Keeping Score

A conversation with world-class gymnastics coach and international judge Steve Butcher.

By Jennifer Renée Smith

CBN Dec/Jan 2009

As soon as it becomes about you and your ego, you’re not looking out for the best interest of the athlete.”

For someone who considers himself to have been an average gymnast while growing up in the coastal town of Port Washington on Long Island, NY, Steve Butcher has steadily worked his way up to claim a spot at the top of the gymnastics world. Over the course of 24 years, he’s been involved in just about every capacity of the sport imaginable and has built an exceptional career as a sought-after coach, international judge, committee member and event commentator.

In addition to training several national team champion gymnasts, including 1996 Olympian John Macready, Butcher has judged more than 500 gymnastics meets in every major continent, holds executive positions within such top governing bodies as USA Gymnastics and the Pan-American Gymnastics Union, was a guest commentator for NBC in San Diego during the 1996, 2000 and ’04 games and was recently inducted into the National Judges Association’s Hall of Fame.

We caught up with Butcher on his way to work at Premier Athletics headquarters in Knoxville, TN, where he’s been the director of gymnastics operations for franchise since 2006. Read on to find out how he landed his recent stint as one of 50 gymnastics judges at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, caught the attention of elite pole-vaulters and skiers and why you may just spot him behind a judges’ table at a cheerleading competition in the near future.

CBN: Until a few years ago, you were living in San Diego and heading up the gymnastics program for the Mission Valley/Toby Wells YMCA. What prompted your move to Knoxville?

Steve Butcher: I got married and was contemplating leaving California, just because it was so expensive [and difficult] to afford housing there, and was looking for an area to create a life for my family. I was introduced to Boog Potter and Cole Stott by John Macready, a former gymnast of mine. Macready had relocated to Knoxville from Los Angeles and kept recommending [the city] to me, so I went out for a visit and things kind of happened from there. I’ve been working with Premier Athletics for about two and a half years now and am also a staff clinician at FlipFest, a summer camp run by Macready and fellow Olympian John Roethlisberger.

CBN: Aside from those positions and judging all over the world, you’re also on several USA Gymnastics Board of Directors committees, president of the Pan-American Gymnastics Union and vice president of the National Judges’ Association. How do you balance such high-profile responsibilities?

Butcher: I enjoy wearing many hats; I get bored easily. All of these positions are related in many ways. I absolutely relish the opportunity to work with so many intelligent and hardworking people. These positions aren’t as difficult as they may appear, if you love what you do. My most important position is with Premier Athletics and Varsity Brands.

CBN: What prompted you to take your first gymnastics class and how far did you go before realizing that you were more comfortable training athletes than being one?

Butcher: My first gymnastics classes were in elementary school and I competed for the first time in junior high. They no longer have boys’ junior high school teams in the country, which is too bad. I began coaching in high school and became passionate about it in college. I had several offers to compete at the NCAA level, but took the coaching path after some injuries.

CBN: At what point in your life did you make the transition to judging?

Butcher: I began judging gymnastics as a sophomore in college in 1984. I was doing some small-time coaching at the time and wanted to know the rules better, so I said, “Well, let me go to a judges’ course.” The first event I judged was a dual meet at California State Fullerton University. I can’t remember the opposing team, but remember being very nervous. It was a tremendous responsibility, especially for a guy younger than many of the gymnasts. I had to judge three events and remember struggling with the high bar. That later became my best judging event.

CBN: How were you selected as an Olympic judge for men’s gymnastics at the Beijing games?

Butcher: The International Gymnastics Federation picked every candidate by name, and who is to say what the criteria were.

CBN: How did you find out? Was it like the Oscars, where you receive a phone call the morning of the nominations?

Butcher: [laughing] No, they sent letters to national federations around the word, saying which of their judges had been selected. Then USA Gymnastics contacted me.

CBN: So you were obviously excited?

Butcher: Absolutely! How would it not be exciting to be on the floor of the greatest gymnastics event that takes place every four years while the whole world is watching.

CBN: What was the experience like for you?

Butcher: Well, when we arrived at the Olympics, the first few days were dedicated to getting uniforms, going to judges’ courses and watching the training of the athletes. There’s a little time for sightseeing, but after that, it’s all business. I had the opportunity to judge the men’s preliminary competition and watch the women’s competition the second day, but didn’t get to judge any of the medal rounds, because I had to make an emergency departure from Beijing. My mom, who still lives in New York, fell, hit her head and had to have brain surgery. They didn’t think she was going to make it.

CBN: I’m sorry to hear that. Is she doing better?

