SPORTS

I.•

Lucky Break

10-year-old Jamie Hertza would not allow a little bone
to keep him from a state gymnastics championship.

RICHARD PEARL

Special to The Jewish News

Photos by Glenn Triest

T

alk about getting
the "breaks."
Jamie Hertza got
his just three weeks
before the Michigan
state gymnastics champion-
ships earlier this year, but it
wasn't the kind the 10-year-
old gymnast wanted.
"It was in my right hand,
just below the little finger,"
Jamie recalled of the injury
that almost put him out of the
meet. He couldn't remember
exactly how he did it. Most
likely he jammed it, he said.
At the time, he told his
parents, "It's all right, don't
worry about it." But two days
later, his hand was swollen
and his mother, Diane, took
him to the hospital, where a
flexible cast was put on.
For the next three weeks,
Jamie worked on strengthen-
ing his upper body, stomach
and legs. Then, March 14-16,
he competed in the annual
state meet at the University
of Michigan — and became
the Class 3 champion,
beating out older kids in the
10-to-12-year-old division,
broken hand notwith-
standing.
He won gold medals in the
high bar, parallel bar, floor ex-
ercise, pommel horse and still
rings and took the bronze in
the vault. His 45.3 points
gained him the best-in-state
overall medal, as well.
It was the second con-
secutive championship for the
Hillel Day School fourth-
grader, who last year won the
Class 4 (ages 7-9) state title.
"I only worked out in my
various exercises two days
before the meet. I told myself,
`Don't listen to the crowd.' But
I didn't think I'd get first
place," said Jamie, who said

Jamie Hertza won the 1992 Class 3 State Gymnastics Championship (ages 10 to 12) with a broken hand.

he's learned things from his
injuries.
Earlier last year, he tripped
at home and hit his head,
opening up a five-stitch
wound. At a meet the follow-
ing week, "I concentrated
more on my head than on
what I was doing and didn't
do too well. I learned to focus
on what I was doing."
If young Hertza keeps up
what he's doing, says his
coach, Gregory Astrakhan of
Blake's Gym in Warren,
Jamie could qualify next year
for the United States Gym-
nastics Federation's junior na-
tional meet.
"Jamie prefers work, not
talking," said the coach. "He
likes when he achieves some-
thing difficult. If he keeps his
attitude, if he keeps working
hard like he did, I think he
will do well in the nationals."
Jamie followed his older
brother Jeremy into the sport
of gymnastics. "Both kids
seem to be into athletics''
said father Ron, noting that

Jeremy, a freshman at West
Bloomfield High School this
year, won the school's "Varsi-
ty Diver of the Year award
after placing 16th in the state
meet in his first year of
diving.
Jamie says his big brother
has been his inspiration. "I
look up to him and I especial-
ly watched how he did in the

Jamie has won
consecutive state
titles.

Maccabi Games," said Jamie,
recalling the 1990 competi-
tion in Detroit that was
hosted by the Jewish Com-
munity Center. Jeremy was
injured but still competed in
gymnastics.
But "I don't think, 'Hey, I'm
going to beat my brother to-
day,' " Jamie said. "I think,
`Hey, I'm going to do the best
I can.' "
The boys' interest in the

demanding sport began early.
Jeremy was born premature-
ly and, to help him grow
stronger and learn coordina-
tion, Diane took him to a
mother-toddler program of-
fered at Steve Whitlock's gym
in Bloomfield when Jeremy
was 3.
Jamie wanted to emulate
his big brother, so, when he
became 3, Diane took him,
too. And both boys showed
such aptitude for gymnastics
that the instructors encourag-
ed Diane to get them more
training.
There was a problem,
however. "It's not what you'd
call a 'Jewish sport, " said
Diane. "I couldn't ask our
Jewish friends who to see,
what gym to go to." Luckily,
the boy's first coach, Sheryl
Kent Schmidt, recommended
Kevin Watson, who's now
with U-M, and eventually the
boys ended up at Blake's.
Does she worry about the
boys getting hurt? "I have
fears of that all the time," she

admitted. "That's why Jewish
parents don't let their kids do
these things (gymnastics).
That goes through my mind
many times.
"The boys have made a
longtime commitment to it.
They've had to give up their
childhood — no Little League,
not time for much else but
gymnastics," she said. "I tell
them, 'You should be with
other kids, playing outside,
riding bikes? But this is all
they want."
"We want to know how they
feel about the rigorous
schedule the gymnastics calls
for," said Ron Hertza. "And
we encourage them that
schoolwork is first." But the
parents haven't had to worry
— both boys are honor roll
students.
The typical routine for the
boys finds them working out
three to four hours a day, six
days a week. Three of the
nights are four-hour sessions,
meaning the boys don't get
home until 10:15 or so.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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