Sophomore sprinter Gerald Mills, one of the top recruits from last season, came from the high school All-American from Missouri City to the Cougars with junior Olympic experience that had him ranked as the top sprinter in Texas.
But Mills never had a breakout performance during the indoor or outdoor seasons. Mills failed to keep his indoor 60m below 7.00 and managed just an eighth place finish in the Indoor Conference Championships. Now with a whole season under Head Coach Leroy Burrell and Coach Carl Lewis’s tutelage, Mills has himself primed for a great season alongside his talented teammates.
The Cougar sat down with Mills to discuss his past, present and goals for the future.
The Cougar: What have practices been like leading up to the start of the season?
Gerald Mills: Practices are intense. Everybody comes out every day with the intention on getting better. Everybody’s pushing. The paces are hard and fast, and it’s where it needs to be for us to win.
TC: What was your motivation for coming to UH last year?
GM: I wanted to be a part of a program that was up and coming. It turns out I was one of the first signees, myself and Amere (Lattin). Then everybody else started signing, and that’s when we came out as the No. 2 class. The way the coaches act toward their athletes felt like family, and that was the biggest motivation. I love the atmosphere out here, and it was great.
TC: Your first season did not go quite as well as you might have liked. What do you attribute that to?
GM: It was getting acclimated to college track. Making the transition from running high-school style to college style. And just being focused. This year, I came back way more focused, way more attacking. I’m just ready to get my goals, so I would say focus was a big thing for me this year. Just cutting out a lot of things in my life so I could perform how I know I’m going to perform.
TC: Has having the opportunity to run with athletes like LeShon Collins and Cameron Burrell helped improve your running ability?
GM: Definitely. LeShon Collins, Cameron Burrell: I look up to them because both have been on the stage that I’m trying to get at and they encourage me. Every time that me and Cam practice together, I have one of the best practices because I know he’s going to push me the whole way round no matter the workout, no matter what we’re doing, and the same with LeShon. They’ll critique me when I’m wrong, give me pointers and I can contribute them to my success.
TC: What are your goals for this season?
GM: My goals for this year are just to execute every race properly. I’m not going to chase times this year. My training has gone good, so I know where I’m at. But if I execute every race and listen to my coaches, then we’ll see what happens.