Training pays off in pair of medals for young divers
Determined girls put in years of work to reach junior development nationals
Regina divers Lila Stewart and Presley Deck have trained more than half their young lives to see their national dream realized.
This month, the 10-year-old divers’ dreams came true when each picked up a medal at the Speedo Junior Development Nationals diving competition.
During the event in Toronto from July 6 to 8, Deck picked up a bronze medal in the three-metre springboard and Stewart won a silver medal in the five-metre platform.
Winning these — their first national medals — was redemption for both young divers after not being pleased with their performances at last year’s national competition.
“I was so excited I felt like I was going to faint,” said Deck. “Last year at nationals I didn’t do quite as good, so getting third felt really good.”
“Last year, I went to nationals and I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get a medal,” said Stewart. “This year, I was really happy that I did.”
Jana Klein, Regina Diving Club’s assistant head coach, was proud to see her divers do so well against divers from approximately 20 other clubs across Canada.
“To me, it shows not just how strong they are physically, but mentally as well and how much they grew over this past year to reach the goals they had from last nationals where they didn’t get the results they wanted.”
But it has taken years of hard work for Deck and Stewart to reach the national level.
Stewart began diving at age three when her parents heard about the sport from a friend, and Deck began at five when she heard about the sport from her older cousin.
“My cousin got a scholarship to Hawaii and she was a diver, and then she told me about it so I wanted to try it,” said Deck.
Now both girls dream of receiving diving scholarships to attend University in Hawaii.
The girls train at the Lawson Aquatic Centre six times a week through the school year. The divers attend a summer camp most mornings in July and then have August off.
“I’m so proud of them, because I’m here every day and I see the work they put in and I see the struggles they go through,” said Klein.
“We’re asking these kids to come five, six times a week and some of them to do extra things outside of the pool, and to be a 10- (or) 11-year-old and be willing to give that much of yourself, it just shows their dedication and their drive.”
Preparing for nationals is a yearlong process, said Klein. Training begins with conditioning, flexibility and co-ordination before the divers move on to learning the actual dives.
Balancing so much training with school is also difficult at times. Deck said she tries to get all her homework done before she has to leave for training, and Stewart said sometimes she has to miss school.
The high level of commitment is worth it to pursue a sport about which they’re passionate.
Stewart and Deck said they love diving because of the friendships they build.
“I like meeting all of the friends that are in your club and from other clubs that you might not get to meet if you weren’t in diving,” said Stewart.
Klein said divers often stay with the Regina Diving Club from a young age until they graduate high school, so the club has a tight-knit community feel.
Although the friendships are fun, training can be difficult.
The girls agreed that the hardest part of training is working to overcome mental blocks when learning new dives, but Deck said laughing and loosening up often helps her work through it.