Florida coach Mike Holloway carried a baseball bat to practice on Monday.
From the outside, the bat might not seem very important. But to the athletes on both of his teams, it means one thing: He is not playing around.
"(It’s) a stress reliever," Holloway said on why he carries the bat. "When the guys and girls want to bring out the bat, it is a serious day."
Competition begins on Friday for 18 Gators — eight from the No. 4 men’s team and 10 from the No. 2 women’s team. They will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to compete in the final and most important meet of the indoor season: The NCAA Indoor Championships.
UF’s 18 athletes are the third-highest number of competitors for the 2016 competition.
"We have faced most of these teams throughout the year," Holloway said. "The biggest thing at this time of the year is just to go there and do what we have done all year and we will be fine."
Although this is the last meet of the indoor season, Holloway and his team will be approaching this competition like they have every other meet this season.
"The biggest thing is we have to take the label, the moniker so to speak, off of the meet. It is a track meet," Holloway said. "At the end of the of the day, it is a track meet."
On the women’s team, senior Shayla Sanders, who will be competing in the 60-meter dash this weekend, enters the meet as the only Gator with a national leading time.
"I am looking forward to claiming a national title," Sanders said.
"It will be my first time being at the top of the ranking. I want to keep a positive mindset and go out and run like I have been doing."
Last one, best one.
That theme is one that coach Holloway stresses to his team in practice to try and motivate his athletes to get better in every meet.
With this being the last meet of the indoor season, he is hoping that his athletes go out and put up their best performances to date.
"It is just a matter of being focused right now. We don’t pinpoint or put pressure on one specific person," Holloway said.
"Anyone who puts on a Gator uniform this week is important."
With the help of his baseball bat, Holloway hopes to ensure that both of his teams will be focused and prepared to face the top athletes in the country on Friday.
Contact Lauren Staff at lstaff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @lstaff27.
UF coach Mike Holloway smiles during the 2015 Florida Relays at James G. Pressly Stadium.
