Gators senior Grady Heath, center, with his parents Mike and Sherri, both former UF swimmers, on Saturday at the O'Connell Center. (Photo: Savannah Austin/UAA Communications)
Heath Family's Rich History with Gators Shines on Senior Day
Saturday, February 2, 2019 | Men's Swimming & Diving
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By: Ethan Hughes, FloridaGators.com Intern
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators men's swimming team's seniors jumped in the pool for one final relay race after their Senior Day defeat of Tennessee on Saturday, soaking in their final moments in the O'Connell Center.
Senior Days drip with emotion. They are a time for reflecting on the past four years and the lifetimes that led to them, saying goodbye to teammates and coaches and celebrating the conclusion of athletic and academic journeys. They often signify the end of athletic careers and the beginning of new phases.
But Saturday just meant more for UF senior Grady Heath. His father, Mike Heath, swam at UF from 1983-86.
"I'd lived in Texas my whole life, and I was just ready to see what life was like outside of Texas," Mike said. "Came on a recruiting trip to Florida and really enjoyed Randy Reese, the coach at the time. I thought I could maybe produce under his coaching."
He was right.
Mike won two team national championships, four SEC team championships, four individual national championships and seven individual conference crowns. He was a 19-time All-American and swam the anchor leg of the 4x100-yard freestyle relay that clinched UF's first national championship in 1983.
Internationally, he won three gold medals at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and was part of two world record-setting relay teams. Heath was inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1996.
Former Gators All-American and Olympic gold medalist Mike Heath served as a "Gator Great" on Saturday at the O'Connell Center. (Photo: Alex de la Osa/UAA Communications)
That's a lot for Grady to live up to, right? Except that's only half of the equation. His mother, the former Sherri-Lee Schricker, also swam for UF from 1984-87.
His parents were in attendance for the festivities on Saturday.
"Very special," said Grady, a freestyle sprinter like his father. "I did get a little emotional. I tried not to tear up, but looking up there and seeing my parents, all my friends and it being our last meet in the O'Dome, I couldn't be more proud of our team than how far we've come."
Mike's legacy still resonates with Gators fans, as dozens of orange-and-blue faithful stopped by to say hello at a meet-and-greet prior to the meet. He received a loud ovation when he was introduced to the crowd during a break in the action.
"[UF's] a big part of what we do," Mike said. "I wish we could contribute more financially than we do, but it's super special. It was a big chunk of our lives and always will be."
Grady said he's never felt any additional pressure because of his father's success. Instead, he watches the 4x200-meter freestyle relay from the 1984 Olympics before every meet for inspiration. In that race, Mike swam the first leg for the U.S., who defeated West Germany by four one-hundredths of a second to claim gold and set a new world record.
"I take his advice," he said. "I know what he's accomplished. I see his face up on the wall every day while I'm at practice on the Wall of Fame. I just kind of took my own wave and made my own opportunity at the University of Florida, just kind of try to see where I could take it."
Grady grew up in Green Cove Springs, where his dad now works in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Division of Law Enforcement. He played baseball for a while but quit when he was 7 because "coaches started yelling at him," Mike said. He also unsuccessfully lobbied his mom to allow him to play football.
When Grady was about 4, Mike was the head coach at the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, and Grady frequently followed him to the pool. He fell in love with the sport and has been swimming since.
Mike said he knew Grady had a chance to be special when he started making all-star teams when he was about 12.
He was part of Clay County High School's 2013 All-American 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relay teams alongside Gator Great and Olympian Caeleb Dressel. He was the No. 19 recruit in Florida, according to CollegeSwimming.com.
Grady Heath continued a family legacy when he joined the Florida men's swimming program in 2015. (Photo: Courtney Mims/UAA Communications)
While his parents wanted him to go to Florida, they never pressured him and allowed him to explore his options. Coming to UF was a personal decision.
"Florida really was home for me and my family, and it was the best decision I could've ever had to come here," Grady said. "My heart told me I had to end up at Florida."
As a Gator, he contributed to three SEC Championship teams, with a good chance at completing the sweep in a couple of weeks. He competed in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trails in the 200-meter freestyle.
Mike said Grady isn't as physically gifted as he was – few are – but he makes up for it with an incredible work ethic.
"I wasn't very recruited by any other school," Grady said. "I knew I was the underdog always. I saw all of my friends getting recruited. Up until probably junior year of high school, that's when I finally started dropping times and seeing times that would let me swim at a school like Florida, maybe. But I knew I was still going to be the underdog even if I came to a school like this."
Mike said he and Sherri attend every home meet and as many away meets as possible and encourage him, but they don't try to coach him.
"We call ourselves his pit crew," he said. "Anytime he needs Gatorade or whatever, we'll go out and get it for him."
While Grady's collegiate career is winding to a close, he has no plans to stop swimming soon. He was recently granted Canadian citizenship, so he'll head to Toronto after the NCAA Championships in hopes of making Canada's national team.
But Saturday wasn't about the future. It was about a family legacy nearly four decades in the making coming to a close.
"It's probably the best decision of my life to come here," Grady said. "It really was something special – not only to me but my family – to come here. I just fell in love with it."
