University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gopher Q&A: Captain Adam LaFleur
1/11/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Jan. 11, 2012
With only a few days remaining before the Golden Gopher men's gymnastics team opens the regular season at the Windy City Invitational, senior captain Adam LaFleur sat down with GopherSports.com to discuss a few things about this year's team and himself.
GopherSports.com: With the season starting in just a couple days, what is your impression of this year's team? How is this team different from last year's group?
Adam LaFleur: We have really stepped up the conditioning this year and our start values have never been higher. We are holding ourselves to a higher standard and are really looking forward to popping up on the radar amongst the higher tier of teams.
GopherSports.com: What is the team's biggest strength this year?
Adam LaFleur: We have a large group of underclassman this year in the lineup and most of them have a year under their belt now, so they are starting to understand what to expect. We can really focus on our gymnastics instead of getting caught up in our inexperience.
GophersSports.com: What challenges will the team have to overcome to have a successful season?
Adam LaFleur: We're really going to have to keep pushing all season long. With the conditioning being so much harder, it can easily become physically and mentally draining. The important thing is that once the meets come, all of the practice and training will pay off. We need to learn to shut our brains off and just do our stuff.
GopherSports.com: Why did you want to compete for the Gophers?
Adam LaFleur: Competing is why we do the sport. Growing up in Minnesota, I attended most of the Gopher home meets and I always said that I wanted that to be me someday. It's pretty awesome to step out on the floor and preform for the same crowd that I used to be apart of.
GopherSports.com: What does it mean to be a team captain?
Adam LaFleur: Well, the most important thing as captain is to set a good example for the rest of the team, in particular the freshmen. This means I am expected to practice hard all of the time and be consistent in every meet so that I am someone the team can count on to hit routines.
GopherSports.com: When you're not training or competing, what do you like to do for fun?
Adam LaFleur: It gets pretty busy when we're in season. So the little free time I do have I spend doing stuff with the team outside the gym, whether it's playing various games, going to sporting events, or getting into really random events like monster truck rallies.
GopherSports.com: How do you think you guys will perform this weekend at the Windy City Invitational?
Adam LaFleur: We should be able to place in the top three this weekend if all goes according to plan. People need to step up and forget about any troubles they've had during practice. We need go out there and show off what we're capable of doing. Overall, I'm pretty excited to get things going.
Players Mentioned
