Shannon Miller: My Child, My Hero by Claudia Miller

[irichluck21]

Yeah all the red flags.

Yikes. Nunno WAS legit crazy.

 

[rlayt]

He seemed fairly typical for those times when we lived through it. I’m glad coaches are learning better ways.

 

[Matilda23]

What was Steve’s background in gymnastics, was he a gymnast?

 

[rlayt]

Wasn’t he just a guy with a college sports degree who jumped into it? None of his other gymnasts made a mark. Jenny Thompson and the girl adopted from Korea?

Didn’t Kerri Strug’s parents pull her from his gym for making her compete with a torn muscle?

 

[QuietColours]

I can find very little about him from before the early 90s even. I can't find his college degrees or really anything beyond an interview that says he's from NY and the fact he knew Bart Conner well enough to be renting space in his gym when Shannon had to switch from Jerry's gym and he was well enough known he was able to go on the training trip to the USSR as a coach without an athlete. He seems to have had quite a few connections in the gymnastics world prior to Shannon's success, but according to the book she seems to have definitely been his first top gymnast.

How 'home grown' she was will depend on your take--it sounds like she was roughly working today's level 8-9 when she transferred. I don't think it's unfair to say that Jerry was responsible for her basics, but she was 9ish? when she went to him, so she'd been training with him for 5-7 years by Barcelona. That's a lot of time for him to have been refining her technique, and it sounds like Peggy was hired pretty much explicitly to refine Shannon's compulsories, with success.

 

[RedBirdie]

Heather Brink was a Nunno gymnast.

I don't think any of his other elites were homegrown. IIRC, all those little juniors he had following Barcelona were transfers.

ETA: I swear Nunno coached at Karolyis in the 1980s. But maybe I'm wrong.

 

[flappergirl]

Heather Brink was a Nunno gymnast.

I don't think any of his other elites were homegrown. IIRC, all those little juniors he had following Barcelona were transfers.

ETA: I swear Nunno coached at Karolyis in the 1980s. But maybe I'm wrong.

I remember hearing that Nunno coached at Karolyi’s and that he modeled his coaching after him and the Soviets.

 

[MaryClare]

Heather Brink was a Nunno gymnast.

I don't think any of his other elites were homegrown. IIRC, all those little juniors he had following Barcelona were transfers.

ETA: I swear Nunno coached at Karolyis in the 1980s. But maybe I'm wrong.

Yes he did coach at Karolyis but it can’t have been for very long when you consider the timeline of them opening their gym and Nunno beginning to coach Shannon in Oklahoma

 

[MaryClare]

I remember hearing that Nunno coached at Karolyi’s and that he modeled his coaching after him and the Soviets.

It makes me laugh how western gymnastics coaches of that era would refer to things as “Soviet” or even broader “eastern bloc” as if every coach did everything the same way

I am imagining myself going back to work on Monday and my boss saying “right guys, I spent a month at a summer camp in the Midwest and now I am going to model myself on the American coaches”

 

[irichluck21]

I remember reading an article that Nunno was a gymnast but I don't think he got too far with it, didn't do NCAA or anything elite.

 

[flappergirl]

It makes me laugh how western gymnastics coaches of that era would refer to things as “Soviet” or even broader “eastern bloc” as if every coach did everything the same way

I am imagining myself going back to work on Monday and my boss saying “right guys, I spent a month at a summer camp in the Midwest and now I am going to model myself on the American coaches”

Yeah, you know so much more about the reality of gymnastics, even in the US. But, I was thinking of the system in place at whatever gym, Steve Nunno visited, have no idea about the what he actually learned

 

[MaryClare]

Yeah, you know so much more about the reality of gymnastics, even in the US. But, I was thinking of the system in place at whatever gym, Steve Nunno visited, have no idea about the what he actually learned

In the 80s, the only gym that was open to receiving western coaches and gymnasts was Dinamo in Moscow. Mikhail Voronin, who was if you like, gymnastics’ oligarch was director at the time and would go on to convert the club into his own private enterprise which it remains today. Back in the 80s he saw a money spinner, overseas coaches would come over, sometimes with their athletes and pay big money to attend a clinic for a week or 2. Sometimes, if nothing particularly important was going on at round lake, they’d get to watch national team training too.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

That's just jogged my memory, I recall reading somewhere about Terry Bartlett's (GB Olympian 84, 88 and 92) experience of a Moscow camp in the 80s. It must've been Dinamo. He was saying the Soviet facilities were so far in advance of what was available in the UK at the time.

