Off the Mat with Sean Boyle
12/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 18, 2009
Most wrestlers are given the opportunity to redshirt their first collegiate season, allowing for a gradual transition to a more intense style on the mat, increased academic workload and life away from home. Michigan freshman Sean Boyle has enjoyed no such luxury since willingly answering the call when the Wolverines needed a replacement at 125 pounds.
A 2008 Asics All-America selection, Boyle captured the 119-pound title at Senior Nationals and was a two-time national prep champion (2008, '09) over his tenure at prestigious Blair Academy. He completed his prep career 188-7, including a perfect 54-0 mark during his sophomore campaign when he won the Massachusetts Division I and All-State titles (112 pounds) for Lowell High School, earning outstanding wrestler honors at both tournaments.
With the fall semester winding down and the holiday break on the immediate horizon, Sean took a moment after an afternoon practice to chat about wrestling at Blair Academy, his immediate jump into the U-M starting lineup and battling head coach Joe McFarland in the Wolverine practice room.
On choosing Michigan ...
"I always wanted to wrestle in the Big Ten since I was a little kid, so that was a huge factor. Michigan needed a 125 pounder, and it was the best school -- both athletically and academically. I had a blast on my recruiting trip. I was here for the Michigan-Wisconsin football game; that was an attention-getter. I got along well with all the kids on the team. Kellen [Russell] was my host on my trip. Seeing his success here was a big part of it. He came from the same program as me, graduating two years earlier, and he was able to have success right away."
On similarities between Michigan and Blair Academy ...
"There are a lot of similarities in the way we train; it's pretty intense both places. This is a clear step up; competition-wise, college kids are obviously stronger and better than high school kids. We trained year-round at Blair, so I didn't come here and find it terribly hard. Our conditioning workouts are tougher here, but wrestling-wise everything is pretty similar. Joe [McFarland] and [Blair coach Jeff] Buxton focus on the same things, like fighting hard for seven minutes, nonstop attacking and trying to break your opponent."
On Michigan's recent string of Blair wrestlers ...
"Kellen [Russell] started that whole pipeline. I'm really excited about it. Max [Huntley] is one of my best friends; he's going to be a great college wrestler. He's only been wrestling for four years, and he's already had incredible success. He just turned 18 years old, so he's still young. Once he gets into our lifting program and gets to wrestling every day with [Anthony] Biondo, he's just going to get better and better."
On his transition from high school to college wrestling ...
"It's been tough. I've taken a few lumps. But I feel like I've been improving every week. I'm just trying to work on little things right now. I've lost a bunch of matches, but in all of those matches, I've been right there. It's not like I've been going out and getting dominated; I've been right there and just need to keep working on little things, especially on bottom. A lot of that is strength. I need to put a little bit of size on and improve my strength, because some of these kids I'm wrestling have been in lifting programs for three to four years. So, my strength and my bottom wrestling are the things I'm really focused on; I think those really go together. A lot of that will come the longer I'm in our lifting program."
On keeping a positive attitude ...
"If I was getting down on myself after every match, then it would be a really long year. It would just make things worse. Right now, instead of getting down on myself after a loss, I'm trying to look at what I did wrong and try to improve week to week so I can peak for the end of the year when it really matters."
On his wrestling strengths ...
"My strengths are probably my leg attacks and my feet. I can scramble pretty well; I feel like I can usually come out on top. Those are working the best for me, and right now I'm trying to keep working on those, so I can set those up as much as I can. I pretty good at getting in, because I'm quick on leg attacks. I'm working on finishing my shots a little better now. That's another thing where more strength would help. Some of these kids have pretty strong hips, so I'm working on coming up with the legs right away so I can finish my shots. I'm getting in on everyone; if I can just finish these shots, I can beat these guys from my feet."
On his workout partners ...
"I like working out with Zac Stevens the best. He's good for me in a wrestling sense -- obviously, he's having a pretty good year so far -- but he's also a good guy to talk to. When a bit down, he can talk about what he went through last year and tell me that things will get better if I keep pushing myself. I saw the Lehigh dual last year, and I saw Zac get killed by [Matt] Fisk, but this year Zac really dominated him. He's a good guy for me to relate to. I also work out with coach [Joe] McFarland a lot. He's good; he's really strong. He's a great hand-fighter. That's another thing that's really different in college. When I was in high school, I could kind of go in there, tap a kid, shoot and score. But in college, you really have to have a few setups before you can get in. There's a lot more hand-fighting, and that's something that Joe is really good at."
On being a part of the Michigan youth movement ...
"I think within a few years, we're going to be really good. We're just young right now, and we need to get some experience under our belts. We have great freshmen and sophomores right now as well as great recruits coming in next year. We're about to move into the new facility, which is just going to attract more and more top recruits. It's an exciting time to be wrestling for Michigan."
On his roommate, Eric Grajales ...
"We get along really well. We're not really similar at all. I'm more of a quiet guy, and he's loud and funny. But we get along great. It stinks that he's redshirting; it would have been nice to compete with him this year, but we'll have three more years together."
On looking forward to the holiday break ...
"I'm really looking forward to it. I miss home a lot, although I'm somewhat used to being away. At Blair, I only got home for a few days over Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring break. So, I'm used to it, but it's always nice to get home and see the family."
On his welcome-to-DI-college-wrestling moment ...
"It was probably my first time wrestling with coach [Joe] McFarland. We were hand-fighting and going at it, and he took me down off the mat. He just kept wrestling and kept pushing my head down -- pushing my head into the carpet. After that practice, he said something like, 'It will be good for us to wrestle a lot this year.' I knew then it was going to be a long one."
