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Chico State

5 Questions with Alumnus and USA Gymnastics Coach Gary Buckmann 

Gary Buckman poses with his book, Broken to Brilliant
Photos courtesy of Gary Buckmann

In 1972, when Gary Buckmann (Physical Education ‘75) was a 20-year-old gymnast at Chico State, he suffered a devastating accident on the long horse vault. Landing from eight-and-a-half feet in the air directly onto his head, he suffered a broken neck that left him paralyzed. After four weeks in in the hospital, doctors said he’d never walk again. 

He didn’t accept that diagnosis. Within two weeks, he regained the use of his left leg and started taking steps. Two weeks later, his arms still paralyzed, doctors discharged him saying that there was nothing more they could do. Buckmann continued using visualization techniques and in three years, he completely recovered and was back competing as a Wildcat gymnast—winning three major All-Around titles and finishing in 11th place in the All-Around at the 1975 NCAA National Championships. 

A black and white photo of a male gymnast on the rings.
Buckmann competing at Chico State

After graduating, Buckman became a coach. He’s been a member of the National USA coaching staff for women’s gymnastics and worked with five Olympic gold medalists. Here, he shares his thoughts on US women’s gymnast Simone Biles, his time at Chico State, and his incredible recovery. 

You’ve worked with five Olympic gold medalists. What is the mindset athletes need to deal with and excel in that type of pressure? 

The truly elite athletes know who they are and know they’ve put the work in to prepare for the situation. That doesn’t mean they are cocky or arrogant, but they have such confidence in themselves that the pressure of the situation doesn’t affect them. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Olympics, national championships or a local meet, it’s just another day doing what they do best.  

What do you think about Simone Biles taking herself out of competition?  

My educated guess is she was experiencing spatial awareness problems, meaning she was getting lost midair in her multiple twisting, flipping skills. Which is very dangerous for the simple fact she could incur a catastrophic injury.  

Being an elite athlete and knowing who she truly is, she absolutely made the right decision for herself and the USA Team. That was one of the most courageous decisions I’ve ever seen on a world-class level of sports. The day I broke my neck at practice I didn’t listen to my intuition and walk away while I was still ahead, and it cost me dearly. So, I applaud her internal fortitude and courage to assess the situation and make the right decision for all concerned. I can guarantee you that was not an easy decision to make. 

As you recovered from your devastating injury, what kind of support did you get from the Chico State?  

I received absolutely amazing support from my teammates. We all lived in the same house together, so they were my roommates and my best friends while at Chico State. They set up a rotation so someone was nearly always with me at the hospital. Even while I was recovering, they treated me as they always had—we’d joke around about things going on with the team and on campus. That really kept me from feeling like a victim. 

The University supported me financially during my recovery and, of course, my coach kept my spot on the team. At the time, gymnastics was a big deal at Chico State, with 3,000 folks coming into Acker to watch meets. I felt the love from the Chico State community in my recovery and when I returned.  

Going beyond the “power of positive thinking,” what visualization techniques did you use to help heal yourself your recovery? 

You can’t just visualize recovering—you have to feel the emotions that go along with it. I spent many hours picturing returning to Chico State, going to football games and dances, and competing again. While thinking about those moments, I tried to experience the emotions that went along with all of that. You see it and you feel it. 

Back in the ’70s, visualization was such a new concept, but we’ve come a long way.  Emotive imagery is a significant tool to create a sense of self-efficacy. Human emotions help people to transcend the despair that negatively affects the rehabilitation process.  

I focused on the nerve impulses. Once I regained feeling in my leg, I just knew it was only a matter of time until it returned to my arms. It was a process, but I never thought it was impossible and just knew my career wasn’t over. 

You recently published a book, Broken To Brilliant. What can readers expect and how much did your time at Chico State influence your memoirs? 

It’s a memoir from my childhood through modern times, but a big focus is my recovery during my time at Chico State. I really hope the book will help readers reframe the experiences – both good and bad – that occur in their lives.  

It may sound crazy, but breaking my neck was the best thing that ever happened to me. Prior to my injury, I was healthy but heading down the wrong path. It’s fair to say being a successful athlete for a popular team on campus was going to my head a bit. The injury and recovery process helped recenter my thoughts and gave me new perspective. 

The so-called bad things that happen to all of us can be the catalyst to help us create all the good things in life. As humans, we create stories about our experiences, to protect ourselves and make sense out of our lives, even if they aren’t exactly true. These stories become our truth. With the book, I wanted to show people we all have the same capacity to reframe our thinking and turn obstacles into opportunities.