like them.
“A lot of people think of combat sports, boxing in particular, as violent, but I don't see it as that at all,” says Trabysh. “I see it as a way to express yourself. In a lot of ways it gives me confidence.”
Trabysh has a rigorous training schedule. Going to the gym five to six times a week and training one to two hours each day. She is typically one of the few females to box at her Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) gym and does so with pride. “As hard as it is being one of the only girls, it also kind of motivates me,” she says.
Boxing, basketball, shotput and discus are traditionally male dominated sports. However, Trinity female athletes are dominating in each of these areas.
Stella Affognon, who just graduated, was a member of Trinity University's Track and Field team. She has been throwing since she was a sophomore in high school. “I originally was not super dedicated, I had an inconsistent string of coaches and was on my own a majority of the time,” Affognon says. She threw the discus, shot put, hammer, and javelin for Trinity’s team. This year Affognon placed second in shot put at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Championship.
Hailey Coleman, freshman center on the basketball team from St. Louis, Missouri, also played flag football growing up. And yet, all three women, like many other female athletes, faced criticism at some point for playing the “guy sports.”
“A lot of the girls would make nasty comments about me ‘just wanting to play guy sports to date a guy’ and the really original tomboy comment,” says Coleman.
For Trabysh, boxing can be very empowering for a woman, but the idea that boxing is male-dominated still permeates in her experience.
“Every time I mention that I am a boxer to somebody, especially men, they are like, oh you're too pretty to box, why would you want to mess up your face?” She says. “Maybe they don't mean it in an intentionally harsh way, but it kind of reiterates this idea that women shouldn't be in this sport.”
Such sentiment is no stranger to Affognon as well. “In terms of throwing, I get it. It’s a sport that feeds into a lot of masculinity, similar to football. Little boys are typically the ones who are throwing things and getting dirty, not little girls,” she says.
These gender-based assumptions are rather prevalent in sports. “I think most sports are male-dominated, especially considering people often refer to sports as, for example, basketball vs women's basketball, or hockey vs women's hockey,” says Dr. Dominic Morais, assistant professor of Sport Management at Trinity. “Think about the popularity of the WNBA vs the NBA as another measure.”
Even with the adversity they face, these female athletes still would not trade their sport for anything. They firmly believe that these sports have helped instill confidence and pride in themselves and have helped them grow as individuals, teaching them the value of dedication, hard work, and above all, prevailing against prejudice.
“Being in a male dominated environment you kinda feel alone, but a part of me thrives in that environment being different. I like to stand out and this is one way I can do that,” says Trabysh.
Nor would Affognon back down. “When I hear it [male dominated sports], I understand it, but I think the females that do the sports are badasses and challenge it everyday,” she says. “I would tell any young girl that your size doesn’t matter. It’s the amount of work you put into it that does.”
Affognon’s favorite event is discus and she believes her gender actually offers her an extra edge. “For shot put and hammer you need to be pretty roughty, but for disc it is much more flowy and very relaxed,” and there is a certain elegance that surrounds discus, Affognon says.
Not only are Trinity female athletes participating in these male dominated sports, they are also excelling in them. In Coleman’s rookie season she was named SCAC Co-Newcomer of the Year. Coleman was also named conference Player of the Week throughout the season. Affogno holds the school record for discus with a throw of 39.85m.
And people recognize and respect their accomplishments. “Today’s woman is tougher than today’s man,” says Head Women’s Basketball Coach Cameron Hill. “In my opinion it’s really not close. Physically, emotionally, but most of all, mentally. So if I’m going to battle, why wouldn't I take a group of competitors who embody all of those vital characteristics?”
Maybe in the near future, “you play ball like a girl” will no longer be an insult, but a compliment.
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