The Beijing Games are right around the corner and Gator Clause has already caught the Olympics fever. The Miami Herald has always been one of the nation's leading sources for Olympics coverage. Here at Gator Clause, you'll find all the Olympics coverage you can stand as it relates to the University of Florida. Today's blog includes news about Gators and current Olympians Ryan Lochte, Dara Torres, Caroline Burckle and Bradley Alley in addition to general news about the U.S. Olympics swim team. Enjoy...
GAINESVILLE -- Today Gator Clause takes a break from football and goes inside the huddle of the U.S. Olympics swim team. Three former Gators are headed to Beijing with Team U.S.A. and UF swim coach Gregg Troy, one of the sportās most respected voices, is an assistant.
Team U.S.A. is currently in California, training for The Games at Stanford University before shipping out to China around the beginning of August. The following news and information is from a recent interview with Troy, who is in California with Team U.S.A.
Hereās an idea of how respected Troy is in the swimming world: Itās one thing to be named an assistant to an Olympics team. Itās a whole different kind of honor to be the direct assistant to individual medley superstars Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps. Troy directs Lochte and Phelps every day and, according to Troy, the rivalry between the two swimmers plays out in the form of healthy competition.
āEvery day Iām watching the two best guys ever in the individual medley go head to head,ā Troy said. āItās a pretty interesting couple of hours.
āOne of the reasons Iām here is to keep [Lochte] on track but at the same time weāre looking at some of the other guys to swim the medley relays. [Lochte] and Phelps are doing a lot of training together right now, so weāre looking for them both to get better but at the same time their both competitors. It brings the best out in both of them and makes it a good training situation.ā
A little background on Troy [PICTURED] before we get into the meat of the interview. In his career, Troy has instructed more than 50 Olympians, over 200 All-America swimmers and has coached athletes to more than 150 U.S. and international records. He took over UFās womenās program in 1998 and became head coach of both the menās and womenās teams in 1999.TROY: Ryan loves to race and he loves to compete. Having someone in front of him becomes a driving force for him. Theyāre both good for one another and I think Michael is especially good for him because it gives him something to shoot for.
Troy has served as head coach of the U.S. swim team several times (World Championships in 2001 and Pan American Games in 1999). In short, the guy is a better swim coach than Urban Meyer is a football coach.
Troy was instrumental in sculpting former Gator Ryan Lochte into the world-class sensation he is today. If there was no Michael Phelps, then Ryan Lochte would be the cover boy for the U.S. Olympic swim team.
āRight now if thereās no Michael Phelps, then [Lochte] is the fastest guy in the world in three events,ā Troy said. āHeās the second fastest guy in another event and heās in the top five in three or four others. So, if thereās no Michael Phelps, then [Lochte] would be exactly in the same dynamic that Michael is in.ā
Lochte [PICTURED] and Phelps will form the white-hot core of an immensely talented U.S. menās team in Beijing. The U.S. men are the overwhelming favorites to win it all.
āI think the menās team certainly has the potential to be the best one ever,ā Troy said. āThere are solid people, world record holders and a tremendous amount of international experience in every event. From that dynamic the menās team has the opportunity to be dominate."
The U.S. womenās team will not be considered the favorite in Beijing. That honor will go to the Australians.
āThe womenās team is unique in that there is a tremendous age difference from a 15-year-old to a 41-year-old, rookies to experienced people,ā Troy said. āThe women will have a little more challenge than the men because the Australian women have a tremendous team. The women face some bigger challenges than the men to be a success.ā
The womenās team features two former Gators. Caroline Burckle recently completed her eligibility at Florida and was named the NCAA Swimmer of the Year. Dara Torres, a Broward County native, is now 41 years old and recently qualified for her fifth Olympic Games.
Burckle finished fourth at the U.S. trials in the 200 free, qualifying her for a relay. She set five school records while at UF.
āCaroline Burckle is one of the most improved women swimmers in the United States,ā Troy said. āShe just missed making the [U.S.] team in two events. Sheās very fresh. Sheās the type of women who, if she continues, will do very well."
