Old Guard, New Blood See Better Days Ahead for Husker Gymnastics Program

No one’s talking Glory Road yet, but both the old guard and the new blood in the Nebraska men’s gymnastics program see a brighter future through the same set of binoculars.

Francis Allen, Nebraska’s head gymnastics coach for 40 years before announcing his retirement this spring, thinks his successor, Chuck  Chmelka, is the right person to bring the Huskers back into the top six programs in the country almost immediately.

A bit reluctant to put that kind of pressure on Chmelka, Allen still said: “I think you’re going to see Nebraska shoot right up there again, maybe even to the top six. We redshirted two all-arounders this year, and they’re going to be good. They’re kids who can fill in all those voids (that led to a ninth-place national finish in the 2009 season).”

Allen said Chmelka  “knows all the ins and outs” of the program. “He was here when Nebraska was in its heyday (winning eight NCAA championships and finishing national runner-up seven times),” Allen said. “Chuck was here for the glory years. He was a graduate assistant coach and then  an assistant coach. He led the Nebraska Gymnastics Club team, and he was a national junior coach all around the world. This (head coaching job) is a natural fit for him, for me, and for Nebraska.”

Chmelka said his No. 1 goal in rebuilding Nebraska’s program is to target blue-chip recruits who can compete not only nationally, but also on the world stage like his long-time friend and new top assistant coach Jim Hartung did.

Hartung, a four-year Husker assistant coach, two-time Olympian and a pivotal performer on the United States’ 1984 gold medal men’s team, said he likes the “new direction” that Chmelka plans to take the Husker  program.

“Chuck has some new ideas and hopefully, I have some new ideas as well to bring this program back to where it needs to be again,” Hartung said.

Chmelka and Hartung remember vividly how the Huskers once dominated the sport of men’s gymnastics. They both believe they know how it happened before and how it can happen again.

“It all depends on how we build on team  unity,” Chmelka said. “If everyone has the same goal, the same drive and the same work ethic, everything will fall into place. We’re excited about where we want to go, and we’re determined to improve immediately.”

In a 17-year stretch from 1979 to 1995, Nebraska finished either first or second at the NCAA meet 15 times. The Huskers’ last national title in gymnastics was 1994.