Butcher: Yes, she’s recovering now, and we’re seeing miraculous improvement, but she still has a year of therapy ahead of her.

CBN: One of the hot media topics was the death of the Perfect 10 in gymnastics and the newer judging system where gymnasts are evaluated by two panels of judges for difficulty and composition and artistry. What are your thoughts on this?

Butcher: That’s been a question that everybody asked during these Olympic Games. But for the last four years, that’s all we’ve known, so it’s nothing different for us. It catches everybody’s eye because it’s the Olympics, and for the general public, it’s the first time they’ve watched gymnastics in a while and have noticed the change.

CBN: While watching TV coverage, it was hard not to notice the sportsmanship between the athletes from different countries. Did you notice this from your judge’s seat?

Butcher: I personally think that the world is a more open place and people communicate a whole lot better now. Decades ago, when I judged my first International competition, people found it hard to communicate, because not as many people had explored different languages. The internet has really opened that door to communication. I talk with judges from other countries every day in other languages. I’ll write to them in Spanish, they’ll try to write back to me in English. Or, I’ll communicate to French-speaking countries in broken French and they’ll write back in broken English.

CBN: Out of the hundreds of meets you’ve judged, is there any particular one that stands out in your memory?

Butcher: I would say the one competition that stands out to me would probably be the Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro last year, where I was chief judge. It was the best competition Americans have ever had. Being at the helm of an event like that was exciting. Plus, Rio de Janeiro is absolutely beautiful.

CBN: I understand that you cross-train athletes in other sports including track and field and skiing. How did this come about and what was involved?

Butcher: Well, fortunately one of the three Olympic training centers is located in San Diego, so they asked me many years ago if I’d consider working with other athletes and use the technical expertise that I’ve learned through gymnastics. I created cross-training programs for downhill and aerial skiers to do at specialty camps and for pole-vaulters to do all year round. It was amazing to have the opportunity to work with such high-level athletes for nearly six years.

I mainly created a cross-training program that involves gymnastics exercises combined with things that would be pertinent for those sports. For example, the women pole-vaulters scrapped their weight-training program during the season when they worked with me. They felt they were getting everything they needed strength- and conditioning-wise. I thought it was a risky move, but it worked out well that year for the World Championships.

CBN: Can you give us some examples of how you applied your gymnastics knowledge to these other sports?

Butcher: All male gymnasts begin a high bar routine with what’s called a stem rise—a pike, an arching and a pulling up to get them started in their routines. The front part of that with a half turn is exactly what a pole-vaulter does…it’s the exact same body position. I had both the men and women doing dozens of those exercises and we’d even do them over a rope that was held out in front of the high bar to simulate exactly what they were doing when they were pole-vaulting, and obviously putting a lot less stress on their bodies. I would go watch them on the track or watch the skiers’ videos—both the aerial and downhill. You’re probably wondering how a gymnastics coach could help a downhill skier. It’s hard to see the correlation at first, but when you’re skiing downhill at 80 miles per hour, it’s frightening. I tried to help them overcome their fears and taught them how to fall and roll, which is very important for their health and survivability.

CBN: What is it about your coaching philosophy and approach to training athletes that helps churn out so many success stories?

Butcher: One of the athletes I’m most proud of is Toby Stevenson, who was an Olympic silver medalist in the 2004 Olympics in the men’s pole vault. He was really the first major pole-vaulter I worked with who showed success. After the Olympics, some of the other pole-vaulters wanted to come and work with me. I asked him why he wanted to continue to train with me, and he said, “You’re passionate about the fact you want to give every bit of your knowledge and help us in any way possible.” He said it was my passion that really helped to drive him. The thing that most of my former athletes say is that I’m willing to put them first and I really care about them. As soon as it becomes about you and your ego, you’re not looking out for the best interest of the athlete.

CBN: What’s your opinion of the all-star cheerleading industry?

Butcher: I look at all-star cheerleading, and it reminds me so much of how gymnastics has evolved over the years. I mean, 30 years ago, there weren’t many private clubs with gymnastics, but with all-star cheerleading over the past 10 to 15 years, you’ve seen this rise in all of these gyms and private programs popping up around the country. It almost mirrors exactly what happened in gymnastics. In the beginning, there were so many other organizations besides USA Gymnastics that held competitions, but it all filtered into one beast of competition, and everything became more streamlined. And I see cheerleading moving in the same direction, which is a positive for the sport. The USASF has taken on the cheer world concept and you can see what effect a regulatory group has on the sport.

CBN: What do you think it’s going to take for all-star cheerleading to get to the next level?

