With youth MMA currently being one of the fastest growing sports in the world, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye out for athletes who are swiftly becoming some of our country’s breakout stars. I can’t speak for all of the youth athletes that compete in combat sports, but I can speak for those I’ve seen via the lens of my camera, such as with GAMMA USA.
I guess I’m taking the time to focus on our youth mma athletes because I’ve had the opportunity to watch how our young athletes are developing and, more importantly, where they get their championship mindset. I’ve been privileged to witness our young athletes participate at a variety of events, but between Nashville, Tennessee, and now Alexandroupolis, Greece, I’ve had the opportunity to see how the athlete-parent dynamic motivates them to victory.
Let’s start with Talon Worden, a 7x Missouri youth wrestling State Champion who seems to turn everything he touches to gold as it pertains to youth mma. I first became aware of Talon when he competed in Nashville Tennessee at my first youth U18 International competition with teams from other nations competing, which I am a big fan of because you never know who you’re competing against.
He was obviously a skilled wrestler, but he also knew how to use wrestling to set up body shots and take downs, as well as dominating other athletes in his age group and weight class. It was also clear that he was demonstrating a submission game by the time I saw him in Greece, and by that time he had also won the US Nationals at Roufusport MMA Academy for the 12 & 13 yr old brackets.
So the champion mindset, as I call it, was clear to see at this point, but what I also learned along the way was that this mindset was also a family trait after meeting Joe and Erica Wordan who also live their lives at an elite level by leading by example training and performing at a high level with bodybuilding so when your family mind set leaves no room for excuses then becoming a world champion is the only likely outcome from a mentality stand point so the ski is the limit for this up and comer in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.
Now that we’ve seen how important parents are in the development of a champion mindset, let’s talk about Taylor Ellis Hishaw, who is new to GAMMA but not new to the champion mindset as a two-time USFL 57kg national champion, a reigning defending 57kg IMMAF World Champion, and an IBJJF champion and now a GAMMA youth MMA U18 World Champion so Apart from video on YouTube, and Facebook. The first time I saw Taylor compete was in Alexandroupolis, Greece.
And I will have to say her grappling game is at an extremely high level, to the point where if it goes to the ground you will be submitted, and I will also say Taylor and her father are on the same page with the competitive level that she is just competing on another level, and she wanted to prove that by not only submitting both her opponents in the first round but also showing she can transition from one submission to the next to prove her skill set.
So, as far as I can tell, their champion mindset is, “I want to fight the best, and I will compete on any world stage to prove that I can beat anybody in my age and weight class,” and at this point, she is proving it, so I, like the rest of the world, am waiting to see what stage she will compete on next.
