Climbing up three stories of stairs just to jump off into a pool for fun, then doing it over and over again. That is 10-meter diving.

Alekzandr Popper is a diver with his eyes set on winning the UIL state meet. Popper was a gymnast for seven years before transitioning to diving. For all six years of his diving career, he has been to nationals.

“I have honestly loved every second of diving,” Popper said. “When I am in the air I feel like I’m flying, so it has been really fun.”

When Popper first started diving he landed on his stomach and back often due to lack of experience. The mechanics and flipping were the same as gymnastics, but everything else was different.

“It was a hard transition at first, gymnasts always land on their feet, divers always land on their hands,” Popper said. “Being a gymnast, I never liked to land on my hands.”

Popper recalls his nerve-racking first time jumping off the 10-meter platform, the tallest platform in diving.

“The first time I jumped off the 10-meter platform, I was afraid I was going to die or something,” Popper said. “I was really scared.”

After overcoming his fear of jumping off of a 10-meter platform, Popper became fond of the event. Popper also competes in the 1-meter springboard, 3-meter springboard, 5-meter platform, and 7.5-meter platform.

“The 10-meter is the one I am the best at, I enjoy that one the most,” Popper said. “I have the most fun.”

Popper’s favorite dive off of the 10-meter platform is the full in, it is a front 1.5 somersault with a full twist, followed by a 1.5 pike. It is a 2.7 out of 3.6 degree of difficulty.

“The full in is my favorite because of its difficulty,” Popper said. “It’s pretty hard but when I do it, I feel like I’m flying.”

Popper practices three to five hours a day, seven days a week in the morning and after school. He dives for three hours every day. He also does about two hours of conditioning per day which consists of running stairs maintain his cardio and leg training to help him jump higher. To help his muscles recover from his intense training Popper gets treatments like dry needling, cryotherapy, and massages.

“Diving is a very intense and demanding sport,” Popper said. “It requires a lot of time and a lot from your body.”

Popper said his mental strength developed from his six years of experience has made him a strong diver. After overcoming the mental barrier of jumping off the platform, the physical part of diving takes over.

“Diving is more of a mental sport than a physical sport because to most people jumping off of a 10-meter platform is really scary,” Popper said. “Doing multiple flips and twists off of 10-meters is even scarier.”

In the past, swim and dive coach Peyton Bobo has worked with a few divers. Most of the divers he worked with were transitioning from another sport like gymnastics or cheerleading to diving. Popper already had five years of diving experience before working with Bobo.

“I have had a couple divers in the past,” Bobo said. “Alekzandr is the best diver I have coached.”

Teammate Page Vavasour recalls her first time meeting Popper as being in awe after watching him dive.

“I met him at dive camp when I was diving over the summer and he was diving there too,” Vavasour said. “I was like wow he is really good, I was a little intimidated at first.”

The dive team’s only two divers have a close team bond and are supportive of each other according to Vavasour.

“It is really helpful to have him as a teammate because he teaches me a lot of stuff,” Vavasour said. “He also directs me in diving and overall makes me a better diver.”

In his freshman year, Popper won 1st at the district competition and broke the meet record. He went to regionals and advanced to state. This year, he won 1st at the district competition, advanced from regionals and is headed to state.

“Last year I dove pretty badly at state, I dove with a back injury and ended up placing 6th,” Popper said. “I think I have a chance this year at winning state.”

Popper wants to make the sport of diving more popular. He wants more people to try the sport he loves.

“If you are a thrill seeker and want to experience something new, like learn flips and stuff,” Popper said. “It is a really fun sport to do.”

According to his teammates and coach, when Popper dives, his hard work shows in his skill and his execution of difficult dives.

“He is really fun to watch on the diving board,” Bobo said. “He can really get up in the air and enter the water with no splash.”