Catching up with MGX's Tyrese "Smoke" Cooper
by Ka' Deem Wynn for DyeStat Florida
If there's one thing we Floridians are great at, it's producing some of the top sprinters in the nation. The Sunshine State has witnessed the likes of Olympic Champion Sanya Richards-Ross, world 100m Bronze Medalist Trayvon Bromell and Kaylin Whitney, now a Nike pro who ran for East Ridge as a freshman and sophomore. Along with runners such as Khalifa St. Fort and Jamal Walton, a new face has been dominating the track headlines this past spring.
When Tyrese ‘Smoke’ Cooper steps on the track, the results are rarely ordinary. When he competes, he brings it, usually leaving his fellow competitors to fight for second place. Tyrese is currently ranked atop his class and amongst the best in the nation in the 100-meter dash (10.51), the 200-meter dash (20.94), and the 400-meters (46.44).
By the way, he's only been in high school for a week as he is a freshman at American High School in Miami.
Tyrese has taken spectators and competitors alike by storm.
The electric 15-year-old speedster from Miami Gardens Xpress (MGX) Track Club rounded off a spectacular middle school and summer track season. A few weeks ago at the 2015 USATF National Junior Olympic Championships in Jacksonville on the campus of the University of North Florida at Hodges Stadium, Tyrese emerged as the national champion in the boys 15-16 division in both the 200-meters and 400-meters. While there, he also broke the 200-meter national record of 21.09 set by Amir Rasul in 2013.
RELATED: TYRESE COOPER 20.98 200-METER POST-RACE INTERVIEW
Seeing his potential early on, his coach from MGX, Darius Lawshea, who has been coaching Tyrese since 2013, couldn't be prouder to see his development.
"I told him that you got to believe. Mind, body, and soul, first", he recalled in a recent interview. "You have to speak positive thoughts then put them into your training and then you can become great."
In what seemed like an instant, Tyrese completely transformed, and became almost an overnight sensation that hasn't gone away.
After tackling the USATF Junior Olympics about three weeks ago relatively with ease, Tyrese prepares himself for his next big step, what some consider the best four years of our lives: high school.
Attending American Senior High School, he shared some of his thoughts and some insight as well on how the near future might play out.
On top of being ready for the big changes in his academic life, as well as a new location, he's confident and ready for what track has to throw at him at the high school level.
"Entering high school there will be a lot of competition," Tyrese explained in a recent interview. "I'm planning on being the first freshman to break the 400 and 200 record."
When asked about which records he was referring to, Tyrese said both the state and national records.
“I tell him all the time, ‘Just because you’re 15 doesn’t mean you have to run like you’re 15,” Lawshea says.
Tyrese certainly takes that to heart considering his third place finish in the 400-meters at the 2015 New Balance Outdoor Nationals, where he ran against an all-high school field.
With all of the big track meets over with, Tyrese is having a bit of a rest up period before he goes at it again. Lawshea, who is now the head coach at American, explained how Tyrese is going to balance running with both MGX and the track team at American.
He explained that Tyrese will run for American during the high school spring track season, and after that, he'll run summer track for MGX.
Tyrese says that he's glad that Lawshea is taking this next big step with him. He says that coach Lawshea was the only coach to make him great.
“I started from the bottom, and I started working harder and started winning and breaking records,” Tyrese recalls.
Lawshea also remembers how Tyrese came up to him asking him to train him because he wants to be great. And something great he has become. As he starts a new chapter in his life, most can be certain that we will hear the name Tyrese Cooper more frequently.
Despite being a big name and fierce competitor on the track, off of it, he’s a regular person. A person who has dreams, and will persevere to achieve those dreams. His success through hard work is far from over. His is a story that epitomizes that anyone can be good through hard work, lots of it. But it’s the question of wanting to be better that separates the good from the great; and Tyrese has clearly made his decision.
