Hall of Fame Profile: Shelby Root
10/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Oct. 19, 2005
Oct. 19 -- Hall of Fame Profile: Cathy Wylie (Softball)
Oct. 20 -- Hall of Fame Profile: Shelby Root (Gymnastics)
Oct. 21 -- Hall of Fame Profile: Brian Pruitt (Football)
Oct. 24 -- Hall of Fame Profile: Gary Lee (Basketball)
Oct. 25 -- Hall of Fame Profile: Terry Carey (Football, Track, CMU Administrator)
Oct. 28 -- Hall of Fame Profile: Larry Lamphere (Baseball)
How is it possible that the woman Central Michigan University gymnastics head coach Jerry Reighard credits with elevating his program to national prominence could be so conspicuous to that same coach?
"It's one of the biggest mysteries," Reighard said.
When his gymnasts are on the floor during meets, Reighard likes to find each of them and share some last-minute coaching advice before they compete. Yet, he barely ever spoke to Shelby Root during competitions. One of Root's former teammates, Christine MacDonald, now an assistant coach at CMU, unraveled the mystery of why he often found himself looking for his nationally-known gymnast.
"During meets, we would be out as a team going through preparations before each event one by one," MacDonald said. "That was when Jerry would talk with us and remind us of what things we needed to focus on and what to think about during each event. Shelby didn't really like that part of it, so she would run around the gym for a while, or try to hide behind the rest of us. By the time Jerry could actually find her, our warm-up time would basically be up and he might only be able to say a couple of words to her, if any. She would even find ways to seemingly disappear during practice. I don't know if Jerry even realized what was happening."
However, Reighard could always find Shelby Root at the top of the scoreboard after her events.
Root was the first gymnast from CMU to qualify to compete in the NCAA Regionals when she did so in 1990. In fact, Root was responsible for several firsts - first to capture the Mid-American Conference's "Senior Gymnast of the Year" Award in 1990, first to win the all-around title at the MAC Championships, also in 1990, and a member of the first CMU team to win a MAC Championship in, you guessed it, 1990. She also won an individual title in the floor exercise at the 1990 MAC Championships. Root was a three-time All-MAC selection from 1988-1990.
"That first team championship (in 1990) was definitely a big achievement, but what Shelby did individually by qualifying for the NCAA Regionals was as big as anything else," Reighard said. "In the sport of gymnastics, you truly are measured by your tournament experiences. When she qualified individually at the national level, we were also able to move there as a program. She allowed us the luxury to move onto the national stage."
Shelby Root was a three-time All-MAC selection and an individual MAC champion.  | |
For her efforts, Root will be inducted into the Central Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 28, in a ceremony at the Holiday Inn in Mount Pleasant. Tickets are $30 per person and may be purchased by contacting the CMU Athletics Ticket Office at 1-888-FIRE-UP2. The honorees will also be recognized at halftime of the CMU-Toledo football game on Saturday.
Being inducted into the Hall of Fame as well are Terry Carey (football, track, staff), Larry Lamphere (baseball), Gary Lee (basketball), Brian Pruitt (football), and Cathy Wylie (softball).
Root is the first gymnast to be honored with induction into the Hall of Fame.
"Shelby was the gymnast that put Central Michigan University gymnastics on the map," Reighard said. "She brought a competitiveness and an attitude of being a champion that hadn't been found yet during my time as coach at CMU. She set a competitive standard here that everyone else could follow."
Root now lives in Oregon, where she works for a computer company doing international programming.
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