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NEWS BRIEFS
SAN FRANCISCO
Olympic torch
route cut short to
avoid crowds
The Olympic torch was rerouted
away from thousands of demon-
strators and spectators who crowd-
ed the city's waterfront yesterday
to witness the flame's symbolic
journey to the Beijing Games.
The first torchbearer took the
flame from a lantern brought to the
stage and held it aloft before run-
ning into a warehouse. A motor-
cycle escort departed, but the
B torchbearer was nowhere in sight.
Then officials drove the Olym-
pic torch about a mile inland and
handed it off to two runners away
from protesters and media.
BAGHDAD
p Off-target mortar
shells hit civilian
homes
Errant mortar shells slammed
into houses and a funeral tent
Wednesday, leaving three children
among the dead during clashes in
a Shiite militia stronghold under
siege by American and Iraqi forces
on the fifth anniversary of the U.S.
capture of the capital.
The fighting came as the U.S.
military announced the deaths of
five more soldiers. That raised the
number of American troop deaths
to 17since Sunday.
Many Iraqis said hopes that fol-
lowed the U.S.-led ouster of Sad-
dam Hussein have been quashed.
"On this day five years ago we
were dreaming of a bright future,
but now we know that our dream
has turned into a long nightmare,"
said Khalid Ibrahim, a 45-year-old
teacher from the mainly Sunni area
of Azamiyah
BRUCK
From Page 1A
Bruck, listening to her every word.
From gymnastics circuits to
cooperative games like the ball-
passing exercise, Bruck has used
creative methods to keep the stu-
dents active and engaged. She uses
her passion to make regular gym
classes more interesting.
"I try to incorporate our con-
ditioning program that we do (at
Michigan) with them, just a modi-
fied version," Bruck said.
A NATURAL TEACHER
Bruck, a co-captain, has a special
way of connecting with all kinds
of people. From teammates to stu-
dents, she forms easy relationships.
"Lindsey just has a natural abil-
ity to work well with the kids," said
Bonnie Pendleton, Bruck's cooper-
ating teacher at Pioneer. "She came
in with a brightsmile and was really
welcoming to the kids. They gravi-
tated to her right away."
Pendleton said Bruck's comfort
level with the students has been
impressive, pointing out that Bruck
quickly learned everyone's name.
The freshmen in her fitness class
appreciate the enthusiasm she
brings to the classroom and gym.
Even though the students may not
be excited about personal fitness,
they enjoy being around her.
"I just love getting sweaty at 8
a.m.," one freshman girl joked. "But
seriously, she's cool, fun and enthu-
siastic."
Bruck tested her energy and
patience earlier this winter, teach-
ing physical education classes at
Northside ElementaryinAnnArbor
until about three weeks ago.
Her former students came to
meets to watch Bruck compete for
Michigan this season. After meets,
you could easily locate her - she was
the one surrounded by little kids
waitingto take pictures with her.
"She's wonderful with children,"
Michigan coach Bev Plocki said.
"They love her, they respect her,
and they listen to her. If you can
find a group of kids that respect
you enough to actually listen to you,
that's remarkable."
Bruck has coached at Plocki's
summer gymnastics camps the past
few summers, working with girls
and boys aged 7 to 17.
And due to an unfortunate cir-
cumstance, she gained some teach-
ing experience last year, too.
A SIDELINE SNAPSHOT
Last year, Bruck got a preview of
coaching college gymnastics - her
career goal - after suffering an
Achilles injury in the season-open-
ing meet at West Virginia. She was
forced to limit her contributions to
the.sidelines.
"It was a really difficult year for
us in terms of injuries, and it was
one of our finest years as a coach-
ing staff in terms of keeping things
afloat," Plocki said. "I think she
learned a lot from last year because
of the perspective she was able to
have - kind of a student-coaching
type of a role."
Bruck's name might not have been
on the officialcoachingroster, but she
still made an impact. Bruck was like a
coach, giving tips to gymnasts during
meets and one-on-one instruction to
help teammates improve.
"She just kept a great attitude, a
great vibe and she never showed it
when she was hurting inside because
she wanted to be out there so bad,"
sophomore Jordan Sexton said.
Bruck had surgery after the inju-
ry and rehabilitated duringthe sea-
son and summer. Though she knew
in her heart she wanted to compete
again as a Wolverine, she was also
aware that the coaching staff had
given away all of its scholarships for
the 2008 season.
The Marietta, N.Y, native had
to make a tough decision - to end
her career or come back for a fifth
year as a walk-on and pay full out-
of-state tuition.
BOUNCING BACK
With loans and financial sup-
port from her mother and grand-
father, the two-time All-American
enrolled at Michigan for a final year
and another chance to compete
alongside her other "family."
The fifth-ranked Wolverines
have relied on Bruck's leadership
in competition and in the gym. Her
natural ability to encourage oth-
ers and teach younger gymnasts
how to improve their sets has been
invaluable to this squad.
"Coming in as a freshman, I can't
imagine what this year would be like
without Bruck on the team," fresh-
man Kylee Botterman said. "She
was very inviting and just made us
feel welcome."
The teambonded fromthe startof
its season under what Plocki called
"tremendous leadership," and the
Wolverines climbed up the national
rankings throughout the season.
Bruck was one of Michigan's
two all-around gymnasts and has
competed in all four events in every
meet this season. Bruck won four
all-around titles, was named Big Ten
Gymnast of the Week three times
and set career-highs in vault (9.900)
and uneven bars (9.925) this season.
Following the Big Ten Champi-
onships on March 29, Bruck was
named Big Ten Gymnastof the Year.
When her name was announced,
her teammates screamed and gave
her high-fives and hugs.
"We wouldn't be where we are
right now without Lindsey," Plocki
said. "Her commitment, her passion
for the sport of gymnastics, what
she has done this year is an inspira-
tion to everyone else on ourteam."
FULL CIRCLE
Bruck has been taking steps to
reach her career goal of coaching
college gymnastics, which com-
bines her passion for the sport with
Thursday, April 10, 2008 - 3A
her desire to teach others.
"She would be a great collegiate
coach because having been a high
level student-athlete herself, she gets
it," Plocki said. "She would have the
right balance between knowing how
hard to push and when to back off"
Bruck plans to work at gymnas-
tics camps this summer and put
her name out there as she looks
for an assistant coaching job. She
won't know about open positions
until after Nationals, when coachei
decide to leave programs.
But as Bruck's final year spent
teaching and competing in Ann
Arbor comes to a close, she's figured
out her dream coaching job.
"Ultimately, I would love to end
up back here at Michigan," Bruck
said. "I remember turning off of
94 onto State Street for the first
time, and it felt like I had been
here my whole life, like this was
my home."
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