Dive Right In

by Matt Christopher

  “I know, diving is a different sport, but still, when you move into new level of talent, it’s going to be a shock. You were used to being numero uno. In Jeff’s class, everyone looked up to you. Jeff kept going on about how you were the greatest ever, and we all naturally felt the same way. I sure did! Now, all of a sudden, you’re not the best.”

  Valerie turned her head away, but Traci didn’t stop. “I’m going to say what you said to me a few weeks back—and I know it’s true. You’re selling yourself short, and you’re letting the sudden change get to you too much. And you’re giving in way too easy.”

  Valerie only sighed. “If you saw these guys, you’d know. They’re out of my league.”

  “You think they started that way?” Traci asked. “You think they were all-stars when they were in diapers? I bet when they started in this class, they went through what you’re going through now. And they shook it off and got back to work and got better.”

  She sat down next to her friend and spoke more gently. “That’s what you’ll do, too. You’ll get up off the ground and suck it up and get to work. You’re a fighter, and you’re an athlete. You’ve got talent and drive. And I do not believe that you’re going to just walk away from the thing you’ve been working toward all your life. I bet that in a few weeks, you’ll remember today and say, ‘What was I thinking?’ You’ll laugh. You’ve hit a little bump in the road, that’s all. You didn’t hit a wall.”

  Finally, Valerie sat up. She looked at Traci with a small smile. “Listen to you!” she said. “I’ll tell you one thing: Being in that class has sure changed your attitude. You’re a lot tougher than you used to be.”

  Traci was pleased. “You think so? Well, good, then. And I think the same thing will happen to you. You have what it takes. Wait and see, you’ll get past this. When this coach said that you could go to the top, he knew what he was talking about. Just hang in there.”

  Valerie laughed. “All right, all right, I’ll hang in there, just to keep you quiet. Thanks.”

  “That’s what friends are for,” Traci replied, satisfied.

  11

  Traci decided that working with a more advanced group of divers had its good and bad points. On the plus side, she was with girls her own age, including Carly. Once the other girls saw that Carly had forgiven Traci, they were friendly. She often went out with some of them for a snack after workouts. Also, Traci found she liked working with divers who challenged her to improve. When she was challenged in this way, she did improve.

  On the minus side, it could be discouraging to see how much better some of these divers were. A few could do dives that were far beyond anything Traci could manage, at least at this time. A three-and-a-half somersault inward dive in the pike position with a twist, for example, was a dive Traci could only dream about performing.

  Even though Traci no longer thought that having Margo watching her all the time was a bad thing, exactly, it did make her uncomfortable. She mentioned it to Carly one day after a workout, when they were with a group of girls. Most of them laughed.

  “Sure you’re uncomfortable,” Carly said. “That doesn’t make you different. We all are. But, when you think about it, it’s a good way to feel. It keeps us on our toes so we don’t get too casual and mess up dives because our brains are elsewhere. That’s one reason why Margo is such a good coach: She will never let you get too relaxed.”

  “Is relaxation so terrible?” Traci asked.

  Another diver named Rachel said, “Relaxation is okay, but being too relaxed isn’t, if you want to do your best.”

  “What are other reasons Margo is so good?” Traci wanted to know.

  “For one thing,” said Carly, “she doesn’t miss a thing. She spots the tiniest flaw in a dive. You probably understand by now that even little mistakes mess up dives. It’s not like some other sports, where you can adjust in the middle and things may come out right. In diving, when you make a mistake, you’re out of luck. If it happens in competition, well, you’re done. Margo never lets a mistake go by. She has a great eye.”

  “Anything else?” asked Traci.

  “She really cares about us,” said Rachel “We know she’ll be there for us, whatever happens.”

  Traci wanted to hear more about this, but the others wouldn’t go into details. Carly spoke for them all when she said, “You’ll find out one day. Margo doesn’t like us to talk about these things.”

  After Traci had been with the advanced group for a week, Margo told her, “Today you’ll start on a three-meter board.”

  Traci had been thinking about this and dreading it. Three meters! That was almost ten feet! She was afraid that she might get up there and freeze in panic. She would humiliate herself in front of these girls and never be able to look them in the face again. She thought about talking to Sophia about her fear. But she didn’t see much of the other coach now.

