THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605240237
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 30 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, CLIPPER SPORTS EDITOR
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 68 lines
WHEN OSCAR SMITH trainer Kris Stelzig was in high school, she wanted to be involved in athletics.
With mediocre skills, she opted to be the girls basketball manager. She watched as the coach taped ankles too tight and made nips and cuts to make the bandages usable.
``I thought, `Hey, I can do that better than the coach can,' '' Stelzig, 29, said.
So she did.
Little did she know it would land her at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Stelzig, who lives in Norfolk and was a trainer at Churchland and Norcom before working at Oscar Smith this year, has been selected by the Olympic committee to work with the volleyball teams.
``I used to joke with friends that I was going to the Olympics to be a trainer,'' she said. ``But I didn't really think it would happen. Then someone told me that they read in one of their training journals that the Olympic committee was accepting applicants for volunteers.''
Without hesitation, Stelzig sent away for the first part of the application.
It was a basic form, she said, asking mostly for references and her experience.
Next, she received the second part of the application, which requested her resume and foreign language proficiency.
There, Stelzig lucked out.
As a Navy wife, Stelzig has brushed up on other languages including Spanish and Italian, which she'll use when she and her husband are transferred to Italy at the end of this month.
Stelzig, busy moving, was told that she would be notified of her status with the Olympics by April 1. When she hadn't heard from the committee by April 9, she thought she was no longer in the running.
Then she got the call.
Stelzig learned that she would spend 22 days with the volleyball team, if she could give the committee an immediate answer.
Knowing she was moving and that she would have to foot the bill for all her expenses at the Olympics, Stelzig wasn't sure whether or not she could accept. But she also couldn't let the opportunity of a life time pass her by.
Now, Stelzig will board a plane to Italy then turn around and head back to Atlanta where she will stay with an aunt who lives outside the city. The whole trip will cost a little more than $1,300, but Stelzig doesn't seem to mind.
``When I thought about it at first, I thought it was a little cheesy,'' she said. ``But then I realized the athletes aren't sponsored, so why should the trainers be? The only problem is, I'll have more bags under my eyes then under my arms from the jet lag. I'm still very excited.''
And so are the students at Oscar Smith.
They're just hoping their favorite trainer will remember them when she goes big time.
Byron Harvin, a three-sport athlete at Oscar Smith, has spent a lot of time in the training room with Stelzig after dislocating his shoulder during football and injuring his ankle during track. He says the Olympic athletes are in for a treat.
``She's been a trainer and a friend,'' Harvin said. ``It's actually been fun working with her. She had me doing exercises and kept me loose so I wouldn't get hurt again.
``We're very happy for her and wish her the best of luck. We just hope she remembers us when she's gone.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Oscar Smith trainer Kris Stelzig has been selected to work with the
volleyball teams at the '96 Olympics. by CNB