Rylee Reeves picked up her first kettlebell when she was only eight years old. She developed a precarious fascination with the Russian exercise tool while watching her parents train with it at the gym. With some encouragement from her parents and fellow gym members, Rylee began training with the Ice Chamber Kettlebell Girls. Within several months of training, in the fall of 2008, Rylee participated in her first kettlebell competition. Her parents were amazed at what she could do, but more importantly, Rylee felt the personal joy and power of her own athletic potential.
However, as with many new endeavors initiated by children, their ever so promising interests are often quick to fade. After a year of kettlebell training, Rylee switched gears and found another sport she loved, and spent the next three years playing competitive soccer.
After six seasons on the field, Rylee realized that she did not enjoy some of the harsh realities of team sports. She did not, for example, like the feeling of letting her teammates down when they lost. Rylee’s parents were stumped, but also open minded about finding something new to support their daughter. They brainstormed about many possible solo sporting opportunities available to Rylee, but nothing clicked.
By chance, during the spring of 2012, while waiting for her parents to finish class at Ice Chamber, a pink kettlebell caught Rylee’s eye. She picked it up and began to do swings and presses. Rylee’s understanding of kettlebell lifting had clearly not perished during her three year hiatus. She quickly caught the attention of Coach Sara Nelson who was surprised by Rylee’s ease of movement. Rylee, too, was amazed at how familiar and comfortable the kettlebell felt. Sara invited Rylee to train with kettlebells again and wisely reminded her that unlike soccer, it would be an individual pursuit. Rylee replied with a resounding yes and got the endorsement from her parents to officially rejoin Ice Chamber’s kettlebell program (designed for adults!).
Fast forward to September 22, 2012. Rylee entered her second Kettlebell Sport Competition at age eleven and set a North American Age Group record (with 162 Jerks + 212 Snatches) for a total of 374 reps in Biathlon using an eight kilogram kettlebell. Rylee exceeded everyone’s expectations, including her own and she once again found an outlet to express her innate athleticism, but this time in a sport which enables her to be the only one ultimately responsible for the result of the contest.
Today, Rylee is training diligently for her next competition on February 9, 2013: The West Coast Kettlebell Sport Classic with another ICKB classmate, Miranda, who is twelve. Following in the footsteps of their teammates, these strong and confident young ladies are proving that kettlebell lifting is a safe, artistic, and powerful sport for girls of all ages. Rylee has definitely demonstrated these qualities to the fullest extent and we are looking forward to her opening the door for more young girls who might benefit from this unique form of fitness, sport, and most importantly, empowerment in their lives.
To support this movement and celebrate Rylee and Miranda’s bravery to step on the platform, we are giving away ten pairs of our favorite form of padded wrist protection, KettleGuards, to the first ten Athleta Chi readers who contact us on our website and express their interest in kettlebell lifting. Our hope is to dismantle the intimidation factor of kettlebells and give ladies of all ages an invitation to try!
If you live in Northern California, we also encourage you to bring your children to watch Rylee and Miranda compete at The West Coast Kettlebell Sport Classic to see these young athletes in action.
MAYACHELA (MAYA) GARCIA is an accomplished Kettlebell Sport athlete, the co-founder of Ice Chamber, a successful athletic training company in the San Francisco Bay Area, and mother to her nearly three year old son, Mateo. She is a Master of Sport in the 20kg Long Cycle and a Candidate for Master of Sport in the Biathlon, a 9x Gold medalist, and is the 1st American to win an Overall Best Lifter award in the International Union of Kettlebell Lifting... more »
We know we are partial, but this was a great article. We are very proud of our daughter. We have also found kettlebell at Ice Chamber to be a fabulous way to exercise and connect with a great community.
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Great article Maya! Rylee & Miranda, do the kids at school know how cool you are?? We have all been impressed by your athleticism, and it’s so cool to learn Rylee has been involved in kettlebell lifting for some time. I can’t wait to watch you both evolve and grow! The future of KB lifting is looking very bright!
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Thanks! Everybody is so supportive! Kettlebell is really fun and Ive learned a lot=^)
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Beautifully written story about the wonderful community at the Ice Chamber and especially Rylee and Miranda. Congratulations ladies. I love to see that you explored other sports too and kept going until the fit was right for you. The Ice Chamber has created the next generation of amazing athletes with great mechanics, fundamentals and attitudes.
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I loved this article! It’s hard for kids to try “different” things, and while team sports can be great, there can be drawbacks as well. I’m a supporter of Girls on the Run but I personally can’t run much any more due to feet issues. I’ve discovered karate and more recently kettlebells and boxing and am loving the experiences. Rylee and Miranda, thanks for being great role models
Best of luck!
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I have an eight year old and a ten year old daughters. My husband has been working out with kettlebells but I saw the article in athleta chi about kettlebells for tweens. My husband and I are always looking for new ways to get our girls interesting in healthy ways to be active and they have been fascinated with these kettlebells. I just do not know how to go about getting them to work out with them in a healthy fun way that also doesn’t hurt them. I know you are giving away kettlebells and it would be great to get them, but I would love information more I think. I was so inspired by the story that athleta chi posted that I had to write. Thanks for letting the rest of us know your story!
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Sorry, I meant kettleguards..
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In the past year I have explored several new fitness options. As a 66 year old, I did 50+ foot race, including 7 half marathons and a full marathon, 2 triathlons, a duathlon, and a stair climb. I also started taking toning and strengthening classes, which include weight lifting. Our instructor
plans to add kettle balls this year, and wrist guards would be a great help to explore this new exercise!
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I think it is so important that all females (and especially the young girls!) are provided the opportunity to become the confident, strong person they are meant to be! Physical activity, including involvement in sports and weightlifting really helps to achieve that!
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Thank you for the Kettleguards! I am going to let my youth athletes “get inspired” with them!!
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Loved the article…what a great way to empower young girls. I teach kettlebell classes and work out with them frequently at home. I love watching my daughters mimic movements and get excited about getting strong. Looking forward to trying the kettleguards!
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fabulous article and rylee could not be a more deserving candidate and inspiration to kettlebell enthusiasts of all ages! we love you rylee keep rocking the bell and your kettleguards xoxoxo
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I’ve been working out with kettlebells for about a year now and can’t believe what a great workout I achieve in ~45 minutes. As a swim coach for kids and tweens i can definitely imagine my swimmers loving kettlebells on dry days. Never heard of KettleGuards until the blog entry, but I can imagine they would help with some bruising I still experience from time to time. Good luck to Rylee & Miranda!
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Congratulations Rylee! How beautiful that you are inspiring so many through your lifting. Looking forward to following your journey for years to come. Best wishes for continued fun and success in lifting and in life!
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I am so excited about your article and about your inspiring young girls and tweens to train with kettle bells. I frequently train with kettle bells and I love that you are dispelling that this is a tool for men or advanced women athletes. As a mother of two girls, I love when they pick up my kettle bells and give them a try. Thanks for the great article and I cannot wait to check out your website… A great read and Sunday find!
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Would love to learn more about training with kettle balls!
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This was such an inspiring story! I have an 11yo son and a 13yo daughter. I’m going to read them this article and have them watch your video. They want to go to the gym with me, but they have to be 14. I have not tried kettlebells myself, but have been interested. I think this will be a fun thing for us to learn together! I will buy them to have at home. The kettleguards would be a great start. I will do more reading on the proper techniques to get us going.
Thanks Rylee for the inspiration! Keep up the great work!!
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