New women's gymnastics coaches continue excellence at NU

When you walk into the gym for a Nebraska women's gymnastics' practice, there are a couple shiny things that might capture your eye; the bald heads of two coaches, both named Dan.

The first is of head coach Dan Kendig. The other is new assistant coach Dan Miller.

Miller was hired this past summer, along with Heather Brink, to fill the void left by former Husker coaches Danna Durante and Tim Garrison, who left to become head coaches at California and Kentucky.

Kendig said having the same first name and hairstyle weren't the only reasons the team hired Miller.

"Some people think the only reason I hired him was because of his name and hairstyle, but that's not true," he said. "He's committed to winning and excellence. He has a lot of pride in what he does and all he wants to do is win."

The head coach has known Miller for 35 years and hired him to become the new vault and floor squads coach.

Prior to this season, Miller worked as owner and head coach at Arena Gymnastics in Joliet, Ill., for 12 years. During that time, he coached more than 50 Level 10 national qualifiers and 16 national team members.

"He's a good coach and has always produced good gymnasts," Kendig said.

Miller has seen more 30 athletes receive full-ride scholarships during his 30 years of coaching gymnastics. He has also been named Region 5 Junior Olympic Coach of the Year six times and has been awarded the five and 10 year service award from USA Gymnastics.

The NU assistant coach said that although he began talks with Kendig at the 2011 NCAA Championships, he never thought his first college coaching job would be with the Huskers.

"I didn't expect to land at such a high profile college," Miller said. "They finished fourth last year and I didn't have to work my way up like most college coaches have to. I'm pretty fortunate."

However, Miller's job started earlier he thought it would.

"The first month and a half was kind of hectic because as soon as I got here, freshman Jessie DeZiel qualified for the Pan American Games."

Within the first months of his hiring, Miller was sent to Texas to help DeZiel train for the big event.

Before competing against the top gymnasts in the country, Miller and DeZiel had to travel to three training camps to qualify for the competition in Guadalajara.

"As soon as I got here I didn't have the time to get fully acclimated," he said.

But DeZiel made the trip worthwhile as she helped team USA capture its 14th title in history.

The gymnast scored a 15.125 on vault, the highest among any of the competitors in that event, and an overall 41.550 individual score.

"It was amazing. We both had a great time," Miller said.

Although adjusting the first two months for the coach was tough, Miller said coming to Nebraska came at a good time not only for him, but for his family as well.

"The last several years I've entertained the thought of transitioning to college," he said. "It works out better for my family and now I get to see them more. It's a great fit for me.

"I wanted to go someplace where I felt I could contribute and had a strong enough program to bid for a national championship. This is that program."

In previous years, Nebraska has been known for having prestigious vault and floor lineups and, so far, have proved it this season.

One of the gymnasts who has performed in both events is freshman Jennifer Lauer. The gymnast said Miller has helped her improve her confidence since coming to college.

"I think he's done a great job preparing us for our individual performances and making us feel more positive of ourselves," Lauer said.

Lauer has competed in the Huskers' last two meets and has improved her numbers in both the vault and floor event.

On Jan. 28, the freshman scored a 9.825 on vault against Missouri, an improvement from her 9.800 score against Iowa State on Jan. 20. She also increased her 9.600 floor score against the Cyclones to a 9.675 last Saturday against the Tigers.

"He's helped me focus on the little things that can make a big difference in the final score," Lauer said. "He's always telling me I can do it, and that always gives me more confidence in my performances."

Miller said he likes having the pressure of maintaining the high performances of the program.

"I love that expectation and I don't want it to be easy," he said. "I have a lot of pressure because Tim did a great job and the program was very high-ranked last year.

"I want to be challenged and I have high expectations for my athletes. I believe we're better and that's the overall goal, to get better each year."

This Friday, the No. 9 Huskers travel to Norman, Okla., to compete in a quad meet with Centenary, No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 25 Minnesota. Competition will begin at 7 p.m. at the Lloyd Noble Center.