At the GACS Invitational this weekend, a young man by the name of Daniel Averso captured 1st place in the high jump, clearing a height of 6'10". An amazing effort…but even more amazing when you discover that this young man does not have a track at his school to train on. I had to find out a little more about this amazing athlete so I sent off a few questions for him.
GATFXC: What prompted you to run track?
Daniel: I always knew I could jump, but i really just didnt want to get involved in another sport. My junior year was my first year jumping, I really had no clue what in the world I was doing, but i managed to reach 6-7. The major determining factor was the single fact that I knew i could jump... I was kind of known around my school (being a small private school) as the kid who could dunk. My track coach found out about my jumping ability in 8th grade, but I never took him up on the offer until last year.
GATFXC: Who has been the most influential person in terms of your track career.
Daniel: The most influential person in my track career is definitely Coach Don Hart. I mean, if it wasn\'t for him, I wouldn\'t be here today. It was his non-stop persuasion that finally got me on the track. Then comes my parents for their awesome support, and then theirs my new coach, Coach Williams, and he\'s just plain old awesome!
GATFXC: What's your favorite pre meet meal?
Daniel: Pre meet meal? Pretty much depends on how much money is in my pocket, and which fast food place i pass first on the way to the meet! I always eat this Alfredo Ravioli stuff that my mom makes the night before..its pretty stinkin\' good.
GATFXC: Do you have any interests outside of track?
Daniel: My biggest interest below track is art. Art is a huge passion of mine, and if it wasn\'t track that was going to get me through college, it was art. Track was the only thing that actually stopped me form going to Savannah College of Art and Design. But higher than both art and track comes God. If it weren\'t for him, I know i wouldnt be here today. I definatly owe all this to him. SO actually, i guess thats the answer above too. :)
GATFXC: Do you plan on pursuing track in college? Has anybody contacted you yet?
Daniel: Definitely, track in college is a must for me. I mean, it has nothing to do with the heights I jump, if i was jumping 5-8, I\'d still want to jump in college. Being on the track is like nothing else to me, I just feel at home whenever I\'m on the track. My circumstances are very weird. I mean, the GAC invitational was my 15th meet of my career, so I haven\'t had too much time to get my name out. Western Carolina University made an offer for me to jump there, and UGA also has just recently started showing a good bit of interest. Hopefully I\'ll have some more options soon enough though! It\'s really going to come down to where I\'m going to be the happiest, not who is giving me the most scholarship money.
GATFXC: What are your goals for this season?
Daniel: I told my coach early on in the season that I want to jump no lower than 6-8 the entire season. I know that colleges look for consistency more than anything, and I want to be consistent! So far, i\'ve been doing fine at that. My other goal is to reach 7 feet (hopefully at county). I definitely have the height, I just don't have the resources to practice. I mean, my school doesn\'t even have a track, so really the only practice I get is at the meets.
GATFXC: Is there an athlete out there that has inspired you and if so, why?
Daniel: I\'m going to have to say Justin Schneider from GAC. He\'s been a great friend, always encouraging me out on the track. He\'s a phenomenal athlete. I mean, the kid does everything. He\'s offered to jump with me on weekends, which is great. There is also Justin Roper from Buford… awesome kid, amazing athlete. I think he has a full ride scholarship to Oregon to play football. You would never guess it by his attitude though.
GATFXC: What do you love about track and field?
Daniel: The people…plain and simple. The biggest thing I hated about playing basketball was that everyone was so angry all the time. I mean seriously, I would think about it after games and just laugh, because it\'s just so silly. I didn\'t even know half of the kids, but they were just angry at my entire team all the time because we were the opponent. There was no other reason than that! It\'s just so funny to me. But, track isn\'t like that. I know especially in high jumping, people encourage each other before and after jumps. Even if it may mean they\'ll lose because you might clear the height with whatever instruction they give you, they\'re sill willing to help you. You'd never see that in any other sport. Like in basketball, if you miss a free throw, you\'ll never see some kid say \"hey, hold your form\" or something like that.
I was curious about Daniel's practice situation and while he does have a high jump pit, it sits on a concrete floor. If he trains on it, his legs are shot so he uses it for jump backs and such but not run throughs. I must say it's very refreshing to see a young athlete not make excuses but rather make the best of his situation in his pursuit for excellence. You've made one fan here with your positive outlook, obvious love for this great sport and your humility despite your amazing accomplishments. We'll be looking forward to hearing more from this young man in the future in his pursuit of the 7 foot barrier. Daniel will be competing this Saturday at the Gwinnett Co. Championships to be held at Mill Creek High School.