1/17/2008 9:57:00 AM Lofty goals require demanding schedule Howells graduate making strides at Kentucky
Jeff Apel/CorrespondentJennifer Svoboda, a freshman from Howells who is a member of the University of Kentucky track team, prepares to throw the shot put.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Jennifer Svoboda's teammates on the University of Kentucky track team have a hard time picturing Nebraska, let alone Howells.
That provides her Wildcat teammates with plenty of ammunition to remind Svoboda about her small-town roots.
"I'm a typical Nebraska farm girl," Svoboda said. "I just let them go, let them do their own thing, and make fun of the corn state."
Svoboda has heard plenty of Nebraska jokes since she left her home state to pursue her Olympic dream in either the shot put or discus.
Svoboda's goals also include winning a NCAA championship, a feat that University of Kentucky assistant track coach Doug Reynolds feels is definitely reachable.
"I expect to see her improving in leaps and bounds as she gets more comfortable," Reynolds said. "She's ready to do some things that might even shock her a little bit and might open her eyes a little bit."
Wide eyed is exactly what Svoboda was when she left her hometown of Howells and headed to Kentucky. After spending her entire life in a Northeast Nebraska town of about 640 people, being in a campus lecture hall with 300 other students was quite a change.
"We give her a hard time about being from the Cornhusker state. We sometimes make jokes. We might say, 'The hay is already in the barn' or 'The corn has already been shucked,' " Reynolds said.
"We give her a hard time here and there," he said. "It's all in fun."
Fun for Svoboda means working out six times a week. She will maintain that schedule from September to June, even sacrificing her one day off each week when Kentucky has an indoor or outdoor meet.
Svoboda hopes the demanding schedule helps her achieve her lofty goals.
Svoboda uncorked a personal-best shot put throw of 49-feet, 6!-W-inches to finish third in her collegiate debut in the Kentucky Invitational on Jan. 12. Putting on a Kentucky uniform for the first time was a nerve-wracking experience for Svoboda, who also felt pressure resulting from the eyes of fans watching as she competed in Kentucky's first indoor meet of the season.
"A little nervous, but I got those bugs out," Svoboda said. "I'm glad I got a decent throw - something to build on."
Reynolds, who was an NCAA shot put and discus champion at the University of Arizona in 1996, already considers Svoboda one of his prize pupils, good enough to easily fulfill a personal goal of breaking 50-feet in the shot put and even ready to challenge a school record.
Ashley Muffet, Svoboda's current teammate, set a Kentucky freshman indoor record by tossing the shot put 52 feet, 4 inches in 2006. Last season, Muffet was a Southeastern Conference indoor shot put champion who also earned All-American honors in the event at the NCAA indoor championships.
"The freshman indoor record is well within her grasp," Reynolds said. "If she can break that record, she'd be setting herself up to be looking at bigger and better things every year and she's doing it in the footsteps of someone who is doing it at a very high level. That's been one of the great things. She's got a mentor."
Raw potential helped Svoboda dominate her high school opponents and win four shot put and two discus state titles while competing in the Class C and D ranks at Howells. She owns a personal-best throw of 145 feet in the discus, a distance that Reynolds expects to improve in a hurry.
"Doug (Reynolds) said my technique was pretty bad. We worked on it for a long time at the beginning of the year," Svoboda said. "I'm finally learning to stay closed and turn my hips. It's helping a lot."
Svoboda's mother, Cindy, used to compete in throwing events for Howells High School, and introduced her daughter to the sport as a youngster. Svoboda's father, Roger, works on a feedlot in Howells and is equally proud of his daughter.
Reynolds first became familiar with Svoboda while watching her compete as a high school freshman for the Cornhusker Flyers Track Club, an Omaha-based organization that provides athletes with a chance to test their skills against top competition. Even as a ninth-grader, Reynolds could tell that Svoboda had the makings of someone special.
"I just had to bite my lip and bide my time until I could recruit her," Reynolds said. "Right from the get-go, from the first time I saw her, I knew she was a girl we wanted to have in our program and that I wanted to be able to work with. She's done nothing but prove me right so far."
Two days after Kentucky's first meet of the indoor season, Nutter Field House is silent as Svoboda and her teammates practice throw after throw. Reynolds sits in a chair positioned between two competition rings, keeping a close eye on everyone trying to perfect their form.
Svoboda wears a well-worn T-shirt while working with the shot put, the only event she competed in during her collegiate debut. The T-shirt, which Svoboda quickly shows when asked, says Howells High School mock trial team.
It's a reminder of good times for Svoboda, who expects to add the discus to her competitive agenda in the near future. She may even compete in the hammer and weight throws before her collegiate career ends.
Reynolds smiles as he talks about the smooth transition Svoboda has made to her new surroundings. She fits in well, the coach says, with teammates who have a hard time even picturing Nebraska.
"They won't let me forget it, either," Svoboda said. "I'm the little, naive Jenny. That's what they call me."
Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, January 17, 2008
Article comment by:
Alberta L Kane
Jennifer Svaboda, I just read the article about you in the Norfolk Daily News. I, too, am from a little town in Nebraska, Stanton. I am 74 years old and live in Alb. NM and still get teased about being a "farm kid". I want to wish you well in all you do and will try to keep up with your college games. Alberta (Chamberlain) Kane
