On the Brink: Husker Associate Head Coach Sees Hope

Huskers Join No. 1 Team in Iowa City Regional

Nebraska Second at Big Ten Championships

Randy York N-Sider

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On the brink can be a catchy, if not a positive expression, especially if you’re on the brink of lasting prosperity. On the brink can also be a negative connotation, if you’re on the brink of bankruptcy with nowhere to turn.

In her first season as associate head coach for Nebraska women's gymnastics after spending her first four years as an assistant, Heather Brink understands the ups and downs of collegiate gymnastics. That enables Brink – Nebraska’s first-ever NCAA individual female all-around champion – to see hope where others might see failure. For Heather, “on the brink” is a positive view from someone who’s experienced her chosen sport at the highest national level.

“I remember my senior year at Nebraska in 2000 when we lost the Big 12 team championship by .025 of a point at Iowa State,” Brink told me last Saturday after the Huskers finished second to Michigan in the Big Ten Conference Championships at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

In 2000, “we lost the conference, but won regionals and went on to the highest we’ve ever finished in our NCAA Championship history,” Brink said. “We made the Super Six and finished fourth at nationals (behind UCLA, Utah and Georgia and ahead of Alabama and Michigan)."

Sophomore Danielle Breen set career highs with a 39.500 in all-around, 9.90 on vault and 9.90 on uneven bars.

Huskers Apply What They Learn, Use Conference Experience as Motivation

With that history lesson, Brink delivered a message to a young Husker team that includes six freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. “Before the final scores were even announced,” she said, “I told all of our girls to use the conference experience as motivation.

“When you come out of certain situations, apply what you’ve learned,” Brink said. “It’s not like we did anything terrible. We can fix what we missed and come back. We have a short period of time left, so I challenged everybody to go back in the gym, motivate yourself and stay focused on the overall goal, which hasn’t changed.”

That goal, of course, is to be one of the top two regional finishers in Iowa City on Saturday, April 2, so the Huskers can be one of the 12 qualifiers for the NCAA Semifinals April 15 and then compete in the Super Six Finals April 16 in Fort Worth, Texas.

“We missed our goal to win the Big Ten, but I’m proud of the way we fought,” Brink said. “We could have given up from the very first event, but our kids fought all the way back and had the lead until Michigan won the meet on floor, their final and best event.”

Honda Award Winner 'Messed Up' in Big 12, But Led Huskers in the Super Six

Even though she didn’t share a certain fact in her historic remembrance of Nebraska’s Operation Bounce Back from Big 12 disappointment to national prominence, Heather Brink identified one person who stumbled in Ames 16 years ago, then helped her team win the NCAA Regional in Tucson and finish fourth nationally in Boise, Idaho.

“When we lost to Iowa State, I messed up on bars, and it cost us the conference,” Brink said without being asked. “We came back. Things happen. Everybody makes mistakes. If we never made mistakes, we’d never grow or learn anything.”

Dissatisfaction is intrinsic to the competitive process. The Huskers beat Michigan a couple weeks before the Wolverines won Saturday’s Big Ten Championship. On Saturday, Nebraska also beat Minnesota, which won the Big Ten regular-season conference championship.

The only way to advance after a semi-negative experience is to “use it as motivation, get back in the gym, get the right numbers under the event and keep going,” Brink said.

Sophomore Grace Williams won her seventh balance beam title of the season and the ninth of her career.

Big Ten Meet Reminded Kendig of a Similar Husker Experience 16 Years Ago

Nebraska Coach Dan Kendigalso envisions measureable gain from Saturday’s pain. Nebraska’s longtime head coach, in fact, was the one who brought up Brink’s student-athlete experience from 16 years ago. Kendig points out that Brink rebounded so well to adversity that she was named the 2000 Honda Award winner as the nation’s top female gymnast.

“Even though we didn’t start well Saturday, I couldn’t be prouder of what we did,” Kendig said. “The fight that we had after the first event was really encouraging going forward, and that’s what I told the team while we were waiting for the official scores.

“You can dwell on what we didn’t do right or dwell on what we did do right,” Kendig said. “The things we didn’t do right are fixable. The focus was on the battle and we did not give up. We fought hard and had a great day on vault. We tied for the best vault scores of the year and went on to tie for our best uneven bars scores of the year, too. Bottom line, our kids never gave up and that’s what I’m hanging my hat on.”

Nebraska gymnasts learned how “you can get kicked and knocked down, but it’s not about how many times you fall; it’s about how many times you get back up,” Kendig said. “We’ve been resilient all year. The whole experience Saturday reminded me of Heather’s senior year when we didn’t win conference, but won regional and finished fourth in the Super Six Finals."

Freshman all-arounder Sienna Crouse set new career highs with a 9.875 on floor exercise and 9.90 on bars.

Nebraska’s Young, Small Team Brings Energy and Does Not Die Competitively

“It was a three-dog race coming in here Saturday and we finished second,” Kendig surmised. “You know what Ricky Bobby (NASCAR driver portrayed by Will Ferrell) said about second place in the movie Talladega Nights – it means ‘we’re the first loser.’ I don’t feel like we’re a loser, and no one on our team should feel that way either. We fought with great effort and I’m proud of our team. I’m just sorry we couldn’t win a conference championship for our two seniors.

“We missed by a smidge,” Kendig said, holding up his right thumb and pointing finger with an outstretched arm. “We have a young team and a small team, but they definitely bring energy and they don’t die competitively. They stay true to what we do.”

A minute later, Kendig, a Kentucky graduate, learned that his alma mater had just lost a second-round game in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. “I’m not going to let anything ruin my day,” he said with a forced smile. “Our kids fought hard. I know they’ll bounce back.”

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