Burckle has always been somewhat of a late bloomer. She was slow to develop as a youngster. In high school, Burckle didnāt dominate until late in her senior year. At the collegiate level, Burckle made her largest strides as a senior.
āSheās got a lot of natural talent and sheās just starting to figure this sport out,ā Troy said. āSheās still maturing and developing as an athlete. Sheās more coachable now and I think sheās just now getting the strength to swim at this level.ā
OK, this is getting kind of boring. Letās change up the format to a Q&Aā¦Hereās the rest of the transcript from my interview with Troy.
GATOR CLAUSE: Torres will compete in Beijing in the 50-meter freestyle and the relays. Whatās her secret?
TROY: āWhat makes [Torres, PICTURED BELOW] such and inspiration is her articulate approach to what she does,ā Troy said. āShe doesnāt leave stones unturned. She is always looking at other avenues of training. Sheās looking at ways to be successful.
āThereās a little bit of a misconception that she has been training hard. She has probably been putting in as much time as she ever did but now sheās doing it in lots of different manners.ā
GATOR CLAUSE: Whatās her cross-training regiment include?
TROY: āShe does everything from pilates, weight workouts, stretching, yoga and five to six days a week of very intense single sessions where she is really zeroing in on specific things. When you combine those things with years of experience, sheās tough to beat.ā
GATOR CLAUSE: Torres won her first Olympic gold way back in 1984 at the Los Angeles Games. So, youāre saying she knows what sheās doing when sheās up on the blocks?
TROY: āShe knows what it takes and she has always been one of the best, so technically sheās refining her skills where there are not many flaws.ā
GATOR CLAUSE: How is the rivalry between Lochte and Phelps [PICTURED, LOOKING JACKED] helping both swimmers during training?
GATOR CLAUSE: Would Ryan be Phelps if there was no Phelps?
TROY: Right now if thereās no M.P. then heās the fastest guy in the world in three events. Heās the second fastest guy in another event and heās in the top five in three or four others, so if thereās no M.P then heās exactly in the same dynamic that Michael is in.
GATOR CLAUSE: Ryan went through a transformation early in his career at UF. Was he a tough nut to crack in the beginning?
TROY: āIād say we butted heads a little bit when he was younger. Not so much of Ryan being headstrong. It was more about getting him to understand what it takes to be the best.ā
GATOR CLAUSE: Whatās Lochte like away from the pool?
TROY: āHeās one of those guys that can turn it on with the task at hand and he can also turn it off and leave it there. So itās kind of good in the standpoint that it doesnāt get all consuming.ā
GATOR CLAUSE: How is Lochteās lively personality spicing up practice these days?
TROY: Sometimes at practice itās very much like practicing with a little kid. Sometimes out of the clear blue sky heāll take two steps and just jump off the blocks and just take off. That whole aspect of him ā the skateboarding and the scooter accident and all the things that happened to him ā itās just all a part of his make-up. Heās just a little bit of a risk taker. You have your risk takers throughout this level because youāre trying to do things that have never been done. So you canāt be afraid to take challenges.ā
GATOR CLAUSE: Is there a Beijing skateboard policy in place for Ryan?
TROY: āWe have no skateboards on the trip and we have donāt plan on looking for any.ā
GATOR CLAUSE: UF swimmer Bradley Alley is a name swimming fans in Broward and Miami-Dade recognize. He dominated in high school and was named Browardās high school athlete of the year. Can we expect anything out of Alley in Beijing as he suits up with Team Barbados?
TROY: āItās a little easier to make a foreign nationās team than the U.S. team. So, Bradley had a little easier route to the Games. But heās in a situation where weāre seeing some real good things from him in training. Heās probably a little behind Ryan in understanding what itās going to take to be a success at that level. But by the same token, weāve seen big improvement. I think weāre going to see some pretty good things from him.ā
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OK, that was a pretty long read but I think it was worth the time. Again, Gator Clause will follow all the current and former Gators during The Beijing Games.
DeVontae Brooks asked: During the spring it was a goal for the coaching staff to integrate a no huddle offense. Do you believe it was successful during the spring and do you plan on still using it this season?
Meyer and offensive coordinator Dan Mullen are committed to the no-huddle offense.