“I just think, for him, all he needed was some self-confidence ... he’s finally got it where he believes in himself, knows what he’s capable of, and allows himself go out there and just jump.” -- Nic Petersen, assistant coach (jumps)
By: Zach Dirlam
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – It is 12:45 Tuesday afternoon, and Florida's NCAA Indoor Championships qualifiers are wrapping up their final workouts at Percy Beard Track. Someone is missing, though.
KeAndre Bates is 15 minutes late, yet assistant coach Nic Petersen is not stressing. Petersen knows Bates is doing one of two things: still sleeping, or wandering campus, completely adrift in his own thoughts.
Petersen says, through laughter and with great affection, Bates has no sense of time. But his knack for being late is sort of like Bill Murray wandering into some near-unbelievable adventure on the way to a movie set, not a diva operating without regard for anyone else's time.
"I love KeAndre to death, but he goes to the beat of his own drum," Petersen said, still laughing. "I can't tell you how many Saturdays we're out here, there's one minute until we're starting, and it's like, KeAndre is still in bed, isn't he? You call him four times, he never answers, and like 18 minutes go by and he calls to go, 'Um, um, I was still asleep. I'm on my way.' Then you see him sprinting past the track because he's coming from his dorm.
"In no way is he disrespectful or is it like a power thing. It's just like his brain isn't working to that tune. He's just…he's out there."
Bates, a jovial yet ultra-competitive introvert, will be the first one to admit he gets lost in his own mind. All the time.
"I'm really delving into my mind a lot, trying to figure out things," he said. "I'm really mindful and conscious about a lot of things, paying attention to people, watching the developments of the world. I've been talking to more people this year, which has opened me up as a person."
Bates' habit of retreating deep into his own mind is both gift and curse when it comes to jumping.
Harnessing the complexities and technical depth of his thought process is what has him in position to win a pair of national titles this weekend. Two weeks ago, he swept the SEC long jump and triple jump titles, the first such victories of his career. Those wins, which came via personal records of 26 feet, 4.5 inches and 55 feet, 2 inches, respectively, earned him SEC and USTFCCCA South Region Indoor Field Athlete of the Year honors as well.
For most of his first two seasons with the Gators, however, Bates' mind held him back.
His entire career at Burges High School in El Paso, Texas, he never thought about jumping. Adrenaline, rather than a deep understanding of jump phases and mechanics, fueled his success.
As a freshman, he immersed himself in every technique Petersen walked him through, always seeking perfection. This created a roadblock, though. Bates feared the takeoff board. Well, more precisely, he was scared everything would not be "put together" by the time he needed to hit his spot on the board.
"It's a lot," Bates said. "(The board) would be a stop in my mind, instead of continuing my process through the board."
Still, he managed to eclipse 26 feet and take third place in the long jump at NCAA Indoor Championships. Truly remarkable for a freshman. Of course, only Bates' mind made it possible.
"I made myself believe I had to save the world," said Bates, knowing full well how hilarious it must sound, even coming from an anime and video game fanatic like himself. "I had to jump over a lava pit, and if I didn't jump (at least 26 feet), everyone was going to die. I sat there and just meditated, made my adrenaline go up and everything. I honestly don't know how I did that. I really made myself believe it."
Florida's rich history of elite jumpers amplified the pressure of Bates' perfectionism as a sophomore. The Gators have won 15 men's indoor and outdoor NCAA titles in the jumps since 2003, leading all of Division I by six championships. Following the departure of Marquis Dendy, one of the greatest horizontal jumpers in collegiate history, expectations weighed on Bates.
Bates and Dendy grew close in their lone season together, and the latter's departure put added pressure on KeAndre.
After a rocky indoor season, one that still saw him take fourth in the long jump at NCAAs, Petersen consulted with Dendy, Bates' former roommate and a fellow anime enthusiast, seeking a way to free KeAndre's mind from itself.
The solution: Bleach.
No, not the cleaning product. An anime series. One episode pits Bleach's protagonist, Ichigo, in a battle with the Hollow White Ichigo, an evil, pessimistic version of himself. Bates realized the comparison almost immediately.
"I just think, for him, all he needed was some self-confidence," Petersen said. "He pictured Dendy as this superhuman freak, and Bates says, 'I'm just a normal human being.' But through training and competition, he's finally got it where he believes in himself, knows what he's capable of, and allows himself go out there and just jump."
Free from his own Hollow White Ichigo, Bates broke out at last June's NCAA Outdoor Championships. He logged top-three finishes in both horizontal jumps, becoming the sixth underclassman in history to accomplish the feat. Not even Dendy pulled it off. The momentum carried over to the U.S. Olympic Trials, where he became the third collegian in the last 40 years to finish top 10 in both horizontal jumps.
When discussing what made the biggest difference, Bates' explanation is, as Petersen usually says, out there.
"I used to just let things flow all the time, let my life flow," Bates said. "I got my mind in to jumping, being in the jump, being in each step. With each step, each arm movement, I'm trying to be in it, not just let the life flow."
This weekend will be a homecoming of sorts for Bates. With the national meet being in College Station, Texas, over 20 members of his family, some of whom he has not seen since leaving El Paso three years ago, will watch him compete.
While that certainly adds to Bates' excitement, he is also looking forward to, hopefully, enjoying his favorite treat: Shipley Do-Nuts.
"They have the best donuts in the world," Bates said. "The glaze isn't set on, it's kind of like shavings, and they are so soft. When you eat them, everything just melts in your mouth. I crave them all the time. It's that good of a place."
Bates says this weekend will be perfect if he long jumps 27 feet, triple jumps 56 or 57 feet, and gets to top everything off with Shipley Do-Nuts.
"Those have to happen," he said. "I want all that."
Follow Bates and the Gators at the NCAA Indoor Championships:
