Re “Ace Speller Cooper Komatsu Clinches National Berth After 13th Round”
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Deborah, Cooper and Robert Komatsu
Deborah Komatsu, the proud mom of spelling champion 12-year-old Cooper Komatsu, did not tarry when answering the question of what qualities may separate her son from his spelling rivals.
“Cooper has a regular working memory,” she said. “He can hold words, roots and languages-of-origin in his head all at the same time.”
Interestingly, Ms. Komatsu is a speech pathologist. Did that play a role in Cooper’s development as a premium speller who has won multiple titles and now is on his way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May?
Not necessarily.
“He was an early reader,” she said “I kind of just went with that.
“Cooper was very into dinosaurs. If you want to learn about roots, dinosaurs are a great way to do it. A lot of Latin and Greek stuff.”
One might think his singular accomplishments – most recently he won the Los Angeles County Scripps Regional Spelling Bee on Sunday — would make him a loner, often off studying.
Not so.
“I would not call him quiet,” said his mother. “He is not a loner, not at all. And he isn’t the type to take over a room. He is observant.
“Cooper really likes to be a regular guy, like ‘I like pop music’ and ‘I like basketball.’ It’s very important that he is social, a well-rounded guy as well as knowing things.”
A seventh grader at Culver City Middle School, Ms. Komatsu said that “Cooper is conscious of the whole middle school dynamic, and he enjoys being part of that.”
