Douglas Cohen might be the first "big butterfly" in the rich history of University of Hawaii diving. His unique style has the 6-foot-2 senior at his first NCAA Diving Championships this week.
He will attempt to become the third Rainbow to win a national championship, after Emma Friesen (2008) and QiongJie Huang (2005). Magnus Frick and Rui Wang have come in second.
Cohen bears little resemblance to anyone in that final foursome. The big, graceful guy has been diving nine years, since he grew out of gymnastics.
"A growth spurt messed me up in gymnastics," Cohen said. "I was getting hurt all the time. The switch was pretty easy."
He was the Colorado state champion as a high school senior and came to Manoa with a great resume, but a style in need of refinement. He would bend his limbs instead of taking advantage of his length, making his entries "a little sloppy looking," said Anita Rossing, who coaches the UH divers with her husband, Mike Brown.
But Cohen came armed with a calm, competitive approach that works wonders in a sport that, after the long hours of practice, ultimately comes down to what goes on in your head the moment you leave the board.
"In a matter of seconds the whole dive can change, so you have to understand what you have to get done, a couple key points," Cohen said. "I only try to think about three things per dive or it gets too complicated."
He narrowly missed qualifying for nationals as a freshman. Cohen improved every year — he had nine first-place finishes last season and helped Hawaii to the Conference USA championship by winning the 3 meter and platform and taking second in the 1 meter — but could not break through to nationals.
Part of the problem last year was a bad knee, which might have actually served him well in his senior season.
He simplified his dives as a junior to work around the knee and didn’t get on a board last summer to help it heal. The time away was therapeutic and so were his dry-land workouts. He tried a high-intensity conditioning program called Spartacus that was so difficult he could only do it twice a week. The other days he walked his dog.
"It changed my whole entire diving outlook and my physical shape," Cohen said. "I got a lot quicker and more aware in the air. I didn’t really gain or lose weight, but I definitely moved it around. It changed the way I dive completely."
The coaches started him on more difficult dives early this season. At the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships, he won the platform and placed second in the 1 and 3 meters. He and UH’s other four divers — senior Daniella Nero narrowly missed qualifying for nationals — had a series of personal bests.
"Despite being tall, he is quite acrobatic and moves well and has good altitude," Rossing said. "If a big diver goes down clean, it’s impressive, like a big butterfly."
The big butterfly hits the pool Thursday through Saturday in Seattle at nationals. Friday’s and Saturday’s evening sessions will be streamed on ESPN3, beginning at 4 p.m.
Cohen will graduate in May with a psychology major and Spanish minor. "I’d like to go to Spain and do something," Cohen said.
Rossing is encouraging him to continue diving. Cohen will think about that later. This week, he wants to stay in the moment.
"I’m in a good spot," he said. "I’m looking forward to having a good time. I don’t see the point in being nervous at this time in the season. Making it to the meet was hard enough, so now I just want to do my best."
