WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Boumans still makes impact
By Gary Abbott You might think that a kid from Louisiana who did not start wrestling until ninth grade would have the deck stacked against becoming a star in the sport. Somehow, that message never quite
got to Kerry Boumans. “I didn’t know the sport existed. I was
80 pounds as a freshman playing football, and my coach Don Gagnard was also the wrestling coach. He told me I was going to get killed out there and I should wres- tle. He pulled me off the football team, and was a major influence in starting me in the sport,” said Boumans. Right off the bat, Boumans found that wrestling fit him very well. “God blessed me with some talent and athleticism. I knew it in that first practice. There were five guys at 98 pounds when I tried out as a freshman. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was scrappy. I was just basically brawling with those guys. The first day, two of them quit. Within a month, the others were gone and I was on the varsity. I took to it quickly. It fit my bill. I knew it was what I wanted to do, and I quit doing everything else,” said Boumans. Right away, Boumans passion for wrestling led him to compete within USA Wrestling and enter international-style events around the country. He won three Louisiana state titles and competed well at the Junior Nationals, falling just a bit short of All-American status. But when his high school career ended, there were not a lot of college opportunities for him. “There were no college coaches look-
ing at me. I was from Louisiana, and if you compare it to Pennsylvania, New York or Iowa, it was a different environ- ment. I knew I wanted to wrestle in col- lege. There were a few junior colleges and small schools who talked to me. I decided to try the NAIA. In 1988, the Olympic Trials were in Pensacola, and there was a Junior event held there. Coach Milo Trusty from the University of Mary saw me and liked how I wrestled. He kept in touch and stayed diligent. He was really the only one who wanted me,” said Boumans. For a Louisiana boy to wrestle up in
North Dakota was a “culture shock,” according to Boumans. The Mary team had a diverse group from many states, and the older athletes helped him to
32 USA Wrestler
Kerry Boumans battles Terry Brands at the 2000 Olympic Trials in Dallas.
adjust. He placed third as a freshman at nationals, but was homesick and went back home to his parents to get a job. After a year away from the sport, Trusty invited Boumans back to college and he became fully committed. He won two NAIA titles for Mary and was a four-time All-American. “Milo is an exceptional coach. He moti-
vates you. He gravitated to me really quickly. I was fortunate to wrestle under him. He got me to learn how the wrestle,” said Boumans. After college, Boumans still had the wrestling bug but did not know his path to continue wrestling. Willie Gadson, who was coaching in high school in Louisiana when Boumans was growing up, provided him with the next opportunity to stay on the mat. “After my senior year, I went to the Regional in Laramie, Wyo. and qualified for the Trials, and I decided to keep wrestling. I went home to Texas that sum- mer. Willie Gadson got the job at Eastern Michigan and called me to see what I was doing. I said I was cutting grass in Texas. I became the volunteer assistant up there, and he got me on the right track. Willie was instrumental in my career. He pulled me back into the sport and got me doing what I needed to do,” said Boumans. Competing for the Michigan Wrestling Club, Boumans went to the Senior events
on the circuit. At the 1996 Sunkist International, Dave Schultz WC club coach Chris Horpel told Boumans about a new opportunity for a freestyle resident program at the Olympic Training Center. Horpel introduced Boumans to the nation- al coaches, and after filling out the paper- work, Boumans was accepted as a resi- dent athlete at the OTC. “Bruce Burnett was coach when I got
there. He was an exceptional coach, a great technician. He knew all the oppo- nents by heart and helped guide me. My first year there, I may have gotten even worse. There was so much learning for me to do. Once I figured it out, it started working well for me. Bruce was always positive with me. He got me into the thought process that I could be a champi- on,” said Boumans. He also developed a close relationship
with the National Freestyle Resident Coach Kevin Jackson, who also told Boumans that he could excel in freestyle. According to Boumans, Burnett was the foundation and Jackson was the catalyst to his career blossoming at the OTC. “I started believing I could win. I always
wanted to be an Olympic champion. I saw the 1980 Miracle on Ice hockey team and knew I wanted to be an Olympian. I just didn’t know what sport. That dream became alive for me when I was at the Olympic Training Center. I had the goal
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