Experience Beyond Years - Diver Spotlight on Matt Bricker

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1988 - the first Bush was elected to the White House, "Rain Man" won the Oscar for Best Picture and Greg Louganis was crowned the Olympic 3-meter and platform champion for the second consecutive Games.

Also that year, a five-year-old from Winter Park, Fla. took his first diving lesson.

Flash forward 14 years - another Bush is in the White House and Matt Bricker is a seasoned veteran in this sport, at the ripe old age of 19.

"Wow, I have been diving for 14 years," Bricker said. "I never stopped to think about it. I've never dreaded the years. I just take each day as it comes, but I guess I am an old man in this sport."

Matt's first day in diving came after a chance free trial with Lynne McCoy, the former lesson coach for Team Orlando.

"I started as a swimmer, and one day after practice I was playing around at the YMCA," Bricker said. "My dad and coach saw I was having fun, so my coach passed along Lynne's phone number.

"I got a free trial from Lynne, and she thought I had a future in diving. It was all good vibes from me. I was in seventh heaven being on the boards and diving with everyone."

Matt dove with an impressive array of coaches while at Team Orlando. While Bricker advanced through the lesson program with McCoy, Jeff Shaffer was the head coach of the junior and senior programs that included Brandon Hulko and Bryan Gillooly. Although his time with Shaffer would come down the road, Matt did compete under the instruction of Li Kongzheng (KZ) and Jay Lerew upon graduation from the lesson program.

"I got along great with Hulko and Gillooly, and I got to watch Jeff coach the older kids," Bricker said.

"All of my coaches helped me so much along the way. I was able to learn from one and apply that to the next coach. It gave me a lot of knowledge and I learned the entire diving process."

Matt was also able to apply lessons he learned while watching Team Orlando's senior divers and visiting athletes. Although Bricker witnessed the Korean National Team, a national training camp and David Pichler, Mark Ruiz was one of his greatest influences.

"Watching the senior divers was such incentive to get to their level," Matt said. "I did a lot of learning by watching and trying to apply that to myself.

"Mark is such a great guy. I looked up to him almost like an older brother. I could talk to him about anything, even if it wasn't diving. He helped me a lot with my meet anxiety, and it was good to see the kind of communication he has with Jay."

Ruiz was Bricker's roommate at the 2000 Olympic Trials. One of the youngest competitors in the field, Matt placed 10th on tower.

"Nothing was expected of me, so I was able to soak it all in and have fun," Matt said. "I enjoyed the whole experience. I dove for myself. My parents and Lynne were there, and I was very pleased with my performance."

In fact, Matt's parents, Bernie and Judy, have always been there for their only child. With a one-hour commute each way from Winter Park to Orlando; they invested a lot of time in their son's passion.

"My dad works out of the house, so he did all of the driving during the week, and my mom did the weekend driving," Matt said. "They sacrificed a lot for me, and they were wherever I needed them to be. They never put any pressure on me, and I sat them down and thanked them for everything before I went to college."

Bricker's college choice proved to be a slightly longer commute for Bernie and Judy, but the couple still attends many weekend meets and the larger events on the schedule, such as conference and the NCAA's. With Auburn University a mere nine to 10-hour drive, Matt's parents continue to take care of him.

"They come to stock my fridge, and my mom loves doing my laundry," Bricker said. "They continue to go beyond my expectations."

Matt had a certain level of expectations when it came to his collegiate coach. After watching Shaffer while at Team Orlando, Bricker knew what his instructor was capable of.

"I knew Jeff had been around high-class divers, like (Justin) Dumais at USC," Matt said. "I knew he could take a diver to the next level. I knew what he had done, and I wanted to be a part of it."

Attending Auburn also allowed Bricker to be a part of the team. While in high school, Matt swam three events and dove. With swim practice in the morning and diving practice after school and the only male diver on the squad, Matt often felt like he was in his own world.

"At Auburn everyone trains together. It's a tight knit group, and there's a lot of Southern hospitality," Bricker said. "The coaches are concerned about you as a person, not just an athlete. They are genuine about the program and what you're expected to do. I really can't picture myself anywhere else."

Bricker's isn't the only male diver on the Auburn roster. Chris Millikan joined the team from Akron, Ohio, and Caesar Garcia is in his third year for the Tigers. Teaming up in college gave Matt and Caesar the opportunity to team up in synchro.

"Caesar is a good, all-around kid. I look up to him like I did Mark," Bricker said.

"Since synchro is now an Olympic event, it's a big time thing. Caesar and I compliment each other when we dive. We know what the other is thinking without saying anything. We have so much fun.

"We did great at Senior Nationals (Dallas, 3rd on 3-meter and 2nd on platform). We definitely have the confidence, the ability and the skill."

Bricker and Garcia plan to make a run at the national title and the Olympics in the coming years. After sitting down with each other and their coach, the duo plans to learn new dives, work on consistency and finesse the tiny details often picked up on by international coaches and judges.

Although very pleased by his synchronized performance at the 2002 Senior Nationals, Matt was a little disappointed with his individual results. Making a third straight national team, Bricker was 11th on 1-meter, 14th on 3-meter and 3rd on platform.

"I wasn't on the ball as much as I should have been on springboard, but I was happy with platform," Matt said. "But I don't want to be just a 3-meter or platform diver. I want to be an all-around diver. I want to learn and build.

"I always try to raise the bar, because I know my competitors will raise the bar right back. Its good, friendly competition, and it will make the whole sport better."

Competition always seems to be friendly for Matt. He's at his best when he's got a smirk on his face and a bounce in his step, and he says he's not competitive if he's not in that zone. With a primary goal of having fun and doing well as No. 2, Bricker uses the former as a gauge for success.

And like every diver, he's got a couple of rituals that help him find that zone.

"About 90 percent of my diving pictures show my mouth open. That's spontaneous. My dad always gives me the Michael Jordan joke," Matt said.

"The red tape is my signature."

When Matt was learning platform, his dad used to buy tape by the box from a supplier. One day the supplier only had red, and Matt thought it was "cool." The tape has become his trademark, and his Auburn teammates have come to understand and respect his philosophy behind the tape, even if it's not the Tigers' orange and blue.

"I caught a little heat when we dove against Alabama," Bricker said. "But it puts me in my element. I take 10 rolls of tape to each meet so I have enough. I don't want to feel uncomfortable without it."

A psychology major, Matt has learned to take things meet by meet and find involvement in things outside of diving and school.

"My old bones are creaking, and I know I have to have a life beyond college and the pool. I try not to get in too deep," Bricker said. "I have friends on the team and I have friends who aren't athletes.

"You only go to college once, and I've met a lot of incredible people. I love the friendly tradition in the South."