Tribulations on Way to Trials : Burbank Gymnast Stelter Sticks to His Dream of Qualifying for the Olympic Team

Asmattering of tiny holes--the result of an addiction to darts--speckled a wall of Bob Stelter’s dormitory room. The damage was duly noted by University of Nebraska authorities and Stelter was charged a nominal fee for repairs.

That episode, which occurred four years ago, just about covers the extent of Stelter’s college shenanigans.

Instead of nursing post-party headaches, Stelter, an All-American gymnast from Burbank, uses Saturday mornings to hone his routines. He doesn’t hang out in bars, he hangs from them. Although Stelter exhausted his collegiate eligibility this season, he still trains with the Cornhuskers and hopes to make the 1992 U.S. Olympic team.

“He’s just an all-around good boy,” Nebraska Coach Francis Allen said. “It’s nice when you’ve got to look at a guy every damn day and he’s got a smile on his face.”

But even model citizens can be defiant. Stelter, for instance, pays little heed to gravity. Teammates nicknamed him “Air Bob,” in reference to his leaping ability. Stelter is trying to perfect a phenomenal move called a “double double,” a double back flip with two 360-degree twists. He has executed the trick in practice and once in competition.

Three weeks ago, Air Bob made the most of some air time. Despite nagging tendinitis in both shoulders, Stelter scored a 9.875 to win the floor event title in the nationally televised U.S. Gymnastic Federation championships in Denver. He finished 13th in the all-around competition, however, barely missing a berth on the Senior National team, composed of the top 12 finishers. He placed 15th in the USGF championships last year.

Stelter, a 1986 Burroughs High graduate, placed fourth in the all-around in the 1989 and ’90 NCAA championships. The top six finishers are named All-Americans. He was also an All-American in the vault as a sophomore.

To qualify for the Olympic Trials, Stelter must secure a berth on the Senior National team. He will have another chance to make the squad at the Winter Nationals in early December.

“I wasn’t expecting to make the team,” Stelter said after the recent competition. “You can’t really expect to be a shoo-in.”

Stelter might modestly point out his limitations, but others have the utmost confidence in his abilities. International Gymnast magazine named him the MVP of Nebraska’s NCAA championship team this year.

“I would almost have to say that Bob is really going to do something,” Allen said. “You’re going to see him in the top six or eight at Winter Nationals.”

Allen knows that rapid, dramatic improvements are within Stelter’s reach. Five years on the Junior National team had polished Stelter’s tumbling skills, but, when he arrived at Nebraska, he was relatively green on the pommel horse, a favorite event of Allen’s. Stelter didn’t concentrate much on the event while at Burroughs and his muscular legs appeared to be too heavy to lug through a routine.

“When you line gymnasts up, you look at their bodies and say he can do the pommel horse, he can’t,” Allen said. “(Bob’s the type) who falls in the can’t category.”

Once again, Stelter was defiant. He concentrated on making strides in the event and did.

“When I watched the guys every day, it helped tremendously,” he said. This season, Stelter--heavy legs and all--and two Cornhusker teammates were among the top six collegiate gymnasts in the pommel horse.

In the working world, Stelter might be considered the consummate company man, diligent to a fault. His workouts are extensive and organized. Sure, he twice has narrowly missed making the Senior National team, but it has not doused his dedication.

“He is such a team player,” former Junior National and Nebraska teammate Patrick Kirksey said. “We know he’s got to be extremely frustrated but he continues to come into the gym and work out really hard. All these setbacks don’t daunt his dream of making the Olympic team. He’s very silent and stoic about his frustrations.”

Kirksey and Stelter, roommates as freshmen, are close friends who had similar successes at Nebraska. But unlike Stelter, Kirksey has cracked the inner circle of the gymnastic elite. That was accomplished with a third-place performance in the 1988 Winter National meet.

As a result, Kirksey has enjoyed celebrity status among gymnastic aficionados. He garnered even more attention as a member of the U.S. team that competed in the 1989 world championships.

Stelter, Kirksey said, is talented enough to share the spotlight. Instead, he toils in relative anonymity, in the periphery of the elite.

“I don’t know why Bob is not in there with me because I think that he and I are very equal in our gymnastics potential,” Kirksey said. “He’s an extremely talented gymnast.

“It seems like this has happened to Bob a lot. He has been on the cutting edge of being a prominent gymnast, being in the public eye.”

Stelter said he is not distressed or unduly frustrated by the situation. “I don’t let it bother me that much,” he said. “If I did, then I’d probably just throw in the towel.”

Although Stelter had planned to attend UCLA since childhood, he was not offered one of two available scholarships. Bruin Coach Art Shurlock concedes that he probably underestimated Stelter.

“I knew he was going to be outstanding on floor exercise and vaulting but I didn’t know he’d go as far in other events,” Shurlock said.

Stelter received offers from several schools, including Iowa, Minnesota, and Arizona, but he became sold on Nebraska after a recruiting trip to Lincoln.

“I considered Nebraska but it wasn’t my highest choice,” he said. “By the time I left, I just went through a complete reversal. There was a lot of good team spirit and all the people are real supportive. After that trip, I told my dad that even if the coach from UCLA had called and offered me a full ride, I wouldn’t have accepted it.”

Although he enjoys the rural surroundings in Lincoln, Stelter still does his share of California dreaming. The walls of his duplex reflect his infatuation with Corvettes. When he’s back in Los Angeles, he spends the bulk of his time basking in the sun and deep-sea fishing. Then there is his budding film career. Working as a stuntman, Stelter earned $300 for a flip in “Twilight Zone: The Movie.”

But he knows his path to recognition doesn’t run through Hollywood. He’s concerned with the Senior National team.

“Once you get on the team, you’ve accomplished the hardest part,” he said. “You’ve established a reputation for yourself. People know who you are and what you can do.”