By Seth Schwartz

 

Sean Bormet has been in wrestling rooms across the country since age seven. But when he stepped through the door at The Edge, he felt something different.  "It really struck me," said Bormet. "I thought this is a great opportunity for wrestlers in the area." Bormet went to The Edge, the first wrestling school of its kind in Kenilworth, New Jersey, during the winter of 1997 to recruit Donny Pritzlaff for the University of Wisconsin. When he left, he started to get a picture of his future.

 

"I knew I wanted to spend my life involved in wrestling and to have a place like that full time where you could mentor and teach the sport I thought would be ideal," said Bormet. Now he has a 12,000 square foot facility named The Overtime School of Wrestling in Naperville, IL. It's a perfect marriage for Bormet & company.

 

After a state championship his senior year at Providence where he went 53-0, including a record 48 pins, Bormet attended the University of Michigan and was a two- time All-American. From there he became the assistant coach at Wisconsin and competed internationally. He was a five-time national team member and third at the 2000 Olympic trials (76 kg). Bormet has a passion to learn and teach the nuances of wrestling.

 

"Some guys go to a place, work out and leave," said Bormet. "I always wanted to gather as much knowledge possible [wherever I went]. I asked a lot of questions and tried to pick peoples’ brains for information."

 

Bormet is able to bring senior-level coaching to elite wrestlers at the grade school, high school, college and international level at Overtime. As a kinesiology major, he did extensive work in the field of weight training. With state of art weight and video room, Overtime is able to offer wrestlers facilities that are equal to the top college programs.

 

The Overtime School couldn't have opened up at a better time. With the competition in the kids programs improving rapidly the last five years, the level of Illinois high school wrestling has borne its fruit. This was evident at the Illinois state tournament Feb. 15-16 which saw 32 overtime matches.

 

Bormet and assistants, Jehad Hamdan and John Kading, will run programs in the spring, summer and fall with classes carrying up to 40 kids. "The program will be geared to kids who are committed to the sport and want to excel at a high level," said Bormet. "They’ll be able to get senior-level coaching and training methods to fit every style.  My goal is to see Illinois at the forefront of high school wrestling."

 

Coaching at Overtime's takes a special skill. You have to teach four levels [bantam, kids, high school] at virtually the same time and be able to work out with those preparing for international competition. But Bormet has the background and the makeup to make it happen. 

 

"Sean can do it," said Sandburg coach Mike Polz, who coached Bormet at Providence. "He’s smart and very observant. He knows how to break things down [for the young wrestlers] and layout the details of the sport. When you talk to people who have been around Sean [in and out of wrestling] you'll always here a lot of the same things: he's very positive, an excellent teacher and a first class person. People enjoy being around him. He takes an interest in each kid and wants to see them succeed."

 

The Overtime School of Wrestling has been selected as one of seven USA training sites for the Dave Schultz Wrestling Club. That means college and other senior level athletes entering international competition will be frequenting Naperville. 

 

"There are so many great wrestlers in the Midwest who do not always have the means to travel all the way to Colorado Springs to train," said Bormet. "This facility has all the resources they need to compete at the highest level."

 

Being able to see and work out with some of the nation’s best is a major bonus for high school athletes. "Most of the [high school] kids haven't seen the type of intensity you have to wrestle at the college and senior level," Providence assistant coach Don Reynolds said. "When guys see that I think it will only wet their appetite to try and get to the next level."

 

Area wrestling coaches are glad to have their students at Overtime. "The more time a kid is on the mat the better he'll get," said Providence coach Keith Healy.  "Sean knows the latest techniques and tricks. It’s good to get ideas from other sources. Sometimes you might hear the same thing from a another person and a light bulb goes off. For kids to have that top-level competition to train against is great and for guys in programs where there only a couple strong wrestlers, Overtime is ideal."

 

Wrestlers from Overtime's have gotten positive results in competition. Providence's Don Reynolds (160), and Naperville North's Eric Tannenbaum (140), both nationally ranked, just finished undefeated seasons and won their second state championships. 

 

For Tannenbaum Overtime has given him the extras he was looking for. "Sean will give me moves that are specific to my wrestling style," said Tannenbaum. "When we drill, he’ll show me different variations of the move.  My technique has improved a lot. Things like how to lock your hands, where your body and hips should be positioned. When I got to high school, people would tell me, ‘You need to start lifting.’ They never said how to go about it. Now I have a program where the lifts and conditioning are specific to wrestling. I could feel the difference especially in the third period. The great thing about Overtime is you have a chance to see and work with some of the top wrestlers. I am looking forward to competing at the next level and this is a great way to prepare."