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Jake Herbert, a Silver Medalist at the 2009 World Championships in Herning, Denmark, spoke recently about his past experiences, his association with the Overtime School of Wrestling, and his plans for the future.
"When I was wrestling in the World Championships, I felt great," Jake said about his 2009 World Championship performance. "I felt like it was the best I've ever wrestled. It was pretty good results: I made it to the finals. I didn't finish the job like I wanted to, but that finals match, I went out there, I let it all hang loose, and it just wasn't my day to finish it off and win it. But second in the world is not too bad. So when I was actually wrestling in it, I felt great.
"Now, when I took a step back, and went back and watched myself wrestle the World Championships - sloppy. Tons, tons of mistakes. Tons of little things. I could wrestle so much better than I did out there. Even though I took second place in the world, I've got to go back to the drawing board and fix the little mistakes, the little things that I'm doing wrong - and keep working on the things that I'm doing right, because obviously I'm doing some of the right things. But I feel like I could wrestle tenfold better than what I wrestled out there."
The connection to Overtime was obvious.
"I had Sean Bormet in my corner, and then it was between either Zeke [Jones], Bill Zadick, or [Brandon] Slay," said Herbert, referring to the USA World Team's coaching staff. "I feel like I got a great, great, solid foundation between Overtime, Northwestern, and USA Wrestling."
Herbert will continue to spend a huge chunk of his time training at Overtime.
"Probably 50/50," he says when asked about the percentage of time he'll be spending in the Chicago area and at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. "It's been working out that way. I go to Colorado, the World Cup, and after the World Cup I'm back here in Chicago, which is working with Overtime and Northwestern. That has been the [plan for] success, which got me where I am so far, and I think it will continue to get me to reach my goals that I want to reach."
"In my opinion, Sean [Bormet] is hands down the best freestyle coach in the world," explained Jake. "You know, for me. He's gotten to know me. I mean, I came in as a freshman here at Northwestern and really started getting involved with Overtime as a sophomore and junior. And over the last five years, he's really gotten to see my style develop. I was just a one-time State Champion [in high school], but I had a pretty successful college career, and a lot of that is a tribute to Overtime and Northwestern. They've made me the wrestler I am today, so why fix something when it's not broken?"
Sean Bormet leads the Overtime School of Wrestling coaching staff of Ed Geise, John Kading, Kerry Boumans, and Donny Reynolds. Jake was on the Overtime coaching staff in the summer before his World Team commitments forced him to focus on his training and competition full-time. Herbert commented about the quality of instruction he saw at the Overtime School of Wrestling in Crystal Lake.
"Donny [Reynolds] is doing a fantastic job out there at Crystal Lake," said Herbert. "I mean, I could see the kids getting the lace - and not just getting the lace that practice, but then coming back two or three weeks later when we review it again, and they still have it. They can go right to it; you don't have to re-teach them."
Is the technique that's being taught at Overtime the same technique that works at the world level?
"Absolutely," said Jake.
Jake definitely has his sights set on the 2012 Olympics. After that, he's not sure.
"Maybe I'll go in 2016, I don't know. I'm still a young buck. you never know."
In the near future, Jake will be busy. He is leaving next Wednesday to compete in the Cerro Pelado-Gramma tournament in Cuba, where he hopes to face Reineris Sala Perez.
"He's tough," Herbert said of Sala Perez. "I say he upset Andy Hrovat at the '08 Olympics, and he beat the Iranian [Jamal Mirzaei] in the first round at Worlds." Jake emphasizes that beating Mirzaei at the 2009 World Championship was impressive, as Mirzaei was, in Jake's opinion, "probably favored to win it."
"After that, I go from Cuba, back to the Olympic Training Center, and then we head over to Russia. I get to represent the USA at the World Cup."
Jake Herbert is very clear about his goal at this year's 2010 World Championships:
"You don't train just to make a World Team, you don't train to place, you train to win it, or you don't train at all."
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