2000 Olympic Trials runner-up Kerry Boumans passing along knowledge to wrestlers at Overtime School of Wrestling
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by Craig Sesker
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - It seems almost like yesterday when Kerry Boumans came within an eyelash of making the United States Olympic Team in freestyle wrestling.
Boumans finished second to two-time World Champion Terry Brands at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Dallas before Brands went on to win a bronze medal at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Even though he didn't win, the slick, athletic Boumans gained the respect and admiration of fans for battling valiantly in a fierce, hard-fought battle against the powerful Brands.
Boumans is now passing along his vast wealth of wrestling knowledge as one of the coaches at the Overtime School of Wrestling in suburban Chicago. Boumans said he has 25 kids from his club competing at the ASICS/USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals this weekend at the University of Northern Iowa.
Boumans, who works under Overtime head coach Sean Bormet, coaches athletes from the youth to the Senior levels. He works with wrestlers of all ages and skill levels.
"It's a blast - I love it," said Boumans, in his third year with Overtime. "Coaching is a lot harder than wrestling, that's for sure. As a competitor, you can be selfish where you just worry about yourself. When you coach a bunch of kids, you want them all to succeed and you have them in your heart when they are out there competing.
"I'm really enjoying coaching. I've been blessed to have Sean invite me to come in and coach at Overtime. We have a good thing going and all of our coaches work real closely together. We complement each other real well."
The Folkstyle Nationals has attracted a record number of entries this weekend.
"The level of competition is very high - there are a lot of very good wrestlers here," Boumans said. "It's a good opportunity for us, especially being so close to Iowa, to get a bunch of kids some experience in a big event like this. We're excited to see what we can do."
Among the record field at Folkstyle Nationals are 51 entrants from Boumans' home state of Louisiana.
"It's very exciting to see that many kids here from Louisiana," Boumans said. "There are a bunch of great athletes down there and some coaches are taking notice and trying to raise the level of wrestling. It's great to see them up here competing and I hope wrestling continues to grow down there. I hope their numbers keep going up and they keep coming to big tournaments like this."
Boumans said the Overtime club just finished a training camp for Senior-level athletes that included 2006 World bronze medalist Donny Pritzlaff, past World Team member Andy Hrovat, National Team member Clint Wattenberg and NCAA champion Jake Herbert.
Boumans put his athletic ability on display in an entertaining finals series against Brands at the 2000 Olympic Trials at 127.75 lbs.
"What I remember the most is I left everything I had out there on the mat," Boumans said. "I wrestled my best and I just didn't come out on top. I was fortunate to be in that situation and wrestle a great competitor in the finals. I didn't quite come out on top, but I gave it everything I had. The chips didn't quite fall my way, but that's OK."
With the 2008 Olympic Trials coming up in Las Vegas on June 13-15, Boumans was asked about what it's like to compete in an event like that with so much on the line.
"It's hard to explain," he said. "It's really a neat feeling to be in that situation where you really have an opportunity to fulfill a dream you've had since you were a little kid and make an Olympic Team. You've trained your whole life for this moment. It's euphoria to know you are just a couple of matches away from wrestling in the Olympics. It's a really cool feeling to compete in a big event like the Trials. I was fortunate to be in that situation."
Boumans, a two-time NAIA national champion for the University of Mary, said there is something special about this sport.
"You look around this arena and you see a lot of kids and families and communities coming together for one goal and one purpose," he said. "I like to think of the wrestling community as one big family and that's what makes it really unique. It's great to be a part of it.
Boumans finished second to two-time World Champion Terry Brands at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Dallas before Brands went on to win a bronze medal at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Even though he didn't win, the slick, athletic Boumans gained the respect and admiration of fans for battling valiantly in a fierce, hard-fought battle against the powerful Brands.
Boumans is now passing along his vast wealth of wrestling knowledge as one of the coaches at the Overtime School of Wrestling in suburban Chicago. Boumans said he has 25 kids from his club competing at the ASICS/USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals this weekend at the University of Northern Iowa.
Boumans, who works under Overtime head coach Sean Bormet, coaches athletes from the youth to the Senior levels. He works with wrestlers of all ages and skill levels.
"It's a blast - I love it," said Boumans, in his third year with Overtime. "Coaching is a lot harder than wrestling, that's for sure. As a competitor, you can be selfish where you just worry about yourself. When you coach a bunch of kids, you want them all to succeed and you have them in your heart when they are out there competing.
"I'm really enjoying coaching. I've been blessed to have Sean invite me to come in and coach at Overtime. We have a good thing going and all of our coaches work real closely together. We complement each other real well."
The Folkstyle Nationals has attracted a record number of entries this weekend.
"The level of competition is very high - there are a lot of very good wrestlers here," Boumans said. "It's a good opportunity for us, especially being so close to Iowa, to get a bunch of kids some experience in a big event like this. We're excited to see what we can do."
Among the record field at Folkstyle Nationals are 51 entrants from Boumans' home state of Louisiana.
"It's very exciting to see that many kids here from Louisiana," Boumans said. "There are a bunch of great athletes down there and some coaches are taking notice and trying to raise the level of wrestling. It's great to see them up here competing and I hope wrestling continues to grow down there. I hope their numbers keep going up and they keep coming to big tournaments like this."
Boumans said the Overtime club just finished a training camp for Senior-level athletes that included 2006 World bronze medalist Donny Pritzlaff, past World Team member Andy Hrovat, National Team member Clint Wattenberg and NCAA champion Jake Herbert.
Boumans put his athletic ability on display in an entertaining finals series against Brands at the 2000 Olympic Trials at 127.75 lbs.
"What I remember the most is I left everything I had out there on the mat," Boumans said. "I wrestled my best and I just didn't come out on top. I was fortunate to be in that situation and wrestle a great competitor in the finals. I didn't quite come out on top, but I gave it everything I had. The chips didn't quite fall my way, but that's OK."
With the 2008 Olympic Trials coming up in Las Vegas on June 13-15, Boumans was asked about what it's like to compete in an event like that with so much on the line.
"It's hard to explain," he said. "It's really a neat feeling to be in that situation where you really have an opportunity to fulfill a dream you've had since you were a little kid and make an Olympic Team. You've trained your whole life for this moment. It's euphoria to know you are just a couple of matches away from wrestling in the Olympics. It's a really cool feeling to compete in a big event like the Trials. I was fortunate to be in that situation."
Boumans, a two-time NAIA national champion for the University of Mary, said there is something special about this sport.
"You look around this arena and you see a lot of kids and families and communities coming together for one goal and one purpose," he said. "I like to think of the wrestling community as one big family and that's what makes it really unique. It's great to be a part of it.
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