View Camp Photos  While many people will be celebrating our American independence this holiday weekend with a barbecue and some fireworks, a select group of athletes will be cherishing their freedom by sporting red, white, and blue at USA Wrestling's inaugural National Women's Developmental Camp.    These are not necessarily your hard-core, Olympic-caliber athletes either. In fact, a few of them have not even completed junior high school. Yet, instead of lounging poolside sipping on lemonade and clowning around with sparklers, these young women wrestlers will be sweating bullets in a 90-degree gym, practicing their par terre defense, and enjoying every minute of it.      The camp, which began July 1, is being held in Colorado Springs, Colo. and will conclude July 6.  Targeting the Schoolgirl, Cadet, and Juniors age groups, the main objective of the camp is to provide an opportunity the girls to train with other girls from across the nation, and learn directly from some of the best women athletes in the world.    The coaching staff consists of experienced women's coaches as well as some of the most accomplished current women's wrestlers. Included in this elite staff are seven-time National Champion Stephanie Murata of the Sunkist Kids, three-time National Champion Sara McMann of the Sunkist Kids and 2001World Cup Champion, Katie Downing of the Minnesota Storm.    It is indeed a perfect time for these girls to celebrate their independence. Earlier this year the International Olympic Committee announced that women's wrestling will debut as an Olympic sport, awarding medals in four weight classes. These young women wrestlers are the future of the U.S. women's wrestling program, helping build a bright future for the sport.    In a sport where most of the girls train and compete with boys' teams, the female wrestlers rarely get the chance to practice with other girls. In addition, while their male counterparts have a wide selection of summer wrestling camps and clinics, most girls, up to this point, have had very limited opportunities to attend prestigious developmental camps.    The young wrestlers are learning moves effective for women athletes, as well as be provided with the opportunity to make new friends and compete with other girls from across the nation.    Siblings Rachel and Leah Bachert from Fairbanks, Alaska were very excited to talk about some of their experiences at camp.    Rachel, a senior in high school who has wrestled folkstyle on her high school team, said, "I am learning a lot from this camp, especially in freestyle techniques. My coaches back home mainly focus on folkstyle, so it has been great getting some experience in another style."    Leah, an eighth grader, agreed with her sister and added, "The girls here at camp are much tougher and more serious about wrestling than I am used to. It has been great getting to know girls from other states who like to wrestle as much as we do."    Both Rachel and Leah, like many of the other campers, got involved in wrestling after watching their brother wrestle in high school. Rachel is hoping to get a scholarship to wrestle someday, while Leah is looking forward to joining her high school team next year.      Leimomi Montijo, an assistant coach for New Breed Wrestling Club in Camp Verde, Ariz. brought her daughter Denese and her friend Joy Chagolla to camp. She is overjoyed at the opportunity for the two Arizona girls to learn and compete with other girls.      "Denese and Joy started wrestling just this year and they have already shown a lot of improvement, especially in their self-confidence," Montijo says as she videotapes one of the camp sessions.  "Because they are both about the same weight, they usually only get to wrestle each other, so this camp is an excellent opportunity for them to get more experience."    Three days into camp, the girls are somewhat fatigued and sore, but even so the atmosphere in the gym remains enthusiastic. In fact, during warm-ups, some of the girls show off one of their advantages over boy wrestlers - their flexibility. In spite of their tired and sore muscles, the girls stretch their legs above their heads and then proceed to tuck their feet behind their necks forming the shape of a human pretzel.    "The camp is going really well," said coach Sara McMann. "The girls are very focused and really pay attention. Our main goal is to give them some solid technique background and help them become more comfortable with freestyle. Already, we can see signs of improvement in their stance and positioning."     McMann and Downing worked the morning session on Wednesday, teaching moves and helping the young athletes with the fine technical points of wrestling. Not only are the girls receiving great advice on how to become better wrestlers, but they are getting to personally know some outstanding role models and possible Olympians. Perhaps some of these young women will grow up to become national champions and international stars, just like McMann and Downing.    The scene at the wrestling camp looks like many other camps being held across the nation this summer. Experienced coaches are passing on their knowledge to young athletes who hope to be champions some day. The major difference is that many of these campers have ponytails, something not seen in many previous developmental camps. This camp is a first for women's wrestling, but will certainly not be the last. Many years from now, all-girl wrestling camps will be much more common as women's wrestling continues to grow in the United States.