Two years ago Georgia head swimming coach Jack Bauerle heard news he would never forget: He was named head coach for the U.S. women’s swim team for the Olympic Games in Beijing.

“We have to do our best job, but more than anything else it’s a privilege,” Bauerle said.

The Beijing Olympics marks the third Games Bauerle has attended. He was an assistant coach at the Athens Games in 2004, while he served more of a personal coaches role in 2000 at Sydney. He leaves Thursday, heading to Omaha, Neb. for the Olympic trials and will be away from home for almost two months.

“Certainly [it will be] the longest period of time I’ve been away from my family,” Bauerle said. “It’s a long haul, that’s the tough part. Being away from family and friends in this town [will be difficult] because this is a great place to be.”

Being head coach of any Olympic team means pressure. As Bauerle said, “be careful what you wish for,” because the job is time-consuming and blame is always focused on the coach.

“You field a lot more things and you’re responsible for a couple more of the major decisions, as far as the relay situations and everything else, there are nights when I don’t sleep as well,” Bauerle said.

The trials, which begin June 29, are harder than the Olympic Games themselves, according to Bauerle. One swimmer hoping to make the Olympic team is former Bulldog swimmer Mary DeScenza, who set an American record in the 200-meter butterfly in Manchester, England.

“It’s great to swim with [Bauerle], and it’s great that he is the Olympic coach because if I do make the team, I’ll have my own personal coach there and have someone who knows how I swim and knows how to calm me down and relax me,” DeScenza said.

Bauerle says that having his own swimmers from Georgia competing at the trials makes it even more special. For DeScenza, four years with Bauerle can only be positive.

“Sometimes you have different coaches and it kind of makes you a little bit nervous. This way, I have no worries at all.”

Following the trials, which end July 6, Bauerle and the U.S. team travel to Palo Alto, Calif. for a two-week training camp. From there they head to Singapore for a 10-day stint to get acclimated to the time change. They arrive in Beijing three days before the beginning of the Games on Aug. 8.

As far as the U.S. team’s chances in Beijing, Bauerle believes it has its work cut out.

“We have a gigantic challenge. One year ago we were at the World Championships in Australia, and Australia won more medals than we did on the women’s side,” Bauerle said. “It comes from not just Australia, but Japan has great people, England, France; the challenges are coming from every direction.”

With all of the pressure and challenges that lie ahead in the next two months, Bauerle feels just being thought of to lead a team of this magnitude is an honor.

“It’s exciting, but it’s also everything you dream of as a coach.”