ÍáÍáÂþ»­

In 1996, I had the privilege of volunteering at the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I find it hard to believe it was 28 years ago. One story, especially, remains fresh in my mind.

I enjoyed all the perks given to volunteers, including two complete outfits consisting of two shirts (I still have them), two pairs of pants, a belt, a watch, shoes and a hat.

With my Olympic pass, I could eat with Olympic athletes in their football field-sized dining room. Imagine having to make food for athletes from hundreds of different countries. I was glad to be on the receiving end.

Another perk was that we were given passes to various venues. I was able to see the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremony and several other events.

The Atlanta Olympics were the games at which Mohammad Ali, suffering from Parkinson's Disease, carried the torch to light the flame.

It was also the games where the Centennial Olympic Park domestic terrorist bombing occurred that killed one person and injured 111 others. Each day, on my way to work, I would walk through this same park.

My work at the Olympics involved helping athletes find the right bus to take them to their practice locations. Many knew some English, but most did not, so there was some confusion. It was helpful for me to be able to speak Spanish.

It was fun just watching the athletes. Here, you had thousands of the world’s best athletes in one location, all speaking a different language, trying to compete for the gold, and trying to be the best they could be. Most importantly, they all got along together.

To me, the Olympic Games represent making peace happen. Why can’t it be this way all the time?

The athletes were very polite and gentle people. Always smiling, all having a good time. One athlete that I observed acted a bit differently. When his bus didn’t arrive on time to take him to the stadium to practice his gymnastics, he became very vocal, belligerent, angry, and not acting like you would believe an Olympic athlete should act.

One of the events I attended was a men’s gymnastics practice session. There he was again, and I could see that he possessed the same angry demeanor on the floor, even to the point of bossing around his teammates. He didn’t seem to know anything about team spirit.

From that moment on, I was hoping he wouldn’t do well. When the team competition was over, he still won four bronze medals.

His attitude sparked my curiosity, so when I returned home, I did a little research on him. His name was Vitaly Scherbo, and he was from Belarus, once part of the Soviet Union.

Scherbo was one of the most successful gymnasts of all time and the only male gymnast ever to win a world title in all eight events. Imagine.

Even more impressive is that Scherbo won six of eight possible gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. Imagine, again, six gold medals. And he won four of them on the same day.

So why did Vitaly not do so well in the Atlanta games? It was predicted that he would walk away with at least two, three, or more gold medals. What happened?

Scherbo and his wife moved to Pennsylvania for training purposes. On Dec. 13, 1995, Scherbo's wife, Irina, was involved in a single-car accident in which she skidded off the road and slammed into a tree. She suffered multiple fractures to her ribs and pelvis, lapsed into a coma, and her internal injuries were so severe that doctors told Vitaly that she only had a 1 in 100 chance of surviving.

Learning this, Scherbo stopped training, gained 15 pounds, and began drinking. After a month, Irina finally woke up from her coma and insisted that her husband resume training for the upcoming 1996 Olympic season. At the Games, did he have anything else on his mind besides winning gold medals?

What can we learn from Scherbo’s experience? How often do we make preconceived judgments about people without knowing about them? How frequently are we critical of someone or some group of people without realizing who they are, where they come from, or really anything else?

Everyone has a story to tell, and it’s important to know the story.

I have always told teachers that one of the most important things they can do as teachers is to get to know their students. I have often said that the best lesson for teachers is to throw away the textbook and visit with their students.

As my mentor told me over and over again, you can’t plan the curriculum until you first meet the students.

Managers, clergy, and other leaders should also embrace this idea. Before I learned his story, I had preconceived notions about Vitaly Scherbo. I was wrong. I didn’t know his story.

Once I knew his story, I could better understand why he did not live up to expectations in the eyes of many, even his own. He had more important things to think about.

After the 1996 Olympics, Vitaly Scherbo and his family moved to Las Vegas, where he set up his gymnastics school. He retired from competition in 1997. Now, Vitaly lives in Las Vegas and trains young gymnasts at the Vitaly Scherbo ÍáÍáÂþ»­ of Gymnastics. His motto is "Never give up."

Riddle: Why were swimming elephants thrown out of the Olympic Games? (Answer: Because they couldn’t keep their trunks up.) It’s a good idea to keep up with athletes. We can learn a lot from them.

We had an excellent forum at Wells Technology that focused on ideas to help struggling students stay in school.

John R. Eggers of Bemidji is a former university professor and area principal. He also is a writer and public speaker.