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May 25—ROCHESTER — Nathaniel Gaines had pretty much resigned himself to the notion that he was never going to be anything too special in sports.
He wasn't passionate about the ones he was playing, baseball and football. And he wasn't especially good at them, either.
One year ago, Gaines became dispassionate enough about baseball that he determined it was time for a change. Track and field and baseball happen at the same time, spring, so Gaines said goodbye to his baseball glove and hello to a new pair of running shoes.
Life hasn't been close to the same since. Gaines, also a standout singer, had a passion in sports, he just hadn't discovered it yet.
In track and field, he found something he was not only good at it, but it suited him in almost every way, including being around teammates whom he already knew well — since early grade school days — away from the track.
This transition to track and field has been almost too good to be true. That includes those rare days when he throws up after an exhausting workout. He finds a certain amount of pride in "losing it."
"I like putting in the work," Gaines said. "When I throw up, it just means I did my best. Or maybe that I shouldn't have eaten so much before practice. . ."
When Lourdes track and field coach Pete Gilman got his first look at Gaines a year ago, there was no revelation that it happened. The truth is, Gaines didn't look like much of a runner.
"He had a very odd stride pattern," Gilman said. "He almost looked to me like the Road Runner cartoon. His torso was over his toes and his back kick was super pronounced, almost like he was going to fall over because he was leaned over so much."
His opening time in what has become his signature event wasn't anything to brag about, either. He was clocked in 57.44. By the time the season had ended though, he did show promise with Gilman having cleaned up his running form and Gaines getting in better shape. He concluded his season timed in 55.34.
That progress was all that Gaines would need. He would spend the next year throwing himself into track and field, managing a strict diet, lifting weights regularly and spending time on the indoor track at Rochester Community and Technical College, busily getting his times down.
"At first, based on what I'd done in past sports, I didn't think I'd amount to too much in track," Gaines said. "So I didn't want to set the bar too high."
All of that has now changed. In that offseason, Gaines transformed himself. In his very first meet this year, Gaines was already hitting the state meet qualifying standard, clocked in 50.72. He has grown into the best 400 runner that Lourdes has, and it is a talented group. His 4x400 relay team of Gaines, Michael Buntrock, Lucas Brooks and Cameron Hedstrom all run the 400 in the 50- to 54- second range, making them the second fastest 4x400 relay team in southeastern Minnesota, only Winona Cotter better.
Better still for this group is their age. Gaines, Brooks and Buntrock are all juniors, while Hedstrom is a sophomore. State figures to be their destination this season with the following year promising even bigger things, such as a possible state title.
All seem to be on the same hard-charging page. Gilman started their season breaking that 400 group off and working them incredibly hard. Throwing up wasn't just an occasional thing those first few weeks. But a lack of complaining about it was. All are on the same page. They just want to get better.
"It showed their maturity that there was no challenging me about it," Gilman said. "It was just part of the deal. The wanted to know what they needed to do next to get better. They've all bought in."
That's especially true of one of the guys, Nathaniel Gaines. He's obsessed and it's working for him.
He's got one thing in mind now. It's to break that 50-second barrier. His best this year is 50.53.
"Track is my passion now," Gaines said. "It's everything to me."
Continue reading...
He wasn't passionate about the ones he was playing, baseball and football. And he wasn't especially good at them, either.
One year ago, Gaines became dispassionate enough about baseball that he determined it was time for a change. Track and field and baseball happen at the same time, spring, so Gaines said goodbye to his baseball glove and hello to a new pair of running shoes.
Life hasn't been close to the same since. Gaines, also a standout singer, had a passion in sports, he just hadn't discovered it yet.
In track and field, he found something he was not only good at it, but it suited him in almost every way, including being around teammates whom he already knew well — since early grade school days — away from the track.
This transition to track and field has been almost too good to be true. That includes those rare days when he throws up after an exhausting workout. He finds a certain amount of pride in "losing it."
"I like putting in the work," Gaines said. "When I throw up, it just means I did my best. Or maybe that I shouldn't have eaten so much before practice. . ."
When Lourdes track and field coach Pete Gilman got his first look at Gaines a year ago, there was no revelation that it happened. The truth is, Gaines didn't look like much of a runner.
"He had a very odd stride pattern," Gilman said. "He almost looked to me like the Road Runner cartoon. His torso was over his toes and his back kick was super pronounced, almost like he was going to fall over because he was leaned over so much."
His opening time in what has become his signature event wasn't anything to brag about, either. He was clocked in 57.44. By the time the season had ended though, he did show promise with Gilman having cleaned up his running form and Gaines getting in better shape. He concluded his season timed in 55.34.
That progress was all that Gaines would need. He would spend the next year throwing himself into track and field, managing a strict diet, lifting weights regularly and spending time on the indoor track at Rochester Community and Technical College, busily getting his times down.
"At first, based on what I'd done in past sports, I didn't think I'd amount to too much in track," Gaines said. "So I didn't want to set the bar too high."
All of that has now changed. In that offseason, Gaines transformed himself. In his very first meet this year, Gaines was already hitting the state meet qualifying standard, clocked in 50.72. He has grown into the best 400 runner that Lourdes has, and it is a talented group. His 4x400 relay team of Gaines, Michael Buntrock, Lucas Brooks and Cameron Hedstrom all run the 400 in the 50- to 54- second range, making them the second fastest 4x400 relay team in southeastern Minnesota, only Winona Cotter better.
Better still for this group is their age. Gaines, Brooks and Buntrock are all juniors, while Hedstrom is a sophomore. State figures to be their destination this season with the following year promising even bigger things, such as a possible state title.
All seem to be on the same hard-charging page. Gilman started their season breaking that 400 group off and working them incredibly hard. Throwing up wasn't just an occasional thing those first few weeks. But a lack of complaining about it was. All are on the same page. They just want to get better.
"It showed their maturity that there was no challenging me about it," Gilman said. "It was just part of the deal. The wanted to know what they needed to do next to get better. They've all bought in."
That's especially true of one of the guys, Nathaniel Gaines. He's obsessed and it's working for him.
He's got one thing in mind now. It's to break that 50-second barrier. His best this year is 50.53.
"Track is my passion now," Gaines said. "It's everything to me."
Continue reading...
