By perservering through mental and physical blocks, the high school’s dive team is able to be successful during their meets.
According to swim and dive head coach Louis Williams, it is admirable to see a diver be courageous to dive into the water, even after failing a couple times.
“I admire a divers bravery of being able to jump into the water, even after failing a couple times,” Williams said.
Some divers fear for the physical repercussions of what happens when a dive is not done correctly, which causes them to avoid certain dives that they are not fully comfortable with, setting them back from learning new skills.
“Diving is just scarier because you know that you are able to hit the board or smack the water and really injure yourself terribly,” sophomore Julianna Yagelnski said.
Sophomore Gaby Sanchez agrees.
“Injuries and illnesses go around a lot and it’s easy to get injured with concussions with hitting the board and the mental blocks is a huge thing,” Sanchez said.
Divers describe the physical and mental aspects of diving and how they compare and work against each other for a diver.
“The mental part of diving is very hard because, for me personally, it feels like 90% mental and 10% physical and I can physically do a lot but it sets you back when you’re not mentally ready for something and sometimes there’s nothing you can do to make yourself ready,” Yagelnski said.
Sanchez shared a similar outlook.
“I would say it’s one of the hardest parts of diving because even if you know you can do it physically, sometimes your mind isn’t there,” Sanchez said.
Diving coach Wendy Hedrick believes that the biggest struggle is getting mentally prepared for a dive.
“It’s a mental sport so if for some reason you’re not mentally ready to do a new dive but you’re physically ready, that’s the biggest challenge. They will get on the board and not make it or smack the water which deters them from trying again,” Hedrick said.
Some divers use their goals and achievements as a way to encourage themselves and gain confidence in their abilities as a diver.
“Last season my goal was just to make it to districts and when I got there, I ended up doing very well and that was just a really good moment for me,” Yagelnski said. “I also did decently well in states so that was really a huge confidence boost for me.”
Sanchez said she also made it to districts, which she was her “personal best.”