"Olympic aspirations for Cal gymnast" -
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/sports/16850441.htm?source=rss&channel=cctimes_sports
UC Berkeley's Tim McNeill - makes the senior national team this year again, for 2nd time in a row!
His coach:
[quote]"Given good health, Tim could win the championship of the United States in the all-around," said Cal coach Barry Weiner. "He has no weak event. There is nothing stopping him."[/quote]
Tim:
[quote]"Every person at my first gym (in Falls Church) thought they were going to the Olympics," he said. "As I got older, I thought that goal was unrealistic. Only six guys make the team every four years."
With his Olympic dream tucked away as a teen, McNeill concentrated on earning a college scholarship, something that materialized when Weiner came calling.[/quote]
[quote]"A year ago, when I made the national team the first time, it was the best feeling of my life," he said. "I felt, 'I'm starting to get in.' This year when I made the national team, people have been telling me that they are impressed with me. I feel like I am inching my career up the line."[/quote]
A coach's belief in him:
[quote]"I think a lot of people got off him because he had a lot of injuries his senior year of high school," Weiner said. "He had stress fractures in his back, and he had spent his junior year in a body cast. But I thought he was very athletic, and very good in the air."
Weiner not only offered McNeill a scholarship to Cal, he told him that his priorities should change.
McNeill remembers the conversation. "Barry was recruiting me and he said, 'You should have the Olympics in your head. Your career is unlimited.'"[/quote]
wow, body cast!
Tim going to the international competitive scene:
[quote]"I can't wait to see him with two good legs to stand on," Weiner said. "He has made the national team on one leg."
Ron Brant, the senior national team's coordinator, is aware of McNeill's situation, but his interest is seeing how McNeill responds to international competition this summer.
"Tim is known nationally, but he isn't known internationally," Brant said. "We're going to see how he holds up in that kind of situation."
Brant acknowledges that McNeill has gone from longshot to contender. "He has been a surprise," Brant said. "I think over the last year, he has opened some eyes."[/quote]
homescholing must have helped with the body cast in his junior year
[quote]At 11, McNeill switched to a more competitive gym. His sport was no longer recreational. It was a way of life, so much so that after attending the local high school in the ninth grade, he was home-schooled for the final three years.[/quote]
