Ross Palazzo and the rest of his unit carry medicine balls around the track as part of the training.
A Day to Remember
Wednesday, November 14, 2018 | Men's Swimming & Diving
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By: Chad Smith
MELBOURNE, Fla. — Twenty-nine medicine balls and nine people to double-time them around a track in the least amount of time possible. That was the charge for the University of Florida men's swimming team.
"Anything on land isn't going to be too natural for us," senior Grady Heath said.
This may be Veteran's Day Week — and this weekend's football date between Florida and Idaho may be the annual "Saluting Those Who Serve" — but the UF swim team got an early start on the theme six weeks ago. That was when Nesty, in his first year as Gators head coach, took his team to Patrick Air Force Base for some boot camp-style training, the likes of which his student-athletes were not used to. The Pararescue Airmen of the 308th Rescue Squadron provided the Gators a glimpse of what the US Air Force Reserve's elite Guardian Angels go through on a regular basis.
The Guardian Angel is a human weapons system made up of three Air Force specialties that serve as the only operators specifically trained as rescue specialists in the Department of Defense. They are the pararescuemen, the SERE (Search, Evasion, Resist, Escape) or survival specialist and the Combat Rescue Officer (CRO).
They work as a team. People's lives depend on it.
UF swimmers and coaches, along with military members before the training began
"This was a real good opportunity for our guys to train with a group of amazing people and it gave us a chance to come closer as a team," said Nesty, the former UF All-American and Olympic gold-medalist who was promoted to head coach last spring following the retirement of icon coach Gregg Troy. "The experience gave our guys the chance to see the importance of working as a team."
Such as with the medicine balls.
In one of several drill-like exercises, the swimmers had to carry 29 medicine balls around the track, but since there were more medicine balls than members in the group, it would take a team two trips around the track. This was the most vital station because three other groups of swimmers at different stations could not finish their tasks until the group with the medicine balls got all of the balls to the finish line.
The first sign of teamwork was shown when the Gators at other stations were encouraging the guys transporting the medicine balls around the track. It was easy to see that the men picked up their pace once other groups cheered them on.
"You could see the guys really getting behind each other," Nesty said.
In the pararescue world, failing to do so is not an option. That was one of the messages delivered by the members of the 308th.
Before being put to work, the team was briefed on what the pararescuemen and Guardian Angel do and lectured on some of the weapons used on a daily basis, including sniper rifles, assault rifles, and grenade launchers. The athletes were told they would be tested in a variety of different physical activities, but also challenged mentally.
"My first reaction was surprised, excited, and nervous, that kind of training is something I have always been interested in," freshman Miguel Cancel said. "I've watched movies or read books on Navy Seal training, Air Force training, and Army training. I had mixed emotions about it and I didn't know what to expect."
They didn't have to wait long to find out.
UF swimmers being directed where to place the boats, before the beginning of the first exercise
The Gators quickly learned how difficult it was to carry a raft for distance as a team. The athletes were broken up into four groups and found how important communication was to getting anywhere. If one team got too far ahead, all its members had to drop into a push-up position and wait for the other teams to catch up.
Another drill required teams to carry a weighted test patient to various points across a field. Once there, they each had to look through the sights of a rifle and locate a target before carrying the patient back to its designated spot.
"Being disciplined," Heath said, "and everybody staying on task was probably the most difficult part."
Completing it all — successfully — became the most rewarding part.
The team was later led through calisthenics and core work on the beach, then after rinsing off was issued fatigues and put in a swimming pool for an entirely different (and weighted) kind of training that included carrying a team member in a basket above the water while treading water.
Athletes treading water while carrying teammates in a basket
The day finished with lunch in the mess hall with the pararescuemen and a chance to bond.
"I knew it would probably be challenging, but I didn't think it would be that challenging," Heath said. "Some certain aspects about it were good for us to see, how they live their daily lives, their ways of preparation and the way they train."
The goal is to take that mentality into the upcoming season.
