Spotlight on Students is a feature that showcases WYWLA students 

and cool experiences they've had and/or recognitions received.

How and when did you get involved in diving?

When I was about 8 or 9 years old my parents put me in diving just for the summer so that I could do other activities during the year but when I was 13, I thought I’d try dive year round so I started and that’s how I got into diving.

Why do you dive?

First and foremost, it is fun for me.  The rush I get from trying a new dive or flying through the air is exhilarating.  After diving for several years during the summer, I chose to start year-round, and i have since developed a passion for it.  It makes me a more determined person who feels like I can take on the world.  

How do your experiences diving compare to other sports you have played, if any? 

When playing any sport, you have to focus on knowing your body to control your muscles, so they do what you want them to do. Dive has helped me learn how to use my muscles so I can do more and do them prettier. In other sports like tennis, you have to focus on where your hand is going so you can hit the ball across the net which can be learned to dive when learning how to do a hurdle and throwing your arms.

In your diving competitions, how are the dives themselves scored?

How are dives scored? A dive is judged in 5 areas.  Overall, it needs to be pretty.  But judges also look at your approach on the board, The flight, or how high you are able to get in the air, the execution of the dive itself and the entry into the water.  You have to think about the dive holistically to score well.  

What is the scariest dive you’ve ever completed, what about your favorite?

One of the scariest dives I have ever done is an inward flip. When I first learned it I always thought I would hit the diving board but after overcoming that fear, I got very god at them and even did inward 1 ½ on 3m. My favorite dive would have to be the back dive pike. Back anything has always been my favorite because I can get much higher and do more and I can go into a pretty tight pike.

What is the hardest part about learning a new dive? What about the sport overall? 

When learning a new skill, you have to do a bunch of different drills on land first to get a dive that takes about a second. You have to learn what muscles you have to use and how to use them. All your muscles have a purpose and in Dive, you need to learn which muscles need to do what. Overall, the dive sport is a mental game it's not that you can do it, it’s that you're scared to do it. You have to be able to get over that mental block so you can do it.

Can you walk us through a diving meet? How many do you have a year?

Dive meets always start with a warmup about 30 minutes long. Then it’s time for the meet, each diver can compete 6 dives and at each of the high school meets one of the 5 categories is required like a front, or back. The 5 categories are front, back, inward, reverse, and twister. The first dive is the required dive and then you have to compete in at least 3 other categories in the meet.

What time is practice for you and how often do you practice?

Broughton High School practices in the earlier practice which is 6 to 7 pm. All high schools come on the following days: Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Friday. People who dive for a club (people who dive outside of school) do not need to come to these practices because they already practice during the week, but everyone must come to the practice before the meet unless they are not competing. I do dive club and come to most of the high school practices except Friday. So, I dive every day of the week except Fridays and Saturdays.

Have you learned any leadership skills through diving? 

When diving you learn a lot from fellow teammates and your coach and as you learn things, you can teach people yourself. Like if you learned a tip that helps you do a dive and you see someone struggling with that same dive then you might want to go talk to them and give them that tip and even if it doesn't help it still tell the other person you are trying to help them succeed.

What is your end goal with participating in diving? 

My end goal is to get a scholarship for diving. I either want to go to George Town or NC State to further my education and getting a scholarship to any of those places would help me pay for college and let me dive for longer.

What would you say to anyone looking to get involved in diving? 

If you are interested in diving I say try it. There is no harm in trying something new and in high school dive there are no tryouts. Diving helps you build strength, and courage and helps you get out of your comfort zone because you try something new almost every day.