Many gymnastic fans have probably heard of the "Karolyi
six-pack." The original crew, dubbed the six-pack at the
1989 Olympic Festival, consisted of Kelly Pitzen, Kim Zmeskal,
Amy Scherr, Erica Stokes, Amanda Uherek, and Hillary Grivich.
Notable teammates Betty Okino and Kerri Strug joined Karolyi's
later in their careers.
Interestingly, Bela Karolyi always
pegged Amy Scherr to achieve the greatest success out of the
six-pack (not Kim Zmeskal), but Amy's success in the sport was
hampered by repeated stress fractures. According to the
November/December 1990 issue of USA Gymnastics, Scherr's stress
fractures resulted from a calcium deficiency that was only
diagnosed following the 1990 Goodwill Games. Despite the
diagnosis, Scherr pushed on towards the 1992 Olympics, only to
retire shortly after competiting in the 1991 USA vs ROM dual
meet.
After retiring from elite
competition, Scherr moved back to her hometown of Cincinatti,
Ohio, where she began to coach gymnastics. The September 1996
issue of Houston Lifestyle magazine contains an
interview with Bela Karolyi in which Bela stated, "Amy
Scherr is coaching in college and is probably the most productive
coach we have grown as a gymnast and we are very, very, proud of
her. She is going to be very successful...."
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Amy Scherr
poses for the camera at the 2000 US Classic. Photo used with the
expressed permission of Erin
Long.
Scherr is
definitely 'moving up the ranks' in the coaching world. In 1999,
she joined Mary Lee Tracy in Sacramento to coach the CGA girls at
Nationals. Near the beginning of the 99 U.S. Nationals broadcast
on NBC, Mary Lee Tracy and her athletes (Thompson, Beckerman and
White) are huddled together in what appears to be some sort of
pep talk. With them is a red haired woman with a white shirt -
Amy Scherr! More recently, Amy was a member of the CGA staff at the 2000 US
Classic.
Scherr has found success both in
and out of gymnastics. In addition to coaching gymnastics, Scherr
spent some time in college (majoring in pre-med). According to
the May 1997 issue of IG, Scherr was set to graduate
in the Spring of 1997. Despite her success academically and as a
coach, she told IG that she still misses her
competitive days. "It's hard [to watch]," Scherr said
while viewing the 1997 ITC practice session. "...I just want
to go out there and do it...."
Amy Scherr recently served as a bridesmaid
at Kim Zmeskal's wedding (held October 23, 1999) to Chris Burdette.
According to IG, several weeks later,
Scherr celebrated her own wedding! Her married name is now Amy Scherr Wert.
Amy Scherr was
born on April 1st, 1975.
. This page was created on March 30, 1999 and last updated on July 11, 2000.
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