The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BY BRANDON BROWN K urt Golder is a true Michigan man. He grew up in small, rural Alpena, Mich., where he was fate‑ fully introduced to gymnastics. He participated through high school and eventually competed as a mem‑ ber of the men's gymnastics team at the University of Michigan, where he lettered three times (1975‑77) and won a Big Ten championship in 1975. His life has been loaded with accom‑ plishments and experiences that he never could have imagined. "The great part of my story is that they even had high school gymnastics in Alpena," he explained. "There was basically nothing north of Lansing other than my school where gymnas‑ tics was available. Most of the schools in southern Michigan had gymnastics at the time and then there was Al‑ pena. I was very fortunate to grow up there and have that available to me. "It's given me so many opportuni‑ ties. I've had so many tremendous experiences whether it's traveling or competing in international competi‑ tions and world championships and Olympic Games. If it weren't for my involvement in the sport I'd hate to think about where my life would be. I've been to a lot of countries and done a lot of things because of it." Growing up in the Great Lakes State, becoming a Wolverine and now coaching at U‑M is truly special to Golder. It's even trickled down from him to his daughter. "It's extremely special," he stated. "Deep down that's probably every coaches dream in any sport. There's something about going back to your alma mater and being able to coach there. I feel very, very fortunate to be in this position. "My daughter is here now, too. She was considering Yale, Cornell and Stanford. I was told her, 'I'll sup‑ port you wherever you go, but I re‑ ally want you to go to Michigan.' She's very happy that she did, and it's just a special thing all around." OLYMPIC SPORTS Men's Gymnastics Looking To Three-Peat Head coach Kurt Golder's men's gymnastics program carried a 54-meet winning streak into the 2015 season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS