The View From 33 Feet Above

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – 33 feet above the pool deck is where you’ll find Zach Cooper, most of the time.

Anyone passing through the Whitten Center Pool knows it has been that way, with Cooper positioned on one of campus’ most scenic perches, since 2017.

But while the board hasn’t changed in the last four years, the person standing on top of it certainly has.

Cooper will be the first one to admit as much.

“It’s an adjustment, becoming a college student-athlete,” Cooper said. “I was home schooled ever since fourth grade. Coming to college, it’s sort of difficult to get used to everything again, to move back into a ‘normal’ school setting.”

Four years later, Cooper is almost unrecognizable, thriving on the boards and in the classroom, as an economics major with a sports administration minor.

To University of Miami head diving coach Randy Ableman, Cooper’s talent had always been self-evident, and there was mutual interest between the two sides on the recruiting trail.

Cooper, after all, was a two-time junior national champion on the platform and even won the 2016 USA Diving national championship on the 10-meter at the AT&T National Championships.

No one is more familiar with the diver’s story than David Dinsmore, who spent three years competing alongside Cooper under the direction of Ableman. The duo has known each other since their days competing on the youth international diving scene.

“When he came to me when he was being recruited, I could see in his eyes how excited he was to be a part of our program, seeing the way he watched practice and talked to Randy…it made me excited, because I had always known him as a very quiet kid,” Dinsmore said.

Looking back on it, Cooper says his decision to attend Miami, in and of itself, may have been indicative of a deeper drive to expand his horizons.

“I could have gone to Indiana or Purdue, and I would have known a lot of people from my neighborhood and stuff like that,” Cooper said. “Coming to a whole new place was kind of scary for me. But having the whole team here, it was like a built-in set of friends, and they are some of the closest friends I’ve ever had. I’ve really loved being around them.”

That group includes Dinsmore, who won an NCAA title on the platform as a redshirt freshman. Dinsmore admitted to having to ‘pry’ some life out of Cooper in the early going of his collegiate career.

“Miami in general is a very outgoing-type place. It’s a city with a very loud personality. Being a shy kid and coming into that, it can be a lot,” Dinsmore said of Cooper. “I was excited to see how he was going to do and how he was going to come into his own.”

When Ableman and assistant coach Dario di Fazio began working with Cooper in the fall of 2017, Cooper’s ability on the platform shined through. Though Ableman initially envisioned Cooper as a three-event diver – competing in both 1-meter and 3-meter springboard, along with the 10-meter platform, or “tower” – it was obvious that there was a natural ability in need of harnessing.

“In general, the guys that are the springboard divers are more powerfully built. They can jump higher and spin faster,” Ableman said. “Guys like Dinsmore and Zach are built a little more slight and slender, and they can really pierce the water. Physically, it benefits the tower divers to be more slender and fast, and not be more brute strength, power-wise.”

Even more than their physical traits, Ableman likened the mentality of platform divers to those competing in ‘extreme sports.’

“Not everyone likes getting up 33 feet above the water,” Ableman said. “They’re petrified or worried about getting hurt. These guys love it. They’re more the thrill-seeking type, like the guys or gals in the ‘X Games.’ It takes a special person to embrace that and to work on it every day for your career, and that’s your thing. It’s a lot more thrilling, I think.

The decision was made – Cooper would focus exclusively on platform diving.

“He has the perfect body for it. He’s built like an arrow. It made sense,” Ableman said. “When he started going to the FINA World Cup and major international events on the platform, it became apparent to me that we really had a few years to focus on trying to be great at this thing, rather than trying to spread out his time training on all three events.

“Every day that we keep working on his 1-meter springboard is a day that is going to keep him from achieving greatness on 10-meter.”

Fast forward three years, and Cooper has two NCAA All-America performances and three-time ACC silver medals to his name on the tower.

Perhaps more than any certain aspect of Cooper’s diving ability, it was a struggle with the adaptation to college life that provided its fair share of challenges early on, Ableman recalled.

“Zach really was very introverted…now he’s so much more outgoing and enjoyable to coach,” Ableman said. “It was hard coaching him at first, because he was so reserved. He wasn’t as open to making changes. That’s what has really started to click with him. It has been his maturity, and coming out of his shell that has really helped his diving.”

Cooper credits Ableman with a large part of that inner transformation.

“Coming to practice, he’s like a second dad to me. You come in, do your work, we have a good time with each other…he’s always there giving me advice about life and things that go on,” Cooper said. “He’s always there to help me with everything that’s going on in college, and life in general. He’s been a father figure these past four years, more than anything.”

Dinsmore enjoyed the development firsthand, referring to his relationship with Cooper as a sibling-type rivalry.

“Zach and I, for the most part, were going head-to-head to see who was coming out on top,” Dinsmore said. “I loved it, because it showed me how much he had progressed since being in Miami. There were so many times where Zach gave me a run for my money, and we were battling it out.  That competition between us two, it’s almost like a brotherly rivalry. We train together every single day, you both have the same dreams and aspirations. You’re just brothers. You’re in it together. When he’d hit a dive, I’d be so happy for him, but at the same time, I knew I had to step my game up.”

Both Ableman and Cooper know the postseason is looming, and Ableman feels his protégé has a good chance to win an NCAA title.

But regardless of how the spring unfolds, Ableman is prouder of Cooper’s development as a person more than any accolades he might earn as a diver.

“He has more going on in his life than just how good his last dive was,” Ableman said. “It’s a lot healthier. He’s a happier kid, a more well-rounded kid, and all of that is helping him click as far as how coachable he is and willing to make changes and to have a sense of humor when he makes a mistake. He can shake it off much better and come back and really work on stuff.

“That’s what I’m most proud of in all my kids – how they end up as people.”

As Cooper thinks about the spring ahead, he can’t help but reflect on his own career – the development from a shy and socially awkward freshman to a senior team captain.

“It’s going to be a little weird with the mask and social distancing in some of these competitions. It’ll be interesting to see what happens at ACCs and NCAAs, as far as keeping everyone separate and safe,” he said. “That’ll be a challenge, to see how they’re going to do all that. But I’m excited.

“But being able to come back and starting up again, it made me remember how much I enjoy doing this and how much I enjoy being with these people, and doing all the things I do every day. Not being able to do it for three months reminded me how much I love being a part of this sport and being a part of this school. I can’t wait to keep going for another year and be able to continue this journey.”