A highly decorated wrestler at both the high-school and university level, athlete-turned-coach Celeste Contant-Rodrigues is not all that fussy about where she finds friends to invite to her party.
A former OFSAA gold medal winner and bronze medallists at the OUA level, Contant-Rodrigues has infused a great deal of energy in kick-starting the high-school program at Ecole secondaire Macdonald-Cartier (ESMC) as well as leading the rebranding of Wrestling Sudbury Lutte in recent years.
More than willing to share her knowledge with one and all who are interested, Contant-Rodrigues has discovered, like so many who have been involved with wrestling, that neophytes to the mat sometimes emanate from the most unexpected of backgrounds.
One of three young ladies who will be joining her coach at the 2025 Ontario Junior, U15 Championships and WCL Cadet Open in St Catharines this weekend, Sophie Dutrisac started down this pathway almost exactly one year ago, setting aside her previous involvement with figure skating, of all things.
“In figure skating, you have to be very elegant and dainty – and I was able to pull it off, but it wasn’t me,” said the 15 year-old grade 10 student at ESMC who originally tried out wrestling on the urging of a friend.
And yet for as much as it’s easy to see the dissimilarities between the two sports, Dutrisac suggested that there were at least some skills that translated quite nicely from the artistry of the ice to the combativeness of her new pursuit.
“My flexibility,” she exclaimed. “I came into wrestling being able to do the splits and things like that. It helped a lot, as well as agility. And spinning: there are some moves in wrestling where you have to spin around. There’s not a lot that is similar, but a little bit.”
Blessed with an athletic resume that includes plenty of soccer and a sibling who had previously given wrestling a shot, Gabby Menard carried her cardio to an activity that sometimes falls victim to a given stereotype – sort of.
“I knew a girl who did wrestling and thought it was super cool,” said the grade nine student at Lasalle Secondary. “I thought that she was super cool and scary – in a good way.”
And so began their journey, one in which the awareness and appreciation of the technical precision of a sport that goes so far beyond the backyard scraps that we have all enjoyed rises quickly to the surface.
“At the start of the year, I didn’t always understand exactly what my coaches were trying to tell me to do,” said Dutrisac. “I think I’ve definitely gotten better at implementing what they are telling me because I know now what they’re telling me to do – most of the time.”
“Every match has little takeaways,” continued the first year grappler who claimed silver in the city championships in February in the 57.5 kg division.
“Even if I don’t win the match, I might win situations, getting out of a leg shot that they got on me, or something that I defended really well.”
While the finer details of many a wrestling move are still being absorbed by the Wrestling Sudbury Lutte duo as well as teammate Sophie Keenan (who will accompany them this weekend to Brock University) and the balance of those who were working out feverishly earlier this week at a standard practice session at Troop MMA, the lingo is certainly starting to take root.
“I really like to use an arm drag into high crotch and double takedown finish,” noted Dutrisac in a lighting-quick sequence of words. “It usually works pretty well for me.”
“I’ve always really liked the throws,” added Menard. “I am short (4’11”) so my hips are naturally lower than my opponents. I am really hoping to do an arm-spin, because that’s my favourite move.”
“I’m always afraid to actually go for it and I never commit in full. It’s harder with the in-town meets because a lot of the girls that I wrestle here know that I like that move. I’m hoping that I will wrestle someone that I don’t know (in St Catharines) and they will give me that move – and I’m really hoping to take it, if it’s there.”
“It’s really flashy.”
Flashy, perhaps, though the success of any of these moves generally lies in the attention to detail the wrestlers will accord to their craft, a fact not lost on the coaches at the helm of the local club.
“We’re doing a lot of technical stuff right now,” said Dutrisac. “We’re not really learning new moves. We’re just practicing those that we already know and those that we are good at and reinforcing them.”
If all goes well, the long-time member of the Nickel Blades Skating Club will carry a little extra confidence into her bouts as she strives towards earning a berth at OFSAA next spring.
“Honestly, I wish I could say that I was more offensive but because it’s my first year, a lot of the time, I will wait for my opponent to go at me and then see what I can do to counter that.”
While her reasons behind the sentiment might be different, Menard is also looking forward to facing some new faces when she heads to her second club competition of the season on Saturday.
“Wrestling your teammates is probably the hardest thing,” said the high-school freshman who enjoyed a taekwondo background as a member of the Falconbridge Dojang in her youth.
“They’re your teammate, they’re your friend and you want them to succeed – but you also don’t want to lose. It sucks.”
It’s that kind of emotional attachment to wrestling that connects these wrestlers to coach Celeste, almost instantaneously. “It’s fun to see the kids excited and learning and enjoying some success,” she said.
Whether they come from figure skating or soccer or any other sport in between, they will feel welcomed in the Sudbury wrestling community. That much is a given.
