Tim tams united states12/6/2023 ![]() “Maybe you should learn how to do it properly so you won’t hurt yourself,” she cracked at him. She encouraged him to sign up for lessons at the newly opened pool by their house. Scapens was busy with Australian football, surf lifesaving and cricket growing up, but the particular activity of jumping off the jetty and doing flips was what didn’t sit well with his mom. The opportunity to move to Miami after that phone call came as fast as his diving career even began, and he has his mother to thank. While their conversation might not have been what a recruit could expect, it gave Scapens an opportunity just the same. “I guess I’m not dumb?” Scapens answered, another example of his lighthearted humor. Your diving’s got the checks, but are you smart? Are you good in school?’” But I remember him asking me, ‘There’s only one thing you have to do. “First time I met him on the phone he said to me, ‘I’m with my bird at the moment,’ and it was him and his wife, Karen.” Scapens reminisced. ![]() Scapens gave his future coach a call and just like that, it all worked out. Interested in sharing the Miami pool and platform with the international diver, he gave Scapens Ableman’s number with the selling point of an open spot on the roster. An out-of-the-blue message from Olympic athlete David Dinsmore was the catalyst that brought Scapens to Miami.ĭinsmore was diving for Ableman at the time and had gotten wind of Scapens’ diving career with the South Australian Institute of Sport and Diving Australia. Leaning back on his chair wearing flip-flops and an old Miami t-shirt, it’s no surprise that the genesis of his American diving career was a laid-back affair. I just didn’t care about university, period,” he said. “I honestly had no idea Miami was like that. He didn’t even know of Miami’s diving program history or the powerhouse title it had gained under the 32-year leadership of head coach Randy Ableman. “I got a couple of certifications for that and in the end I dropped it all because I could come over here.”ĭoubling as a lead singer in a rock band (a fact disclosed by his 23-year-old sister Taylah) and with certifications in his back pocket, college just wasn’t on Scapens’ radar. My granddad was an electrician, my dad works for power lines, I guess it interested me.” Scapens said. Five years ago, though, diving in the United States was the last thing on his mind. The 21-year-old Adelaide native is now in his second year diving for Miami and almost ten years into his overall diving career. Maybe it was his accent that caught their attention, or maybe it was his impressive mullet. Pausing his music and slipping out his earphones, his cheery “How you doing, love?” greeting delivered with the Australian intonation turned the heads of students sitting nearby. On the opposite side of the concrete deck from where he spends most of his days, it wasn’t surprising to find him glancing up from his phone every so often to peer past the fence and bushes towards the pool. Squinting through the sun while rolling a skateboard back and forth underneath his feet, Brodie Scapens looked as carefree as ever as he sat under an umbrella on the University of Miami Lakeside Patio. SeatGeek: Buy or Sell Women’s Basketball TicketsĬORAL GABLES, Fla. ![]()
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