Playing a sport is a commitment, no matter where you started. Everyone has their reason or motivation to be an athlete, and those motivations show beyond the court, mat or field. A captain is more than just a title or extra responsibility, it is a privilege and an honor. Being a captain means to be a leader, which Junior Girls Wrestling Captain Dylylah Patterson is a great example of. Patterson shows a disciplined and motivated personality beyond just what she does on the mat. Watching her little brother return from practice, sweat still dripping down his face, talking excitedly about a new move he had learned. That is when she decided to join him on the mat.
“I loved seeing him grow and experience the sport,” Patterson said. “He always strived for it and wanted to get better, I feel like he really grew as a person.”
She was inspired by how her brother improved at the sport and wanted to do the same and grow with him. She took inspiration from that and from junior Londyn Lloyd, her friend and teammate since freshman year. This inspiration and motivation isobvious on the mat, with Head Coach Isaac Reyes noting Patterson’s best qualities.
“I admire her perseverance and no matter what she’s dealt with she goes right through it,” Coach Reyes said. “She’s very focused on her goals and determined to accomplish them.”
Good perseverance is the base for an athlete; instead of waiting for motivation, Patterson pushes forward through the hard days. Lloyd, notes a time when Patterson was going through rough times in her life.
“There were a few people saying that she wasn’t gonna make it,” Lloyd said. “And she still made it, and she didn’t let it bother her.”
Her coaches and teammates describe her as consistent, which is one of her great qualities. The only way to get better to become a great athlete and an even better person is through hard work and dedication, which Patterson is a fantastic example of both on and off the mat. Patterson uses what she learns from wrestling to improve who she is as a person and even as an athlete.
“I’d get angry at people, but I’ve been able to grow from that,” Patterson said. “I’ve been supporting my team even during a loss and being able to control myself and have self-control when I have these rough emotions.” Patterson feels that wrestling has helped her become a more calm, collected, and mature person beyond her sports.
When it comes to leadership, Patterson has a contagious attitude. She excels at holding the other wrestlers accountable for their own effort and focus during practice, she can be a great friend as well, helping her teammates bounce back from losses and low points. Having a leader and captain like that is often one of the best parts of being in a sport, which Patterson embodies fully, being a valuable asset to her teammates in helping them improve, along with giving call outs and help during matches.
“No matter what adversity,” Lloyd said. “She’s constantly pushing through, trying to be better for herself and the team.”
A leader like this is a valuable asset to any team, but especially a girls’ wrestling team. Girls wrestling is a young sport at Antioch Community High School, only having been around for two years. Due to this, being a girl wrestler comes with stereotypes and a weight on their shoulders, which it can be difficult environment for an athlete.
“There are definitely times where I get told, ‘You’re a girl, you don’t know anything – – you’re not strong enough to go against me,’” Patterson said. “I don’t really let it get to me, because I just I grew up with boys, so it’s just kind of easy to push it past me.”
For Patterson, it is easier for her to ignore and push past those comments, but for others its not as easy. Patterson is inspiring and helpful to her teammates in this way, helping them stay motivated and push past others’ words and thoughts. Patterson is not known amongst the other wrestlers for her appearance or how she wrestles; instead, she is known for her actions and how she carries herself, truly becoming a lifeline for the other wrestlers and helping them improve.
Patterson truly shows what makes a good athlete great. She is not just a leader, she is a wrestler, and a good one at that. With great performance this season and praise from her coaches, she is an unstoppable force in her sport at ACHS.
“Last weekend, she had a very phenomenal tournament,” Reyes said. “She had one of the best top positions.”
She is a skilled wrestler every time she steps onto the mat, refusing to crack under any pressure she feels before matches.
“When you’re on the mat, it’s just a [great] moment,” Patterson said. “You can’t explain like it just makes me light up.”
Under the lights and the eyes of the crowd, some people can feel a lot of stress, especially if it is one of their first times being in a situation like that, but Patterson thrives in the pressure, which gives her a leg up in motivation compared to other wrestlers. Patterson has a passion unmatched by others in the same sport, and she has nothing but good ahead of her in the sport. That passion will carry forward into her senior season, continuing to make her mark as one of the greatest wrestlers that ACHS has ever seen.
