A.J. Blahut excited to be JJC wrestling coach

A.J. Blahut certainly knows how valuable a junior college education can be for an athlete, but because he was a wrestler, he wasn’t able to continue his schooling and career in the area.

Since there were no local programs when he graduated from Lincoln-Way Central in 2002, he went to downstate Lincoln College. That paid off for him on the mat, where he was an All-American in 2004, and educationally, twice being named an Academic All-American. He also wrestled at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Bloomsburg University.

Now that Joliet Junior College has a program once again and Blahut was recently named its new head coach, he’s hopeful that kids from the Joliet area like him will give the Wolves’ program consideration as they look at their options after their high school careers.

The combination of a great work ethic mixed with several years of coaching that led to a lot of good relationships plus a common bond with many of his new athletes made Blahut an ideal choice to lead the recently renewed wrestling program at JJC.

“I’ve gone through what a lot of these kids are going through, so that will allow me to relate to them better,” Blahut said. “I was born in Joliet and always wanted to come back here, and I’m finally able to give something back to the area.

“I was a third-generation iron worker, working out of Joliet Local 444, the same as my dad. Growing up wrestling, my dad worked long hours so that we didn’t go without things. So as a coach, I want to work hard to help kids to achieve their goals.”

After serving as a coach at Lincoln-Way North, Peoria Manual and Bradley-Bourbonnais for the past few years, with more than half of that time spent at his current school, Bradley, Blahut already had been named that program’s head coach for this season.

But he was interested in returning to this area, so he looked into the new position at JJC and was thrilled to not only be considered for it but also to be hired as the Wolves’ head coach.

“I talked to Pat O’Connell about the position and what the expectations were,” Blahut said. “I want to thank the search committee for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to prove myself. And to the alumni for reaching out and really showing support. I also want to thank my family and friends for being there throughout the process.

“I also want to thank President Judy Mitchell, Vice President of Student Development Yolanda Isaacs, Athletic Director Wayne King and the board of trustees for how hard they’ve worked to bring wrestling back. And I’d like to especially thank the alumni, for without them, this program doesn’t get brought back.”

Blahut learned about the art of coaching from many outstanding individuals and wished to thank some who made a big difference.

“There are a few people who’ve played a huge role on me becoming a coach,” Blahut said. “At Lincoln-Way Central, Tim Reilly taught me about the mental part of the sport. And Dave Klemm, my coach at Lincoln College, was one of the first people to congratulate me. He was such an influence on me since he got me focused on my education.”

Having coached in the SouthWest Suburban Conference for several seasons, he’s on good terms with current head coaches such as Chuck Rumpf, Josh Oster, Brian Glynn, Jason DePolo and Brett Ambrosino, all of whom also wrestled at local high schools.

“In this area, kids have a great foundation in wrestling, and there’s so many good programs,” Blahut said. “So we’ll try to compete as soon as possible, but we’ll also do things the right way. This is a great opportunity for some of these kids to save some money, and who knows what will happen for them after two years of junior college wrestling.

“I’ve built a lot of relationships with coaches in the SouthWest Suburban Conference, so hopefully we’ll get kids from the SWSC to continue their education and wrestling career here. Having relationships with so many coaches is going to make recruiting a lot easier.”

There will be a meet the coach fundraiser from 3 to 6 p.m. Oct. 30 at Heroes West Sports Grill, 1530 Commerce Drive, Joliet. Tickets are $30 and are available at the door. Money raised will be used to purchase mats and equipment for the 2017-18 season.

“Right now, we’re making a schedule, ordering mats and recruiting so that we can start competing next year against schools like Harper, Triton and Lincoln,” Blahut said. “Each year, there are between 12 to 15 programs that are starting up wrestling, from junior college to Division I. It’s awesome to see so many programs like ours that are starting up.”