Finish Line: Men Looking For Championship Formula in 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010 | Track and Field
Finish Line is the official Internet blog of the University of Florida track and field team. It will be updated frequently during the 2010 campaign. Check back often for updates.
Posted by Sean Cartell 3:41 p.m.
Mike Holloway is ready to get the 2010 season underway. You could feel the head coach's energy in his opening press conference of the year on Monday at the University Women's Club.
Holloway explained that the Gators were coming off one of their best fall training campaigns in school history and he thinks that, coupled with a great mixture of veterans and newcomers, will spell success for Florida in 2010.
“I'm very excited about the season,” Holloway said. “On both sides of the program, we have a great mixture of youth and experience, so I'm looking forward to the new athletes competing this weekend, just to see where they are and how we compete.”
On the men's side of the program, perhaps no word better defines the team than “finish.” After placing second at both the indoor and outdoor Southeastern Conference Championships and both NCAA Championships, Holloway knows that the time is now for the Gator men.
“We were second in every major meet we competed in last year,” Holloway said. “Obviously, our goal is to be the best team in the country and the best team in the conference this year.”
Sure, many teams across the country would be pleased with a second-place national finish, but for Holloway it all comes down to the fact that, he feels, Florida could have completed the job last year.
“In every one of those instances, we could have won the meet,” Holloway told me this past fall. “This year, we are making sure we are at our absolute best. This year, we want to dot every 'I' and cross every 'T' because that's one thing we didn't do last year.”
Returning athletes who accounted for 44 of the 46 points that the Gators scored at the NCAA Outdoor championships last season leaves Holloway feeling that the right formula could equate to a championship in 2010.
That quest begins Friday when Florida opens competition in the Kentucky Invitational in Lexington, Ky. Holloway says the early signs of success for the team will be shown not necessarily in their performances this weekend, but in the effort level of the student-athletes.
“It's now time to put the uniform on and start building towards what we call the championship season,” Holloway said. “I'm not looking for great, great performances this weekend, but what I'm really looking for is great effort.”
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