The cornerstone of any successful team is the chemistry and camaraderie shared among teammates. Any hint of teammate rivalry often signals trouble.
Don’t mention that to the LSU men’s diving team.
Senior diver Matt Vieke and sophomore Daniel Helm are fixtures within the top five of most final standings after LSU’s diving meets. The intrigue comes in seeing which of the two has
placed higher.
In the five dual meets this season the Tigers (1-4, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) have competed in, Helm and Vieke have finished either one spot above or below each other in four of them, with Helm besting Vieke in two, and Vieke topping Helm twice.
“It seems like Daniel and I always end up neck-and-neck,” Vieke said. “It’s become kind of a joke between he and I.”
The Indianapolis, Ind., native said he and Helm first struck up a friendship during his recruiting visit from Beaverton, Ore., in 2009. The two have since shared the spotlight as two of coach Doug Shaffer’s premier divers.
Shaffer lauded both divers for not only respecting each other’s ability, but also for their
ability to hold each other accountable on a daily basis to improve their individual and team’s scores.
“It’s both of them being a competitor,” Shaffer said. “It betters you every single day.”
Practicing with another diver so equally talented has benefited both Helm and Vieke, who both admit to watching each other’s dives methodically to see what needs improvement.
“It simulates a meet system,” Helm said. “It pushes me to a level that I wouldn’t have if I didn’t have [Vieke].”
Vieke said he and Helm often bounce ideas off each other, even taking practice time to perform assorted maneuvers for each
other.
“I can honestly say with issues I’ve dealt with in certain dives, I’ve had Daniel do examples on film so I can break it down,” Vieke said. “I can figure out what I need to do.”
Vieke said competition provides a contrasting dynamic, with both trying to outscore the other. While the two seek to make each other better in practice, competition brings out a whole new attitude, especially for Helm.
“Right when the meet starts, [Vieke]’s the one I want to beat out,” Helm said. “Come meet time, it’s on like ‘Donkey Kong.'”
Outside of the heat of competition and the grind of practice, Helm and Vieke have fashioned a close friendship,
despite their two-year age difference.
“We’ve been pretty good friends,” Vieke said. “I honestly don’t think a lot that he is much younger than me.”
Shaffer praised Vieke as a role model and a quintessential student-athlete, someone essential to mentor and “pass the reins” to an up-and-coming diver like Helm.
“One of the pillars of our program is respect, and another is unity,” Shaffer said. “When you put those two together … as a coach, you can’t ask for a better environment.”
Vieke said he has nothing but great expectations for his friend and occasional rival. He expects Helm to shine in the next two years, even though he will be without his biggest competition and closest teammate following Vieke’s graduation.
Helm said he expects much of the same. He said he’ll effectively use the plethora of techniques he learned from Vieke and may even find another friendly rival. But for his self-proclaimed “big brother,” Helm sums up their relationship rather simply.
“He’s the man,” he said.
 
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Contact Chandler Rome at [email protected]