Troy Simmonds offers quick fix for Aaron Rouge-Serret
Scott Gullan | March 19, 2009
THEY are an unusual pair. The giant Richmond ruckman and the pocket dynamo sprinter.
But in the past year Troy Simmonds and Aaron Rouge-Serret have formed a bond which they hope bears fruit tomorrow night.
That is when Rouge-Serret will start favourite in the 100m at the national titles in Brisbane.
The fact he is rated the best sprinter in Australia has a lot to do with Simmonds' mentoring.
Last year Rouge-Serret was shattered when Athletics Australia decided against sending a men's 4 x 100m relay team to the Beijing Olympics despite it having posted a qualifying time.
He was disillusioned with the sport and questioning whether he should continue.
Enter Simmonds.
Rouge-Serret's new coach Adam Larcom was the link to bringing them together.
"I have known Adam for many years as a friend and someone I have worked with," Simmonds said.
"I trained with him last year and have done a bit again this year and about 12 months ago Aaron came along. We got to know each other and it became a bit of a mentoring type of role.
"He is 21 years of age with a lot of talent and by having someone there who is a bit older from a different sport, different experiences . . . he can bounce things off me and draw on them."
Rouge-Serret said having Simmonds around to talk through his Olympic heartache had been crucial.
"Speaking to Troy about it made me realise that everything in life is not in our control," he said.
"Once I realised that, I was able to move on and I kept saying to everyone else, 'I'm not going to give my dream up'.
"It's been great having him around and we talk about everything in life, not just athletics."
Full article at:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25208102-14822,00.html