 

[Sasha]

The more I read about Nunno, the overarching theme is, "He got angry a lot, so Shannon had to learn to disregard that. And he didn't believe in following the guidelines on injuries, so we all just had to adjust to the idea she would be in pain most of the time because you had to do what Steve said."

I remember watching them at the 2000 Olympic Trials, when she was having trouble with her leg/foot on vault. Steve was nattering non-stop at Shannon and Shannon just looked like she was ignoring him. Maybe she was just particularly in her bubble at that moment, but I do wonder if she just learned to tune him out. I'm not sure how else a person could spend that much time with him without losing their mind.

 

[Sasha]

It makes me laugh how western gymnastics coaches of that era would refer to things as “Soviet” or even broader “eastern bloc” as if every coach did everything the same way

I am imagining myself going back to work on Monday and my boss saying “right guys, I spent a month at a summer camp in the Midwest and now I am going to model myself on the American coaches”

Right. American-style coaching. Like Geddart, or Boorman, or Hill. Y'know.

 

[QuietColours]

In the 80s, the only gym that was open to receiving western coaches and gymnasts was Dinamo in Moscow. Mikhail Voronin, who was if you like, gymnastics’ oligarch was director at the time and would go on to convert the club into his own private enterprise which it remains today. Back in the 80s he saw a money spinner, overseas coaches would come over, sometimes with their athletes and pay big money to attend a clinic for a week or 2. Sometimes, if nothing particularly important was going on at round lake, they’d get to watch national team training too.

Not knowing how Dinamo is pronounced, I wonder if that's where Nunno got the idea to name his gym Dynamo

 

[MaryClare]

Not knowing how Dinamo is pronounced, I wonder if that's where Nunno got the idea to name his gym Dynamo

There are a few gyms around the world named after Dinamo. Including Kelly Sim’s gym in Southampton. The spelling and pronunciations vary in different countries, but in Russia it’s DEE-na-mo

 

[MaryClare]

That's just jogged my memory, I recall reading somewhere about Terry Bartlett's (GB Olympian 84, 88 and 92) experience of a Moscow camp in the 80s. It must've been Dinamo. He was saying the Soviet facilities were so far in advance of what was available in the UK at the time.

Dinamo was and still is one of the largest and best training facilities in Russia. It has been upgraded in recent years, but mostly cosmetic and wear and tear upgrades as it’s always been so ahead of its time. It would still be considerably larger and better than any gym I’ve been to the UK.

 

[Rebel]

Not knowing how Dinamo is pronounced, I wonder if that's where Nunno got the idea to name his gym Dynamo

Yes - I remember reading exactly that many years ago. He wanted to model his program after theirs.

 

[QuietColours]

