By the diving pool in USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center stood a man wearing sunglasses. The divers describe his facial expression as his "poker face." They walked up to him after they emerged from the pool, had brief discussions with him and ended the conversation with a fist bump.
The man in shades is Hong Ping Li. He has been the head coach of the USC diving team for more than sixteen years.
He made a name for himself well before he came to the U.S. when he won his first gold medal in the Asian Games in 1977 at the age of fourteen. The twelve-time national champion and a two-time Olympian is named by the Chinese media as "the ballet prince of the diving kingdom."
He was an Olympian in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Even though he took fourth place in the diving event, USC talent scouts were impressed by his performance. With the help of Sammy Lee, the first Asian-American to win an Olympic gold medal for the U.S., Li was recruited to USC to study physical education.
After graduating from USC, Li's pursuit for the American Dream had just begun. He began coaching at the Mission Viejo Nadadores. In 1999, USC offered him the diving coach position.
Through that time, Li said he always had the dream of representing the U.S. as a coach, which he fulfilled at the 2004 Olympic games where he was an assistant coach for the U.S. team. During Li's coaching era, at least three world champion divers have emerged from USC, including the 2004 Olympian Blythe Hartley.
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Annenberg Media