of a HUNGRY BOXER...In everything she’s ever done on an athletic field, track or court, she’s been a success; now Danyelle Wolf has a new mantra, a revived passion and a new sport – BOXING.
Wolf truly personifies the word “HUNGRY.” She’s been starving to get back into competitive sports, since her college days at Millersville University in Pennsylvania came to an end. After graduation, Wolf escaped the rolling hills of York and Lancaster counties and headed West- Way West...
After moving to California and picking up a private teaching job, Wolf found herself at a crossroad: “After my teaching job was finished, I had to move on, and it was eating away at me that I wasn’t competing anymore in sports.”
Her next move wasn’t entirely known, but she ultimately found herself training at
the BOXING CLUB in San Diego. No longer having the field hockey, basketball and track accolades pushing her athletic accomplishments – Wolf started over from scratch, and one thing was for sure... she was still hungry to compete.
Not only was it her will to achieve a goal, but it was her will to be the best. The self-proclaimed “tomboy” was always involved in athletics and mixing it up with the rough and rowdy boys in her neighborhood.
“EVERYONE IN OUR AREA WAS BOYS,” says Wolf. “Growing up, I played all the sports from football to baseball, and even played GI Joes and Ninja Turtles … I pretty much did everything the boys did.”
“Making forts in the woods, go carting… all kinds of crazy stuff. As I got older I got into more extreme things like dirt biking and cliff jumping,” she says.
But Wolf’s foray into one of the most masculine of sports wasn’t just to keep battling with the boys; it was to quench the hunger to compete again.
“Being an athlete my entire life, in 23 years, I’ve never been away from competitive sports. I don’t think there’s been a time where I had more than a month off, until I graduated college. From field hockey and basketball, to track and field; then in the summer, if it wasn’t soccer or softball, it was mountain biking or doing triathlons.”
“It was killing me that I wasn’t in the shape that I wanted be,” says Wolf. “I was losing my tone … I just hated the fact that I was never going to compete again after graduating college. Just to think that I might be sitting behind a desk the rest of my life, wasting my natural athletic abilities, was eating me alive.”
Then by chance, Danyelle came across a retired San Diego Police Officer who was interested in her endeavors and wanted to help her progress her fighting career. STEVEN CASEY became Danyelle’s confidant and helped to introduce her to the San Diego boxing scene.
"You’re the perfect build to be a boxer: tall, long arms, strong, great cardio fitness, you are a “diamond in the ruff”, the “1.1 million dollar baby”!”, Casey told Wolf. And it began from there. “I’m getting into fighting at a good time,” she says. “Female fighting is taking off, it is finally starting to get the recognition it deserves. My peak will be in 2-4 years. By that time I believe female boxing will be in the Olympics, and that is my ultimate dream.”
LIKE A PREDATOR in the forest, the hunger drives her to find a way, but she’s taking her time to perfect her technique and performance. “My trainer wants me to win on technique,” says Wolf. “We’re going to take our time with training and getting the skills and structure down. This is the process of becoming a great boxer and so far I’ve been improving everyday I train.”
“My trainers don’t want me to go in the ring and win a fight on just athletic ability and strength; they want me to win by boxing skills and put ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER says Wolf.
She had to prove to everyone that she was going to be committed 100%. “When a girl wants to fight out of nowhere, people are hesitant to accept them” she explains. “They’ll say things like ‘you won’t survive, and boxing is a man’s sport’.”
“People also told me that boxing isn't the same as other sports,” says Wolf. “They said that just because I was an athlete didn’t mean I could box, and I had to prove myself. Everyone’s like ‘well, boxing isn’t like playing basketball. Boxing isn’t like field hockey. Boxing is something else.’ I understand that, but I take it like any other sport with respect to the fact that I am hungry to win and will never give up.”
“People always ask me: ‘Three college degrees, deans list student, why don’t you start working your career?’” And it’s true, why would an aspiring art teacher put off a potentially fulfilling career to start boxing?
Danyelle’s response is simple: “I don’t want to live an inactive lifestyle, especially right now when I am in my physical prime. I want to do this now, so I won’t regret it later. I can always go back to teaching, but for now, I have another DESTINY.”
“Today, I have the passion, dedication, and the motivation to accomplish my goals. All the tools are there, it’s just going to take time and practice. Finding sponsors is a big concern because I need to be able to dedicate all my time to training.” I want to build a team of sponsors who will grow with me and follow me throughout my career.
Biding her time … and paying her dues. It’s all mapped out for a success story. Remember her name because it won’t be the last time you hear it. Danyelle Wolf is on a path to victory and the ultimate payoff will be TRIUMPH.
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