Chapter Six: Taking on the Big Guns

• Came in third at American Cup. She hit well and came in third; parents and Steve was disappointed she was 2-pered out of finals; Shannon was less upset because she'd had a good meet
• Steve thought Shannon was on the team for a dual meet with Romania, then learned she had just been invited to via for a spot on the team. Steve was furious, thinking she'd earned a spot by her results at recent meets, and was especially unhappy that the trial was a the Karolyi ranch, giving a home advantage to the five Karolyi athletes
• Shannon came in second to Kerri Strug, currently with the Karolyis, to make the team
• At the dual meet, Shannan had a mediocre vault and great bars, beam, and floor. She tied with Bontas for 1st on beam and with Hilary Grivith for 3rd AA. Kim won, a Romanian was second
• Championships:
  • Portion of scores would carry over to World Trials
  • Compulsories were great
  • Optionals: Few bobbles on floor, fell on the jam on bars–hadn't trained it until recently because of the hamstring, great beam
  • Finished 7th
• Training was harder than ever–only one in the gym training for trials, missing the summer experiences. Then Erica Stokes moved from the Karolyis to Dynamo. She hadn't competed at Nationals because of an injury and Karolyi wasn't willing to petition her to Trials. It was great for Shannon to have a teammate, and Steve worked to petition Erica
• When a judge arrived to evaluate Erica, she looked great. But Shannon was showing the stress of training at a very high level for a very long time and made many mistakes in front of her. She couldn't be unqualified for Trials, but Steve was furious. When Claudia came to pick up Shannon, the judge told her that she knew Shannon could do better and she was sure Shannon would turn it on for Trials.
• Trials:
  • Shannon had to be in the top 6 to earn a spot and Erica had to be in the top 4, since she was petitioning
  • In compulsories, Erica was 3 and Shannon was 4
  • For Optionals, everything went one at a time, dragging the meet out. After two events they broke for dinner then resumed, lots of down time between routines for the athletes
  • Shannon and Erica both did well on vault, bars, and beam and were in 4th and 5th respectively going into floor
  • Steve decided to take out some of Shannon's difficulty so she would get a lower score and Erica would pass her. He discussed with Paul Ziert and Jake Fie, who both counseled against it. He thought Shannon would understand. She didn't, but she didn't say anything, just looked at him. He decided to not go through with it
  • Shannon did a great floor and finished in 4th (with scores from both competitions factored in)
  • Erica fell twice. She finished 6th, too low to make the team
• School had started, but Steve convinced Shannon she needed to be in the gym instead, so Ron just picked up her schoolwork for her. She was a freshman in high school and did her best to keep up, because she needed the grades for a good college (and to keep up with Tessa)
• Worlds
  • Shannon was recovered from burnout
  • Format for compulsories was two gymnasts from each country in each session. Kerri and Hilary were in the first session, Kim and Betty in the second, and Shannon and Michelle Campi in the third. Shannon was thrilled to get the most favorable session. Parents wondered why Kim and Betty were in the second–maybe because the timing of it meant they'd have the biggest crowd? Felt bad about these thoughts
  • Claudia went to Worlds–was looking forward to attending Congress
  • Shannon was 2nd after compulsories, tied with Bontas and behind Boginskaya
  • Shannon finished 4th overall after Optionals and was the top American. Only American to qualify for all event finals. US won Silver
  • AA was sobering–scores tightened up and Shannon performed well but came in 6th
  • Kim won the meet, so no one noticed Shannon had done well too
  • Shannon hit well in vault finals but didn't medal. Tied Gutsu for silver on bars. Took steps on her beam dismount and didn't medal. Got 4th on floor
  • Shannon hit all her routines across the competition, competing in every single part of the competition
• Shannon was tired but happy when she got home until reality of school hit. Silver medals didn't get her homework waivers. But she was glad to be back in school with friends and doing something other than gymnastics
• Was surprised to have a B in geometry–she'd gotten the answers correct. Teacher said it was because she had to write out the homework problem on the page before working it and she didn't. She replied she hadn't been in class when he told them the policy and didn't know–he said it was her responsibility to find out what was required. Ron talked to the teacher, but the grade stood. It was Shannon's only B in high school
• Would do several competitions in Nov and Dec; would have to be gone Thanksgiving weekend. But Erica Stokes had also been invited to the Swiss cup, the Arthur Grander Memorial, and the DTB Cup, so they'd be traveling together. It was originally supposed to be Karolyi gymnasts, but Bela had declined last minute and Shannon and Erica were invited
• Three days before leaving, Erica decided she didn't want to go. Steve couldn't believe it, but she wouldn't change her mind. It was too late to replace her. Shannon was going by herself
• Swiss Cup
  • Mixed pairs
  • Shannon's teammate was Scott Keswick
  • Won gold, Shannon's first 10
  • Got to choose prizes from an assortment on a table–Shannon and Scott got first pick. They both picked out video cameras. Later, they discovered that tapes recorded in the European format couldn't be played on American VCRs.
  • Claudia decided to try to work out a trade, getting sent around JVC headquarters for months telling the story. Finally an American executive said they couldn't do a trade, but they'd send an American model anyway
  • About six months later they ran into Scott and talked about the cameras–she gave him the name of the executive she'd talked to. The executive later called them to verify his story, then he got a new camera too. The executive asked if there was anyone else she should know about
• Shannon doesn't pay attention to her scores, so her parents relied on Steve to bring home the actual results sheet
• Arthur Gander Memorial:
  • Won AA, 10 on beam, new AA record of 39.875. High AA score ever earned by an American gymnast
• DTB:
  • Shannon wanted to see the remains of the Berlin wall, but Steve said they were too far away (they were in Stuttgart)
  • Came 3rd AA to Milosovici and Gutsu
  • Took bronze on vault, silver on bars, and gold on floor
• When they returned, Erica had decided to quit gymnastics
• Had a nice Christmas
• Day after Christmas, went to San Antonio for a week with relatives. Steve never approved when they traveled, but they felt Shannon deserved breaks and took a week vacation twice a year. It helped keep Shannon from burning out