At eighteen years old, Joey Miller is one of the most accomplished high school female wrestlers in the country. She has been named not once, but three times to the ASICS Girls High School All-American wrestling team. Her website www.wrestlegirl.com provides a wealth of information, including photos, videos and links pertaining to all things girls wrestling. Together with her father Jerry Miller, she has made it her mission to promote girls wrestling with the ultimate goal of girls wrestling girls in high school in all 50 states. Joey recently signed with Oklahoma City University to wrestle in 2008-09.

Joey, please tell us a little about yourself. How did you first get into wrestling? In what weight class do you wrestle? What is your current win/loss record?

When I was six my brother wanted to buy me a cheap Christmas present. He went to a local shoe store that was going out of business and found a size 10
wrestling shoe for $5.00. Since he wrestled he thought that would be a great present for me. I went to my first tournament a week later even though I had never practiced with a team. My Dad showed me some moves. I made it to state that year and won state the next year. I only lost four matches that year.

In High School I wrestle at 119 lbs, and in the Women’s senior division I wrestle at 55kg (121lbs).

My win/loss record this last season was 38-25. This was my worst season since I started wrestling. I went from 103 to 119 and the strength difference of the guys jumped dramatically. I welcome the challenge and think it will pay off in my wrestling future. I have only been beaten by one girl in folkstyle since I was eight. I lost to Michaela Hutchison two years ago by a score of 0-2. Michaela was the first and only girl to win a High School state championship against boys. I have won girls nationals four times and hope to get my fifth next year.

Please explain to our readers the difference between folkstyle and freestyle wrestling.

Freestyle is the college, Olympic, and international style. In Freestyle you can throw, lock hands, and have a tie score and win. You have to win two out of three periods. The last point scored wins unless the other wrestler scored points by a two or three point move. If you push a wrestler out of bounds you get a point if you both are on your feet.

Folkstyle is elementary through high school. It is also the style for college in the men’s league. You have to win by one point or pin in three periods. The first period is on your feet and the other two are choice of up, down, or top. Each wrestler gets choice of one period unless he gets pinned. A pin ends the match. You do not get a point by pushing the opponent out of bounds, but you can lose a point by stalling.

You have a great mission statement!

“It is our goal for girls to wrestle girls in high school in all 50 states. We realize that it will not happen anytime soon, but with every girl striving for that goal the competition will get better. The only way for girls to get better now is to wrestle boys.”

There are many people who are quite vocal in their opinion that girls should not wrestle boys for reasons ranging from the fact that it’s humiliating to boys if they get pinned by a girl, to strength inequalities due to girls maturing faster than boys, and others saying that it’s dishonorable to both genders. Talk a little about this gender issue. Most importantly, do you or any of your female or male wrestling friends find there to be anything awkward about mixed wrestling?

I really don’t get caught up in the so-called debate. Everyone has his or her opinion and I respect that, but if I want to get better I have to wrestle the guys. I don’t do it to humiliate a guy or prove anything. I just want to be the best I can so I can compete in college and the senior women’s tournaments and be prepared to wrestle the best the world has to offer in the future. Here in Oklahoma I have been wrestling for over 12 years and am regarded as a wrestler, not a GIRL wrestler. That is the way I like it. I hate it when a girl wants special treatment or a guy wants special treatment. I tell them, Just wrestle. I would rather lose a tough, hard-fought match than win by forfeit or an easy match. I still wrestle some of the same guys that I used to 10-12 years ago. Some of them I used to beat, but they beat me now. It gives me a goal to shoot for. I want to beat them the next time I wrestle them. Most of the complainers are parents of the guys that have lost to a girl. I say to them get over it and get better or it will happen again. You get out of wrestling what you put into it. This is just my opinion.

How close do you stay to your competition weight? Do you have any tips you’d like to share about safely cutting weight?

I walk around at a weight that I know I can safely cut and can handle. I eat healthy and don’t take any pills. I cut weight the right way. You don’t have to starve yourself to lose weight. You can cut and still eat.

What do you do for strength and conditioning? Do you do any of the Olympic lifts? Which aspects of conditioning do you like the most/least? Is there any one thing that you do that you feel gives you an edge over your competition?

I run and lift everyday. I run a couple of time everyday and lift every other day and the days I don’t lift I do cardio, abs, and legs lifts. I spend a lot of time in the gym. I have a copy of the workouts the Olympic and world team uses. I use it sometimes for a change of pace and use it when it gets closer to tournament time because it is a complete workout. I love any kind of running and I jump rope a lot. I don’t like the stationary bike because it bores me. Sometimes I play games in the wrestling room for conditioning. It makes the workouts a lot more fun and really works you out. I learned this at the Olympic training center at one of the camps I went to. There isn’t just one thing that gives you an edge. It is a combination of time, dedication, and commitment.

How do you prepare yourself mentally before your matches?

I have to listen to my music so I don’t have any distractions. I think about my next match and what I need to do to be successful. I also watch the matches before me so I can see different situations and think about what I would do if I were to be in them. They might come up in my match. I also move around a lot to get loose.

What female wrestler do you most respect? Why?

Toccara Montgomery, because she had a rough life and kept going… all the way to the Olympics. She never gave up, stayed focused, and did what she had to do to be the best. She is a friend of mine and I respect her.

You’ll have to forgive me for this very un-warriorlike question, but are you concerned about getting cauliflower ear?

No, I always wear my headgear and always have. My Dad made me when I started wrestling and I never stopped. I am glad he did. I have some friends that have cauliflower ear and it is painful.

Mixed Martial Arts is one of the fastest growing televised sports. Many of the fighters that dominate this sport have collegiate wrestling backgrounds. Do you watch MMA? Could you ever see yourself as a professional fighter?

No I have never watched MMA other than the UFC and would like to try it but my parents will not let me. For now I would have to say no, but who knows what the future holds.

What are your long-term wrestling and career goals?

I would love to go to the Olympics and place. That is my biggest goal. My next goal is to graduate college and be a chiropractor or a physical trainer. I also would like to coach a wrestling team someday.