An innovator in the sport of diving, Cal took USA Diving literally higher than it had ever been. Son of Carl J (Joseph) Loock, TSDHOF inductee and the “pioneer of Texas diving,” Cal Loock racked up accomplishments at all levels: high school, collegiate, national and international. In springboard, he was a high school all-American, state champion, TAGS champion and Texas-Mexico Games champion. An NCAA all-American while diving at SMU, Loock was undefeated at the Southwest Conference Championships in the 1-meter all four years and won two 3-meter conference championships. Cal finished second on 3-meter to fellow inductee Steve McFarland in 1972.

As a U.S. National Team member for the Can-Am-Mex 1972 Canada Cup, Loock was a finalist, defeating his sister Christine's (also a TSDHOF inductee) future husband Ron Friesen - a 1972 Olympian, Commonwealth Games bronze medalist and six-time Canadian national champion.

Cal was head diving coach at Boston University (1978-1981), where he recruited and coached the national champions of Chile, Argentina and New Zealand. Cal was head coach of the New Zealand national team, and was a two-time Argentina Olympic diving coach (Seoul and Barcelona), coaching dual-citizen Veronica Ribot. Veronica was a three-time Olympic finalist and ended her collegiate career at SMU recruited to be a Mustang by Cal’s sister, women’s head coach, Vicki Loock (Cain) Veris and Cynthia Potter, diving coach. 

His diving legacy includes his contribution to the development of both cliff and high diving on the world stage. Invited in 1973 to compete in the VI Acapulco World Cliff Diving Championships, Cal scored perfect 10s on an open pike one and a half from the top of the cliff’s highest level (~87 feet). By ‘74 he set the highest dive in Africa record, punctuated by the bronze medal at the World Target Diving Championships. Under the tutelage of Olympian, coach and judge, Tom Gompf, their seminal contributions helped build a ladder to the highest levels over the next three decades. Cal recruited the next generation of international athletes to train, perform and compete at 27 meters in the FINA-recognized (Red Bull) Cliff Diving World Series and FINA World Cup and High Diving Championships.

Cal feels one of his greatest accomplishments came from opening the door for former national champions of South Africa, Rhodesia and Chile to compete in the NCAA, many choosing to immigrate to North America in search of a better life. Cal is proud of his work in creating travel opportunities and forging long term relationships for athletes who loved to dive and were able to lengthen their career run in diving shows nationally and internationally. Cal, with the backing of Maxwell Associates, opened the door to dozens of Texas divers, former U.S. divers and international athletes to travel the world performing high dives, fire dives, tandem dives and clown dives as members of the Great American High Dive Team.