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Tennessee Vols Diver Overcomes Obstacles on the Platform

By Seth Norris

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Tennessee Vols Diver Mauricio Robles grew up in Mexico and has had to overcome plenty of obstacles, in life and on the platform…literally.

Life is about trying to get to the pinnacle of the platform. Along the way, there are many obstacles to face and overcome before somebody can reach that point.

As a student-athlete at the University of Tennessee, Mauricio Robles has quite literally reached that feat as a diver. Performing dives, and flips on a 10-meter platform (33 feet), Robles performs at the highest level.

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Sure, that’s the case for most divers, but not all have faced what this All-American diver has.

Robles grew up in Monterrey, Mexico where he first picked up the sport of diving. At a young age, his mother took him to a camp to be a swimmer like his brother and sister, but Robles wanted to be different.

“I did diving, and I just kept diving until today,” said Robles, “I love it.”

Aside from one day of soccer, it is the only sport that the he has ever practiced. As Robles got older, and with the help of a family member, Robles was able to get some attention for his abilities outside of Mexico.

“I got an email from an old friend of mine who I honestly hadn’t been in touch with in more than twenty years,” said head swimming and diving coach Dave Parrington.

That friend happened to be Mauricio’s uncle, a former graduate assistant strength coach for Parrington at the University of Houston in the 1980s. That email was the start of Robles being able to come to Tennessee and reach his high platform.

“I did a little bit of homework and checked some international results and some things of that nature, and quickly got back to him and said, ‘yeah, we want this guy. How’s his English?’”

Here inlays the first obstacle.

Coach Parrington and Robles could only communicate through email; there were no phone calls because Robles could not speak the English language. Regardless, he came to the states, and the university, and it proved to be difficult at first.

“I couldn’t speak English at all freshman year,” said Robles, “it was a huge challenge for me, but I enjoyed it and I think I’m doing better now.”

With the help of former teammate Brent Sterling, and a few other divers and swimmers, Robles was able to learn English by the end of his sophomore year, the 2012-13 season. Robles also experienced something Coach Parrington calls “horrific” that season.

Performing a common, yet difficult dive, Robles hit his head on the platform.

“Honestly, in my 30 plus years of coaching,” said Parrington, “that’s probably been the scariest situation I ever dealt with as a coach.”

In a sport that requires complete concentration, Robles admits he wasn’t fully focused that day. He doesn’t remember the exact moment of the injury.

“I knew I was close. I didn’t know how close, but I was just squeezing my tuck,” said Robles, “I don’t remember hitting. I don’t even remember swimming to the side of the pool.”

The first thing he remembers is getting out of the pool, and being told to lie down. He thought he was fine, but he then realized he was bleeding heavily. Robles required twenty-two staples to help fix the wound.

“It was hard time[s],” said Robles, “I wanted to quit after that, but I realized how important the team is, how much they care about me, and I didn’t want to just quit because I was scared of the dive.”

He was back in the water within a month of the injury, and he was determined to do the same exact dive.

“I was like ‘I’m going to train, and I’m going to get stronger, and I’m going to do the dive again,’” said Robles.

He was granted a redshirt, and after several months of fundamental work, and gradually bringing himself up to strength, he achieved his goal.

“It was probably six months before he actually did that dive again,” said Parrington “Believe me, I was nervous.”

During his redshirt sophomore season in 2013-14, Robles continued his All-American success from his freshman year. He is currently in his senior season and has amassed seven All-America certificates and six SEC medals, including being the 2014 SEC Diver of the Year.

“I’m looking forward to him to challenge for the NCAA titles,” said Parrington.

Moving forward, Robles also has Olympic aspirations, and with the obstacles he has faced at the University of Tennessee, there is no counting out Mauricio Robles.

“I never thought I would come to the states and study and keep diving, learn another language, meet so many people, and accomplish things I didn’t think I would accomplish,” said Robles, “It changed my life.”

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