Dehr to be the best

Never expected to succeed, Tim Dehr has quietly risen through the ranks

By Rohit Bhave - Daily Sports Writer

Michigan senior Tim Dehr has little in common with your typical collegiate golden boy. No one had predicted four Heisman trophies for him, or perhaps more appropriately, four Olympic medals.

In fact, when Dehr transferred to Michigan after a semester at Western Michigan, few predicted that the Burr Ridge, Ill. native would even earn a spot on the Michigan men's gymnastics team.

Dehr originally transferred after the Broncos dropped men's gymnastics from their athletic calendar. Away from the sport for almost an entire year, he enlisted the help of a Kalamazoo club coach to help him find a program where he could compete.

Michigan men's gymnastics coach Kurt Golder heard about Dehr, and decided to give him a chance to walk onto the team. But he had yet to evaluate Dehr's recruiting tape. By the time Golder was able to judge Dehr's prior performance, it was too late for the coach to change his mind; Dehr was already enrolled at Michigan.

"After viewing his recruiting tape, I called his father and frankly informed him that he had a long way to go, and that I could not guarantee him that (Tim) would ever compete for the University of Michigan," recalled Golder.

At the time, Michigan was not the collegiate gymnastics juggernaut that it is now; the year before Golder was hired, the Wolverine tumblers bumbled to an 0-16 record.

Yet, despite Michigan's lack of talent, Golder found very little reason to believe that Dehr could ever compete, purely based on his recruiting tape.

What the National Championship coach could not see on the videocassette were Dehr's incredible intangibles - a voracious work ethic and an unshakable self-confidence. Dehr's only gymnastics-related asset at the time was his ability to judge his own talent - in the context of Big Ten gymnastics, it was vastly deficient.

The Long Road:

So the Illinois native set to work in the gym, grinding out progress, one excruciating step at a time. He watched as a talent-less, spirit-less Michigan program was transformed in front of his eyes with the additions of ueber-recruits Justin Toman and Kevin Roulston. Dehr also realized that Golder would not only recruit top talent, he would teach and inspire it as well.

What the 1999 All-American Scholar could not have conceived was his role in Michigan's first-ever national championship. Amidst Michigan's collection of All-American talent, it would be the former walk-on, Tim Dehr, who would raise his hand for the first event of the team finals, the pommel horse. And he hit, scoring a 9.500.

The outcome of the meet for the Wolverines was essentially a foregone conclusion after Dehr's resounding success. What could stop them? College Gymnastics' team of destiny in 1999 would conquer the NCAA Finals and assume its throne as the sport's king. And it was the lightly-regarded Dehr who led the charge to excellence.

Golder loves to describe the conversation he had with a friend regarding Dehr's role in the National Championship.

"My friend could simply tell (we would win the national championship) by the look in (Dehr's) eye before the event," Golder said.

Dehr received word of his opening role in the NCAA Finals less than 24 hours before the event.

However, instead of feeling anxiety, the vault and pommel horse specialist took the opportunity as an honor.

"I was at my peak," recalled the senior, "so there was no reason to worry about missing (my routine)."

Much of his quiet confidence is derived from his work ethic; Dehr repeats his routine in practice until he is satisfied with its effectiveness. His attitude can be attributed to the lessons his father, Pete, taught him. But perhaps most important, Dehr's radical improvement can also be traced to his urgent desire to compete at the college level. He knew that if he could not make the Michigan gymnastics team, his days of competitive gymnastics were essentially over.

"I realized that I had to improve to compete," Dehr said. "I was starting at the bottom, and I was working my way up."

His ascent also stemmed from his resilience. "I used my mistakes as learning tools," he said.

The Days After:

What did the gymnast do following Michigan's successful season? He dedicated his summer in Ann Arbor to the pommel horse. Having witnessed Dehr's workouts before the start of the 2000 season, junior captain Justin Toman excitedly predicted a breakthrough performance for his unsung teammate.

This year, Dehr delivered in his first home meet against Iowa. He scored a 9.85, part of Michigan's school record of 39.1 on the pommel horse.

Dehr experienced another honor a few weeks later when he was selected to compete in the annual Winter Cup in Las Vegas. Normally reserved for those who have competed on the United States National team, Dehr and junior teammate Kenny Keener were chosen as specialists based on videotapes of their recent performances.

Dehr will perform on the pommel horse, while Keener will compete on the rings.

What makes Dehr's athletic achievements so impressive is that he accomplished them while being named a Collegiate Gymnastics Association Academic All-American in 1999.

In fact, he lists his two-term appointment to the Dean's list last year as his greatest achievement at Michigan.

Dehr's daily practices from 2 to 6 at the Intramural Building take a toll on him. As an athlete, he does not have the luxury of writing term papers the weekend before they are due - he may have a meet in Iowa that Saturday. Nor can he take a mid-day nap to recover from his early-morning classes.

Rather, the Sports Management and Communications major must discipline himself to finish his work on a precisely managed schedule.

The fact that academic success like Dehr's is not uncommon on the Michigan gymnastics team speaks to Golder's success as a recruiter of quality student-athletes. An astounding nine Michigan gymnasts received some sort of academic honor in 1999.

Although his double-duty as an athlete and a scholar admittedly leaves him with little time for himself, Dehr regrets none of it. He describes his closely-knit team as family; he cherishes his friendships on the team.

Many other successful Michigan athletes have been underestimated upon their arrival at school.

Often, the heart of the athlete was not apparent until they actually set foot in practice. If projected athletic ability was the lone arbiter of future success, the Michigan athletic community would be devoid of several stars.

Somewhere, Kurt Golder is thanking his lucky stars that he did not receive Tim Dehr's recruiting tape until it was too late. Michigan would be without a gentleman, an athlete and a scholar.

KIMITSU YOGACHI/Daily

From a shaky position as a walk-on, Tim Dehr has risen through the ranks of Michigan men's gymnastics to become a leader on the team.