With a new wave of interest coming to the diving team, the team’s season is sure to be filled with new experiences. Many divers left the team last year after graduation, which brought concerns about the future of the team. However, this year brought both younger and older students to the diving team who are looking to learn more about the sport. 

“Everyone that graduated last year were people that I was really close with, so it was super sad to see them leave,” Gavin Tucker, a junior, experienced diver said, “but it means I get to meet new people this year so it’s not so bad.” 

With a new group of divers, for most it will be a focus to improve their own skills to better represent themselves, and the school. However, sometimes to make significant improvements, you need to work on the small details. 

“I will need to work on the little things in my dives that will cost me points,” Zoe Rehm, a junior first-year diver said, “I also need to get more new dives to increase my difficulty score. To do this, I need to get over fears and push myself to do dives out of my comfort zone.” 

For the experienced divers on the team, enjoying the season and watching the other divers grow seems to be a priority. 

“Being able to watch everyone get closer and get better at diving definitely has a positive effect on everyone,” Tucker said. 

The upperclassmen also offer guidance for the newer divers, giving them their expertise and experience from their time on the team. 

“[The upperclassmen] are able to motivate us, share their experiences, and help us see the minor things that we need to fix during meets,” Joey Justice, a sophomore second-year diver said. 

Burnout is common in any sport, and it’s important to keep a sport new for yourself to avoid that. Naturally, that is a common word of advice from the experienced divers. 

“I would argue [diving] is one of the few sports where getting better means just throwing yourself into even more flips and twists,” Tucker said, “It’s a scary thing to do, so having fun is super important to not feel like you’re suffocating in the sport.”