Larkin coach still competing among best

It's not quite pounding a bloody carcass in a meat freezer, but it's close.

Like Rocky Balboa, Andrew Boyce is a tough-as-nails athlete.

One with a tough training regimen.

Boyce, the 43-year-old physical education and health department head at Larkin High School in Elgin, is ranked No. 2 in the country among U.S. Track and Field competitors of his age in both the high jump and long jump.

To prepare for competitions, the West Dundee resident trains at 5 a.m. each day on Larkin's basement track.

In addition to standard jumping, running and lifting, Boyce builds stamina by dragging around a weighted tire attached to his waist, doing flat-footed jumps over hurdles and "frog leaps" with 40 or 50 pounds attached to his back.

"It's like a dungeon down there," Boyce said of the training facility. "Some days, if I'm jumping pretty high, my nose almost scrapes the ceiling."

A serious competitor for more than 20 years, Boyce holds high jump records at downstate Aledo High School and at the College of DuPage, where he cleared 7 feet, 1 inch.

Always jumping off his right leg, Boyce recently experienced problems with his right knee. This winter Boyce endured his fourth reconstructive knee surgery, but with the understanding he could no longer jump off his right leg.

Instead of throwing in the towel, Boyce simply switched legs, teaching his body to jump from his left side.

Even after the switch, Boyce has cleared 6 feet, 4 inches. He said he hopes to get close to 7 feet at the U.S. Track and Field Championships in Boston this weekend.

Boyce has been selected to compete in T.R.A.C.K. live in May. It's a reality show for renowned track and field athletes ages 32 to 52.

Coached by past Olympians, male and female competitors participate in a series of elimination meets, vying for cash and prizes to give to their former high school track and field programs.

"I just found out I'd been selected this month," Boyce said. "I'm psyched."

In the pursuit to break new records and soar to new heights, teaching keeps him grounded, Boyce said.

"Sure, I'm one of the most competitive guys around," he said. "But I live through my kids."

"When they're pumped up about what I do, that means the most."