Future Friday: Q&A with Scott Bregman
1/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics, Features
Scott Bregman is now the director of content and communications for USA Gymnastics.
After representing the block M with pride while they competed for the Maize and Blue, our student-athlete alumni have gone off to become professionals in different areas of their lives. Whether they continued on in their sport, helped to build up a company or started a family, they are building a future. They are building our future. As they leave the University of Michigan campus they go forth with all they learned here to create a better future for us all.
A three-time College Gymnastics Association Academic All-American, Scott Bregman (2006-09) went from competing to covering the sport he loves before landing in his current role as director of content and communications for USA Gymnastics. A native of Lawrence, Kansas, Bregman, who was also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, U-M Athletic Academic Achievement recipient and four-year letterwinner during his time as a U-M gymnast, became the program's director of operations and communications contact in 2009-10. Following a stint with Sterling Publishing, he moved to USA Gymnastics in 2011.
Q. What does your job with USA Gymnastics entail?
A. I'm the director of content and communications for USA Gymnastics, so at a high level I oversee our website/digital/social media content and our two membership magazines -- USA Gymnastics and Technique. At a day-to-day level, I could be doing anything from editing an article for our website or one of the magazines, to traveling to a competition to put on a webcast, visiting an athlete at his or her home gym to gather content for social media or tweeting about where the next Olympic trials will be held. The biggest thrill of my job is getting to know our incredibly hard-working athletes and watching them achieve their dreams on some of the largest stages in sports. I was fortunate enough to go to the 2012 Olympic Games in London and it was an experience I will never forget!
Q. How did you come about being interested in communications?
A. I kind of happened about it accidentally. I've always been a huge gymnastics nerd and had secretly hoped to one day work for NBC Olympics covering gymnastics. During my senior year at Michigan, head coach Kurt Golder asked me if I was interested in being the sports information director for men's gymnastics the following year. I jumped at the chance and that's really how I got my start. People always ask me how I got my current job with USA Gymnastics -- because it seems like my dream job (it is!) -- but I don't really have a great story about that. A friend told me he had seen the job listed on the USA Gymnastics web page and thought I'd be great for it. I applied and got it. With digital and social media being a new frontier of sorts, especially in 2011, I was able to make a big impact almost immediately and move up a bit in the organization to take on more responsibility, which has been a great honor for me.
Q. What is it like to see the Michigan block M represented on the national stage?
A. I think for any alumni -- whether or not they were an athlete -- seeing Michigan represented at the national stage is always a thrill. But it's great to have Michigan and other NCAA gymnasts doing well at the USA Gymnastics level. It just reinforces the great work that the collegiate programs are doing and just how important they are to Team USA's success at the international level, including at the Olympic Games.
Q. How do you stay connected to Michigan men's gymnastics?
A. Staying connected is tough. I have a lot of gymnastics in my life already and I travel about 50 percent of the year. But I always follow their meets during the season online and watch them on BTN, if possible. I try to make it back to Ann Arbor at least once a season to watch a meet in person, as well. If I'm in town for a football game in the fall, I try to stop by meet the new guys. I'm lucky that my job takes me to the NCAA Championships each year so I'll connect with the coaches then. I also get to see some of the guys at our P&G Gymnastics Championships and Winter Cup Challenge.
Q. How has collegiate gymnastics changed since you left Michigan?
A. Oh, gosh. Well, it's definitely gotten harder. When I was a sophomore I was one of a few guys in the country doing an Arabian double pike on floor. Now, it's almost a compulsory skill! I always joke with my old teammates that it's a good thing we're retired -- I'm not sure we could make the lineups anymore. The other big change is that when I was competing the team competition was six on each event with four scores counting. That gave us a lot of room for error. Now, the format leaves very little room for mistakes. I'm glad I never had to experience the pressure of the five up, five count format they're using now but I definitely think it makes things much more exciting and allows for more intense, exciting competition.
Q. What do you cap the Men's Senior National Team's chances as for Worlds/Olympics?
A. Any time the USA goes into international competition, the goal is be on the podium. 2015 has been a tough year for our senior men's national team with injuries to Sam Mikulak, Jake Dalton and John Orozco, but we're lucky to have great depth and should still be among the world's best. It's an exciting time for men's gymnastics at the international level with great teams from traditional powerhouses like Japan, China and Russia, along with up-and-coming teams from places like Great Britain and Brazil, and Team USA is right there with them.
Q. What is it like covering Sam Mikulak? What has his growth been like in your eyes?
A. There's a special pride in covering Sam. Not only is he a great guy and great gymnast, he's a great Michigan man. It's always a pleasure seeing him and although we weren't on the team together, I feel like we have an automatic bond through the team and the school. Sam has matured a lot in the five years I've been working for USA Gymnastics, and it's been fun to watch. Most recently, I would say Sam has gotten a little more serious. He's still fun loving and laid back, but I think he's changed his approach a little now that he's competing without his Michigan teammates. Whatever the approach, it seems to be working as he won his third straight U.S. title a few months back. In my estimation, Sam at 100 percent strength is among the top 5 in the world easily.
Follow Bregman on Twitter, @sbregman87
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