Gators thrower Alida Van Daalen locks in at the Florida Relays over the weekend. (Photo: Brieanna Andrews/UAA Communications)
Gators Newcomer Van Daalen an Instant Hit
Monday, April 3, 2023 | Track and Field, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Olympic-hopeful thrower from the Netherlands first caught Gators assistant coach Eric Werskey's attention the way most recruits do these days.
Werskey saw videos of Alida van Daalen on social media. She was tall, robust, and a promising young talent well-versed in major competitions, having won gold in the discus at the European Athletics U20 Championships in 2019.
Werskey reached out online to see if van Daalen was interested in coming to the U.S. for college. He tried again. And again. So did others schools.
"She is significantly taller than her competition and peers [in those videos]. She has this length and ability," Werskey said Saturday following the Florida Relays. "All across the NCAA, everyone was standing in line to get a chance to talk to her. I know that much."
Finally, after five no-thank-you responses over several months early in 2022, Werskey reached out to Jacqueline Goormachtigh. Jacqueline is Alida's mother. She coached Alida growing up in Rotterdam, a major European port and second-largest city in the Netherlands.
Goormachtigh represented the Netherlands in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics in the discus and now operates a throwing academy for aspiring athletes. Alida developed into her star pupil as they traveled Europe to train and compete in high-level events.
"She groomed her to be very good from a young age,'' Werskey said. "That [call] slowly led to Alida and I establishing a connection. They checked some of the things I said with people in Europe, and here we are. When we brought her in for her official visit, you just knew that if she were going to come, she would be very serious about why she would be here. She wanted to get a degree but also wanted to pursue a high-end athletic career in this environment."
The deep connection between Alida and her mother made leaving home unthinkable for Alida, the teenager. But after Werskey contacted Jacqueline, mom and daughter began to talk more seriously about the opportunity. That is when Alida's eyes and ears opened.
Alida van Daalen reacts after winning the SEC Indoor Championship in the shot put as Coach Eric Werskey looks on in the background. (Photo: Gabriella Whisler/UAA Communications).
"I will try and listen,'' she said. "I'm kind of curious. Maybe this is meant to be."
Alida started to consider the option late last summer, and finally, she and Jacqueline made an official visit to the UF campus in October, Alida's first trip to the United States. They returned home, and in early November, Alida announced she was officially a Gator.
Florida was the only school she visited, and two months after her commitment, Alida arrived on campus to start her college education and career with the Gators.
The past few months have been a whirlwind in the truest sense for van Daalen, who turns 21 later this month.
"It's a funny story,'' she said. "My family was like, 'what are you doing?' I'm a picky person. I'm ready for my new chapter, and I'm ready for some new goals. Coach Werskey and the University of Florida are very special."
The transition has gone better than anyone could have imagined.
Van Daalen made her UF debut at the Tyson Invitational indoor meet on Feb. 10, finishing second in the shot put with a mark of 17.53 meters (57 feet, 6.25 inches). But that paled compared to her next trip to Arkansas two weeks later. Van Daalen won the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship in the shot put with a toss of 18.66 meters (61 feet, 2.75 inches), an emotional victory that confirmed her decision to make the life-altering move to Florida.
Van Daalen's distance broke UF's indoor shot-put record set by Miriam Kevkhishvili 13 years earlier. Her family stayed up until 3 a.m. in Rotterdam to talk to her after the event.
"Winning SEC, it was a dream,'' van Daalen said. "I did not see that coming with the shot put because discus was my main event at home. I thought I would go to the Olympics with discus throws sooner than with shot put. Now I'm closer with the shot put than I am the discus. I have improved a lot."
Van Daalen finished fourth in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships and shifted her focus to making an impact for the Gators during the outdoor season. She got off to a sensational start at the Florida Relays.
On her first discus throw of the outdoor season, van Daalen's toss of 57.59 meters (188 feet, 7 inches) broke the school record previously owned by Rachel Longfors since 2004.
"It is a confidence boost. It has been the best throw I had in two and a half years," van Daalen said. "We're building on some good stuff. Last year I opened my first competition at 55 meters. I'm pretty stoked about it."
Alida van Daalen began getting attention as an up-and-coming athlete coached by her mother, former Olympian Jacqueline Goormachtigh, as a teenager in the Netherlands.
She finished third in the discus at the Florida Relays and won the shot put with a throw of 17.94 meters (58 feet, 10.25 inches) on Saturday.
The shot-put throw was a meaningful moment for the van Daalen as it bested the top throw of her mother's career, an event that prompted Jacqueline to share the throw on her Facebook page.
In comparing herself to her daughter when Alida began to blossom in competition, Jacqueline once said: "She is much more of a top athlete,'' Goormachtigh told The Havenloods, a news magazine in their hometown. "My trainers thought I was too sweet. Alida is there to win every game."
Werskey has seen the same thing in his short time working with van Daalen.
"When she would go to those U18 or U20 [European] competitions, she would always medal," Werskey said. "She knows how to compete at a very high stage. She knows how to flip the switch when it matters most."
Van Daalen has burst onto the scene and embraced some concepts Werskey has introduced into her training. Meanwhile, she is taking advantage of the resources available that she did not have training independently while representing her federation team at home.
Van Daalen has made herself right at home with the Gators.
"I think what they do good here for me is there is no pressure,'' she said. "Just enjoy what you are doing. You are already good at the events you are doing. You know what to do. Just relax, have fun, and the distances will come."
And they have. All you have to do is check out the updated school record books.
