Jackie Shoeman/ Contributing Photographer Larry Shoeman has had an active life working and diving. Today, he enjoys being retired, although he does miss the water and plans to sail in the future.
Brasstown Introducing Larry Shoeman, a man who has done what would make many folks shudder.
Imagine for a moment what it would feel like to stand on the edge of a small platform, looking down from 166 feet at a small body of water that appears to be the size of a half-dollar before taking a dive.
Welcome to what was Shoeman’s world. The Ohio native had no fear of heights as he plunged head-first from dizzying heights to achieve in his chosen sport.
In middle school, Shoeman was heavy into gymnastics. At 14 years old, his family moved to Florida. However, at the time there wasn’t a strong gymnastics team where he lived, but the swimming and diving programs were good.
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While at a pool with the diving board one day, a coach spotted him. The instructor asked Shoeman if he’d be interested in honing his diving skills, saying his gymnastics could be incorporated into the new sport.
He accepted the challenge and made it on a team. Within six years under the coach, he became proficient enough to compete at the state level. He won in 1970, when he was a high school senior.
As luck would have it, his coach had a connection to a diving coach at Florida State University. Shoeman received a full scholarship as a diver on their swim team.
His medals included wins in state championships three times, and he was invited to join the Great American High Diving Team. Shoeman traveled the world diving in shows at theme parks.
The skills he used in high diving and presented to audiences in the different water shows qualified him to advance to and participate in a world competition. In 1979, SeaWorld in Florida hosted an event called the “Target Diving Competition.”
Shoeman entered and won. The following year, they held the World High Diving Championships at SeaWorld, with divers vying for the world record. He was up first to perform a dive from the 166-foot record height. He took second place.
While he never lost his swimsuit from a dive, Shoeman said with a laugh, “I did blow out the inside lining once. I had to curtsy at the end instead of bowing because I looked like Tarzan and couldn’t just bend over.”
One dive in particular concerned Shoeman the most.
“Inward dives were the most challenging due to the fact you have to throw your momentum both downward and backward enough to avoid hitting the platform on which you are leaving,” he said.
As with many sports, there have been changes.
“World class diving has changed dramatically over the years, in both raising the heights from which dives are performed, as well as the difficulty of the dives that are performed,” Shoeman said.
At one point, a police officer used a radar gun to determine the speed of one of his high dives. It displayed 101 mph.
Shoeman’s diving was not without injury. He once strained ligaments in his left knee. Another time, during an 80-foot dive, he hit a guide wire in a backward dive. When his heels hit the platform, he tumbled out of control for 80 feet, landing on his side.
“It knocked the wind out of me, left big bruising down my left side and took me outta the competition. It was a very frightening and painful experience. It was the worst wipeout I’ve ever had,” Shoeman said.
Although retired today, he had a 40-year career administering U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development housing programs throughout Florida. In 2002, he was hired to turn around the Miami Beach Housing Authority, which was losing a million dollars a year due to overspending. He was tasked with reducing the agency by half, earning him a few enemies along the way.
“I walked around with a target on my back,” Shoeman said with a chuckle. There were even a couple of times he was followed, but good security kept him safe.
Other jobs included teaching physical education and health science at Martin County High School in Stuart, Fla. Shoeman has been married for 14 years to his wife, Jackie. They have two grown sons and a dog.
He enjoys fishing and sailing, as well as just about anything else that’s water related. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Murphy.
In 10 years, Shoeman said, “I see myself sailing the ocean blue. I love ocean blue water sailing.”