Don Somerville has always been a visionary and done what leaders do. He’s always taken the leadership role, whether it was directing cart boys at Shop Rite at a young age, or organizing legendary street football games amongst collegiate players and semi pros. When working early on, Don never held a job more than a year, as he was always looking to grow and advance, outgrowing various roles.
Don was fortunate to work for great leaders that he learned from and used various lessons taught along the way on his leadership journey. Don considered himself a “Different Breed” early on at a young age. Challenging his older brother who started him boxing until he was able to best him. His training session were just absolutely different as he would watch videos of Ali and or Walter Payton, then go run 8 miles and train for two hours afterward to the point of exhaustion.
Don always believed he needed to work harder than the next man. He won several state and national titles as an athlete, and he continues to have that same mentality now. He has a passion to help our youth understand that they can be different, and achieve whatever it is they want to do. He uses athletics, boxing and fitness as a way to influence them. He endeavors to be an example of what you can do by being consistent and trusting the process.
After visiting the olympic training center in Colorado on several occasions as a coach Don had the idea to bring a facility to his area that would give young athletes a chance to separate themselves and be the best they could be.
He’s had the pleasure of developing several NJ state champions. One of his greatest accomplishments as a coach was winning a 2017 National Golden Gloves championship and the 2018 USA national championship. However, he never had a better feeling than watching a young man that was heading down the wrong path make a complete U- turn and graduate high school and or college. Thats what it’s all about: making a difference!