MARQUETTE -- Welcome to the aspiring Olympian's playground.

"Sleeping, eating and being around these type of caliber athletes 24-7 motivates you every day in the gym," says Ricky Alvarez, a boxer at the United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Mich.

Five sports -- boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, speedskating, women's wrestling and weightlifting -- each athlete with one goal.

"My ultimate goal is to make it to the 2012 Olmypics and be a World Champion," says Manuel Lopez, also a boxer. And just about every athlete here shares that sentiment.

To reach that goal, more than 100 resident athletes train at the USOEC. It's one of only four Olympic training centers in the entire country, and the only one to offer its athletes an education, too.

"There's no other program like this in the country, where you can go to school and train at a high level," says Kyle Carr, a speedskater at the USOEC.

Athletes here also attend Northern Michigan University or the local high school. Both the federal government and U.S. Olympic Committee help foot the tuition bill.

"I always excuse the academic part of it," says Dennis Hall, head coach of the Greco-Roman wrestling team. "If a guy can't do something because of academics, I'm fine with that."

That funding means the training center is under pressure to live up to its billing, and pump out the world's best.

"Since I've been here at the USOEC, probably over 200 National Champions," legendary boxing coach Al Mitchell lists off. "Nine Olympians, and six of them are World professional champs."

He has been at the USOEC since it first began in 1989. Despite those accomplishments, he says his legacy, and the legacy of the center, is far more profound than the athletic accolades of its residents.

"It's about what are they doing 10 years from now," he says. "Do they have a successful life? That's what it's all about."

And the athletes at the USOEC share that belief. In an athletic dome larger than an acre, they say they have a chance to grow not just as Olympic hopefuls, but as adults.