Members of the 12-man team stressed that the schedule here is sometimes tight and not to be confused with a lack of discipline among team members.

Heavyweight Nate Jones says the next five days are the most crucial for team members.

``This (Monday) is the first day of the hard part,'' Jones said. ``This is nothing but hard work.''

Super heavyweight Lawrence Clay-Bey, who was the last member of the team to arrive, agreed with Jones. Clay-Bey joined the team Sunday night after attending the graduation of his oldest son, Jerelle, from middle school in Hartford, Conn.

``We're just trying to get sharp and pick up the intensity,'' Clay-Bey said, ``and try to iron out everything before the Olympics.''

Jones had been bothered by pain from root canal surgery, but Augusta dentist Dr. Marion Durst relieved him of the pain. Durst's son, Frank, is a boxer at the Augusta Boxing Club.

``Tom (Moraetes) has a lot of good contacts that we are utilizing within the city,'' said Kurt Stenerson, U.S. Amateur Boxing's Director of Communications.

Jones said he's been feeling great now that the pain has gone away.

``It feels much better now,'' Jones said. ``He said I had some nerve damage in the back (of his front tooth) that was causing me some pain when I got hit. He put a hole in the back and filled it back up and now I'm ready to go.''

Jones' tooth pain has been the only thing close to an injury at this point. The boxers feel that the heat in Augusta is a real advantage for them going into the Atlanta Games.

``It's hot,'' said Jones, a Chicago native. ``We're basically getting mentally and physically prepared for it. Being in the climate of the Georgia heat gives us an advantage.''

Clay-Bey is not sure how the heat will affect him since he arrived Sunday night.

``I guess I'll find out in a few minutes,'' said Clay-Bey as he waited for his sparring session. ``I don't think it's going to be too much of a problem.''

Light-heavyweight Antonio Tarver isn't worried about the heat at all.

``Man, I'm from Orlando, Fla.; the heat is no problem for me,'' Tarver said.

Al Mitchell, the team's boxing coach, said his team could not train in a better place than Augusta.

``It's in the right place because of the heat,'' Mitchell said. ``Being here will get us used to it before we go to Atlanta.''

Mitchell was constantly barking at team members to work on their various weaknesses during the sparring session.

``We've been together two months but this is our most important camp,'' Mitchell said. ``We want to get the guys a little more aggressive and work on mistakes.''

Even though they're late for some functions, Mitchell said that he's been pleased with boxers' workouts and that they performed well in exhibitions against the German and Russian teams.