Natalie Hershberger may only be 10 years old, but don’t let her age fool you – there is some serious power behind her small frame. So much power, in fact, that she’s on pace to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as a master of her sport of Olympic Taekwondo.
Currently Natalie Hershberger holds titles as three-time Ohio State Taekwondo champion, two-time National Taekwondo champion, and two-time AAU Junior Olympic champion. Natalie Hershberger is an all A’s student participating in the talented and gifted program at Malabar Intermediate School. She is also authoring and self-publishing her own book entitled “Kick It Fit with Natalie Hershberger,” geared toward tween and teen martial arts fitness.
It’s a tough schedule, but one she knew she wanted from around the age of 5.
“My dad has been teaching it for a while and I’ve seen my big brother do it and I got interested in it, it looked really fun to do,” she said. “I wanted to compete in competitions and all that.”
Natalie Hershberger’s dad and coach, Chris Hershberger, founded NexGen Fitness in Mansfield where Natalie Hershberger practices along with a number of other taekwondo students. Chris Hershberger has been teaching taekwondo for 25 years, having the started the sport when he was 10 years old himself. He went to represent the United States in many national and international competitions, earning championships for the North American Taekwondo team in 1997 and 1998.
Chris Hershberger said he noticed his daughter’s aptitude for the sport from her very first competition in 2010.
“I was really reluctant for her to compete because here she’s my only daughter, and I’m thinking we’ll just give it a shot,” he said. “She was a white belt, the very first belt, and she beat everybody in her age bracket. Including the black belts. She was just very natural.”
Natalie Hershberger is currently undefeated in her age bracket for Olympic taekwondo, but Chris Hershberger will occasionally move her up an age bracket to challenge her skills. Sometimes this results in a loss, but he says that’s on purpose.
“She needs to know what it feels like to lose so she can stay hungry,” he said. “She’s needs to have that has that desire, that hunger.”
Despite her many achievements in taekwondo, Natalie Hershberger admits she still gets a little nervous going to competitions.
“The hardest part is the sparring part, because it’s weird to move around doing the kicks,” she explained. “I’m used to standing there in front of the bag doing the kicks, it’s weird when they’re moving around.”
“She’s very intense, most girls her age don’t have that kind of intensity and aggressiveness that she has, so that takes her a long way in competition,” added her father. “She kicks very hard, she’s strong. Most girls her age aren’t that strong. Many of her matches are ended in the first round because the girls can’t continue because she’s very overwhelming.”
Sharing a passion for taekwondo has strengthened the bond between the two, but Chris Hershberger acknowledges the challenge of not living vicariously through his talented daughter.
“I’m always very careful to make sure this is what she wants, and whenever we’re preparing for competition I’m very clear that you need to make sure you want to do this,” he said. “I really push her to be prepared and I always make it clear this is what is needed, so make the decision before we commit to it. She always takes the challenge and goes with it.”
Later this month, Natalie Hershberger will compete in the AAU Taekwondo National Championships in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida from June 29 through July 3. She then jets off to the USA Taekwondo National Championships/Junior Olympics in San Jose, California from July 4 through 7. Still, her sights are always set about six years in the future.
“My goal is to be in the Olympics in 2020, and I hope I get a gold medal,” said Natalie Hershberger. “But if I don’t get a gold medal, at least I’ve tried my hardest.”
“I’m always very careful to make sure this is what she wants, and whenever we’re preparing for competition I’m very clear that you need to make sure you want to do this,” he said.
