The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
University senior Holtz will dive for RIT
All those frenetic winter days in recent years balancing a litany of crafts for Michael Holtz have led to a deserved reward.
The University senior, who during the winter doubled as a two-time Division II state diving qualifier and a goaltender for the Preppers’ hockey team, has committed to Rochester Institute of Technology for diving.
RIT, a D-III program, is one of the nation’s most renowned academic institutions, at which Holtz plans to major in computer science.
“I really like the program there, and the computer science program specifically and the diving team,” Holtz said. “I went on a visit a while ago, and everyone there was really nice and accepting. I really liked the school and all the people there.
“On the diving team, two of the upperclassmen are computer security majors. One of them, who was actually running — he was the head of the computer security club — he was helping in running a competition. So he was at their specific computer science college, and he gave me a personal tour there. The fact that it was a Friday night and that it was so packed and everyone there was still working on their projects really just showed how dedicated everyone there is to learning.”
RIT’s longtime diving coach is Cliff Devries, who has been featured on ESPN’s “E:60” series.
Devries was a promising diver at the high school level in New York who later competed at the University of Kentucky.
In 1996, he had Olympic aspirations. But that dream ended when doctors discovered Devries had a brain tumor. The six-inchlong tumor was removed from his brain stem and, as a result, Devries is paralyzed on the right side of his body.
The “E:60” piece on Devries’ annual dive to celebrate his birthday was recently nominated for a Sports Emmy.
Devries, who just concluded his 17th season as the RIT diving coach, was named as the 2018 recipient of the Richard E. Steadman Award by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America. He was the first diving coach ever to earn the honor.
“I met him a couple times,” Holtz said. “Actually, the first time I met him was at diving regional at Miami (Ohio) last year. We have been emailing back and forth when I started considering RIT, and I spent a lot of time when I visited, and I’ve only had positive interactions with him. He is a really nice guy and knows what he’s doing about diving. He’s a great coach and a really good person.
“(The ESPN piece) was really inspirational. I went actually a couple weeks before his birthday, when I was on my visit. It was kind of interesting: I’d watch that, and then to know that that was going on, it was really inspirational to me to know his journey and how much he struggled. It’s really inspirational.”
Holtz, who took up diving in 2017 after watching his sister get involved in the craft, netted his first D-II state diving berth as a junior in 2019, taking fifth at the Cleveland State District with a score of 372.05. As a senior, he was fourth at CSU with a 367.45.
In Canton, Holtz was 10th at state as a junior (353.55) and 19th as a senior (222.55).
He was a 2019 and 2020 Honor Roll recipient on News-Herald boys swimming and diving all-stars.
Between the pipes, Holtz was the backup last winter to Critter Coughlin before taking over as US’ No. 1 netminder this past season. The Preppers went 14-18-1 this season against a daunting schedule and advanced to another Kent District semifinal.
After his frenetic winters of recent memory, balancing hockey, diving and his schoolwork, Holtz is thankful for the journey.
It’s one that likely would have seemed unexpected even to him when he first took up diving and was learning its nuance on the fly.
“I probably wouldn’t have believed you (back then),” Holtz said of garnering a college opportunity in part from diving. “Because at that point, I was just kind of trying it out, never expecting it to go anywhere. It was fun. But everyone has been so supportive along the way. Through US and through the club team, everyone has just been able to push me, and I’ve been able to push myself to the point that it’s become an option. I just wouldn’t have thought this would have been an option. Everyone has been so helpful and supportive to me, it’s really been a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.
“Yeah, it feels like it’s all been worth it. Over the last three years, just all the time with hockey and diving and all the late-night car rides, just going from one to the other, then get home and start my homework. It’s been a struggle, but just to know that it’s all paid off and that I’ve gotten to this point where I’m still diving and I will dive for the next four years I assume, it kind of makes it all worth it.”