Butcher: The most successful gymnastics gyms focus heavily on classes as well as their team. There are many prominent cheer gyms in this country that still offer very few classes, therefore hurting their economic potential. I think a balance between team training and classes can promote the long-term success and profitability of a cheer gym. Regarding competitions, I believe that cheer is evolving the same way gymnastics has from an individual athlete perspective. When I was young, many times I performed skills that I only made one or two times in practice. Today in gymnastics I never hear coaches say to throw a skill, and coaches don’t allow skills in competitions that aren’t performed well and at a high percentage rate in practice. Skills in gymnastics today are performed with better technique and through safer progressions.  I see cheerleading moving in the same direction. This is something for everyone to get excited about because it makes the sport safer.

CBN: If the opportunity arose, would you be interested in judging cheerleading competitions?

Butcher: Yes, definitely. I’ve spoken with Premier Athletics’ sister company, Athletic Championships, and they’ve spoken to me about judging some of their future competitions. I can’t promise that it’s going to happen for this season, but in the future, I would like to be more involved in cheerleading. Who knows—maybe I have something to offer that would be advantageous to cheerleading.

CBN: How do you adapt your teaching style for the cheerleaders you train?

Butcher: Most of my experience with cheerleaders deals primarily with the development of tumbling. If you’re a cheerleader, there’s so many other things you have to prepare for other than just tumbling, so in many cases, somebody who has only done cheerleading isn’t going to have a refined technique, because as a high-level gymnast, you’re going to be doing double back flips, double layouts—really high-difficulty skills that aren’t even permitted in cheerleading. You have to constantly refine your technique as a gymnast to be able to perform those elements. When I teach athletes who are cheerleaders working on their tumbling, I try to be a bit more precise in the technique that I want to see. Many of them are going to be doing this all the way through college and I want to make sure they’re going to be safe. They also may be tumbling on uneven surfaces such as football fields and basketball courts, and not all of them have trained on a spring floor. As a coach, I try to account for all of those things that could potentially go wrong.

CBN: Have you discovered a particular drill or exercises that’s especially effective to use with cheerleaders?

Butcher: My favorite conditioning exercise for tumbling is leg lifts with a single bar. It’s the single best core strength exercise to benefit a cheerleader. Naturally you have to have a good foundation of strength before beginning leg lifts. I usually ask a cheerleader to show me three leg lifts before beginning my first private lesson with them. It tells me almost everything I need to know about their strength, quickness and potential. If a cheerleader shows me 10 leg lifts with perfectly straight legs, then she’ll have no problem with standing back tucks and learning a double in the future.

CBN: A growing concern among all-star industry members is the emphasis placed on tumbling during competitions. Do you ever find yourself cringing while watching a routine and seeing an athlete come so close to the floor trying to pull a full?

Butcher: Even in gymnastics, you sometimes cringe when you watch some of these kids attempt their skills. The big thing for me is, if I’m cringing, I’m definitely correcting. I’m constantly concerned about the safety and the health of the athletes involved, and my number one priority in terms of coaching cheerleaders is progressions, progressions, progressions. There are certain things you can say as a coach that will help ensure better safety for the athletes.

CBN: Cheerleading-related reports from the National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research have consistently made national headlines in recent years. How has the gymnastics world been able to dodge the magnifying glass when it comes to this topic?

Butcher: There are injuries in gymnastics, and, of course, in any sport there’s a chance for catastrophic injuries, but if I can say one thing about gymnastics and watching it develop over the last 30 years, the stress on progression and risk management used by the coaches is 10 times better than it was in the past. Everybody—the USASF and cheerleading companies and organizations—are constantly looking for ways to make things safer, and by doing so, we’re going to see the same progress we’ve seen in gymnastics, and over time and there will be less injuries.

CBN: What’s been the most meaningful aspect of your job as a coach and educator?

Butcher: My passion has always been to motivate young people while teaching the lessons of life through sport. Whether I’m lecturing at a USA Gymnastics Congress or leading staff training at one of our Premier Athletics gyms, I remind every coach to make this their daily focus and they’ll never go wrong. Many coaches are results driven, first place or else. If you have the right philosophy, first places will always come.

CBN: Do you have any goals when it comes to becoming more involved with cheerleading?

Butcher: I haven’t attended a College Nationals, but it’s something I really want to do. I hear how great they are. When you have the goal of judging the Olympic Games, you’re basically at the beck and call of the International Gymnastics Federation. They say they need you here, you accept the assignment. So over the past four years, I’ve pretty much done everything they’ve requested. Now that I’ve judged my first Olympic Games, I don’t feel that sort of pressure and can concentrate on experiencing different things.