EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – Coach Caroline Bowman wants to convince more Egg Harbor Township High School students to come out for the school’s dive team.
She said it is the perfect sport for those who have no fear.
“Diving is awesome especially if you are used to flipping and have no fear and an adrenaline rush is your thing,” Bowman said. “There are lots of kids like that and all they have to do is try to get on the board one time.”
She said that is what happened with EHT freshman Dennis Williams.
“He just tried it out and ended up being really good at it. It’s an awesome sport. It’s really fun,” Bowman said.
Williams said he was at the Mainland Recreation Association (MRA) pool over the summer and some of the lifeguards there showed him some dives. “And I ended up here,” he said, about the EHT dive team.
“Over the summer we would make up our own dives. It was fun and creative,” he said.
“You can just do whatever you want.”
Williams said his favorite dive is the double front flip. It’s also his best dive.
He likes it because he’s “just flipping a lot, fast.” Williams “definitely” plans to continue diving at EHT.
Bowman knows of what she speaks. She is a former diver for Ocean City High School. She also is a surfer and played field hockey for the Red Raiders.
The 2014 OCHS graduate is in her third year coaching diving at EHT.
The team only has three divers this season – she was excited to add a boy – Williams – to the two girls on the team. What’s more, in spite of just learning how to dive, he started pretty well versed in the sport.
“He came in with 11 dives, so that was awesome,” Bowman said. “So we’ve been trying to perfect his technique and get his DD (degree of difficultly) up a little bit. The same with Julianna (Nardone), getting her back after her ACL tear. We’re trying to get her back into shape and we have Isabella (Spena) join me again after her sophomore and junior years.”
The lifelong athlete said she enjoys being a dive coach because the sport is interesting.
“It’s different than anything else. I played field hockey in college which is a team sport and situational. Diving is very calculated,” she explained. “It’s awesome to see the kids learn new things and watch them figure it out and see when it clicks and they get the dive.”
Bowman is hoping to expand the program to attract more kids to the team and may incorporate some summer programs do that.
Spena, a senior, said she got into diving through a friend who is on the team.
“She knew I used to do competitive cheer and gymnastics and she was like, ‘Why don’t you come out?’ So I came out my sophomore year and it’s been my love ever since,” she said.
“I enjoy the freedom it gives you. It’s really exhilarating to do those flips and go back to your mom and dad and be like, ‘Hey, I did this today,’ because it’s so unorthodox. It’s not something that’s set in stone. You do whatever you think you can do. You go with the flow. It’s really cool.”
Spena said her favorite dive is the double front flip. “I fail it the most, but it’s the most fun. Even if I fail it it’s a lot of fun,” Spena said.
“My best dive, I would have to say, is my back one summy (somersault). If you know gymnastics, it’s just like a back layout. It’s basically a back flip but you’re completely straight. It’s probably my best dive because it has my best precision,” she said. “I’ve gotten the highest scores on that dive out of everybody here which is ridiculous, because I’m pretty new compared to the rest of the team.”
Spena wasn’t able to compete at Saturday’s dive meet with Ocean City because she had been out sick during the week, but came in to help score.
Nardone, a senior, said she began diving around eighth grade at the pool in Linwood.
“I started using the diving boards there. I really fell in love with it because I did gymnastics prior and it just came easy to me,” she said. “I decided to do it in high school and have competed all four years.”
She said she loves it “because I don’t get injured any more. It’s just so fun to flip through the air and dive in. It’s never boring.”
“My favorite dive has to be my reverse summy. It’s either my reverse summy or my inward dives. That’s probably my best.”
She hopes other students are attracted to the sport.
“I love it. It’s a very small team because no one really knows about diving, but the three people we have, I love them,” she said. “They’re so nice. They make it fun. It’s never boring.”
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
