By Rubin E. Grant
Delicia McCray just wanted to help her son Corey come out of his shell four years ago when she would get on the mat and wrestle with him at the Hoover Skull and Crossbones Youth Wrestling Club.
“He was extremely shy and a little timid,” McCray said. “I’m a mom who is very involved in sports but not just in the bleachers. I was watching him at practice and when I would critique him, I started grappling with him, showing him what to do, and I would practice with him at home.”
Stewart Holt, co-director of the wrestling club, took note of McCray’s work with her son. He suggested she could work with some of the younger children at the club.
“She would be on the mat with Corey and give him positive instruction and get him to believe in himself,” Holt said. “She would encourage him, trying to help him climb out of his shell and not just quit. He started doing well and getting takedowns.
“She’s such a competitor herself. She’s a former level 10 competitive gymnast. She started getting better herself, mastering the moves.”
Watching McCray planted a vision in Holt’s mind. With high school girls wrestling gaining in popularity in the state, he figured Skull and Crossbones should begin marketing their club to young girls, giving them an alternative to sports such as softball, volleyball and basketball.
Holt approached McCray about becoming the club’s first female coach.
“We asked her to be a coach ‘cause we thought it would be a key selling point if we had a female coach, so we could market to girls,” Holt said.
McCray, a pediatric pathologist with Cunningham Pathology in Birmingham, was thrilled to join the wrestling coaching ranks.
“I love wrestling and know more girls will love it, too,” she said. “Growing up, I started with gymnastics, cheerleading and taekwondo, but the competition, skills and concentration in wrestling has been good for me.
“Girls who like gymnastics and ballet could find wrestling is good for mental concentration and physical stamina. Seeing the inner strength come to the surface for a shy girl is an amazing transformation. Girls are strong and fierce, but sometimes they have to prove it to themselves to believe it.
“The strength is good for them to learn ‘cause it will help them in self-defense. I have learned more about self-defense wrestling than I did in self-defense classes.”
The club began its season for the fall and winter last week and will continue through early February. During the past season, it had 105 participants, including a few girls.
“We had four girls come out last year, but only one competed and she finished in first place in the state,” McCray said. “We had four girls registered for the start of this season.”
Experience of a Mom
Being a mom gives McCray an added benefit when it comes to nurturing and giving a little tough love.
“The mothers like that a female is here coaching,” McCray said. “I can give kids a hug and encourage them to try harder, but other times I can tell them to suck it up and get back out here.”
McCray started training 5- and 6-year-old children three years ago and now is working with some kids in the fifth and sixth grades.
“I am about the same size as they are, — 5-foot-2, 115 pounds — so I can show them moves of someone their size,” she said.
Holt appreciates the way McCray works with the young wrestlers.
“She’s here Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and helps coach tournaments on the weekend,” Holt said. “She does a great job with teaching different moves and has turned into a real asset.
“Corey came out of his shell and blossomed, becoming a good wrester and making friends. We want kids to develop, to grow and learn and do something to achieve success.”
Corey is 11 now and is a sixth grader at Bumpus Middle School in Hoover. He also is much bigger than he was when his mom used to get on the mat with him.
“He’s one of our heavyweights,” McCray said with a laugh.
So how does Corey feel about his mom being a wrestling coach?
“He enjoys it,” McCray said. “He likes to say, ‘My mom is stronger than your mom.’”
