On the soccer field, it seems as if Zack Pope can outrun anybody.
On the dance floor, however, he is perfectly in sync with everyone else.
The senior midfielder started stepping last year, joining a group started by some of his neighbors in his Edens Quadrangle dorm. The step team is not an official organization-what started as a group of friends dancing transformed into a team that received requests to perform in various venues, ranging from the Nasher Museum of Art to Cameron Indoor Stadium. And Pope, despite never having stepped before, joined in for the ride.
"It's kind of cool because we do it with a lot of the guys that we live with," Pope said. "It's always fun just to get out there with your boys and put on a good show for everybody."
Pope has never been one to shy away from attention. A prom king in high school, the midfielder did not need much prodding to get up in front of crowds and start stepping.
"He wanted to do it," said senior Omari Wallace, one of the other steppers. "We did no recruiting.... There were some people who already did step. It was just like, 'Oh, we're trying to do this, we're trying to step' and that was it."
Even though he lacked experience and was limited in the amount of time he could dedicate to practice because of his soccer schedule, Pope became a skilled dancer in no time.
"From my perspective, Zack picked things up very quickly," Wallace said. "He didn't have as much time as some other people to actually put towards learning the step, but when he set out to learn it, he learned it."
One of the most athletic players on the soccer team, Pope said his transition into dancing was easy. Although he is the only student-athlete on the step team-a disadvantage because of an athlete's demanding schedule-Pope is able to balance reduced step practice time by using his natural athleticism to compensate.
"[Stepping and soccer are related] to a certain extent," Pope said. "You obviously have to be coordinated. You have to have rhythm. You can't ever do it without rhythm."
But the connection between the two activities extends beyond mere physical abilities. The chemistry associated with a team sport like soccer is equally vital in group dancing. Just as soccer teammates must communicate to be effective in a game, the dancers have to be on the same page to put on a professional production.
Because Pope has been so successful, the steppers have tried to recruit his teammate, defender Darrius Barnes, but the junior declined the invitation.
"I'm not really into that," Barnes said. "I'm more of a low-key kind of guy. Zack likes being in the public eye a little bit more than I do."
Pope had a slightly different take on Barnes' decision.
"He sort of chickened out," Pope said. "Darrius is too cool to do it."
Pope is not deterred, however, by the occasional barbs from his teammates. In fact, the senior has tried to bridge both worlds.
As the soccer team gets into the heart of its conference schedule, Pope's step teammates have come to Koskinen Stadium to support him. Wallace, the de facto leader of the step team, has become an avid soccer fan.
"I started going to the games after I got to know Zack," Wallace said. "The first game I went out to was one of the most fun experiences I have had at this University altogether. It was mind-blowing."
And when the step team starts performing again in the offseason, perhaps some of Pope's soccer teammates will be able to say the same thing about one of his step shows.
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