  She noticed that Carly was standing by herself and went over to her. “I’m supposed to use a three-meter board today.”

  “Great!” Carly said. “You’ll be fine.”

  Traci leaned forward to whisper so nobody else would overhear her. “You don’t get it. I’m scared about that height. What if I can’t do it?”

  Carly said, “Whatever you did on the one-meter board, you just do the same thing. Visualize the dive. Focus. Concentrate. Don’t let yourself think about anything except the dive, the things you have to do.”

  When Traci didn’t seem convinced, Carly sighed. “There’s no magic trick, no secret. Either you can do it… or you can’t. Just go up and do the same approach, the same hurdle…. Okay? You’re a good athlete and a good diver, and I’m sure you’ll do great. But saying that is the only help I can give you.”

  Traci saw that Carly was right. She remembered the first time she’d been on a diving board and what Sophia had said. Carly was basically telling her the same thing. She managed to smile at Carly.

  “I’ll be all right. Thanks.”

  Margo told Traci that her first dive from three meters should be a forward one-and-a-half somersault in the tuck position. “Remember,” Margo added, “you don’t have to worry about getting a strong jump for height, because you have enough height to begin with. Any questions?”

  Traci shook her head and climbed slowly to the higher board. As she reached the top, she looked down. The water seemed to be a long way away. Margo and Carly were watching her, and they were too far away to be of any help. She was on her own.

  Traci did what she always did on the lower board. She closed her eyes and visualized the dive, took a deep breath, and started her approach.

  She was surprised to find that habit took over. She did her hurdle and jumped, leaning forward to start her somersault. She went into her tuck, bringing her legs up to her chest and grabbing her shins, and straightened out as she plummeted toward the water.

  It seemed to take forever to get there, and by the time she did, Traci had gone past the vertical line she had wanted for her entry. Her legs flopped forward too far and the backs of her legs splashed way too much. But she had done the dive. She was in the water!

  Traci surfaced and swam to the edge of the pool. As she climbed out, Carly gave her a thumbs-up signal. Traci knew that it wasn’t for the dive itself, which had been pretty bad. It was for having done it at all.

  “Once again,” Margo said, “and remember to adjust for the greater height of the board. You should take more time in your come-out and be sure to keep your body tense as you prepare for your entry. Make certain your arms are fully extended.”

  Traci nodded as she dried herself with the chamois. Then she started up the ladder again. Margo’s criticisms were completely right, of course. And Traci knew that, this time, she would do better. More important, she knew that she could master her fear.

  For the next few sessions, Traci worked from the three-meter board. She tried to remember that she had more time for somersaults. She worked on all the dives she had learned on the one-meter board: backward, re
verse, and inward dives, as well as forward ones; dives in the tuck, pike, and straight positions. Margo’s steady stream of comments and corrections gave Traci so much to think about that she almost forgot to worry about the three-meter height.

  During her second week using a three-meter board, Traci did her first successful three-and-a-half somersault dives, both tuck and pike. She barely had time to feel proud of her accomplishment before Margo had her begin working on adding one and even two twists to these dives.

  As she came up from the pool after performing a three-and-a-half somersault dive with two twists in the pike position, she was surprised to see Sophia waiting for her. Traci hadn’t seen Sophia by the pool in several weeks.

  “I can’t believe how far you’ve gotten since I saw you dive,” Sophia said. “You almost nailed that dive, and it’s got a pretty high degree of difficulty.”

  Traci had learned how judges score dives in competition. A judge awards a dive a point total from 0 to 10. Ten means that the dive is perfect. A score like 8.8 means that the dive is very good. Scores such as 5.5 or less indicate that the dive is pretty poor.

  The point totals are then multiplied by a figure called the “degree of difficulty.” Every kind of dive has a degree of difficulty rating assigned by an international committee that regulates diving competitions. A relatively easy one, like a simple forward dive in a tuck position, is rated at 1.4. A very hard dive—such as a backward three-and-a-half somersault dive in a tuck position—gets 3.4.

  This means that a perfect performance of a very easy dive doesn’t score as well as a very good—but not perfect—performance of a hard dive. If you don’t attempt difficult dives in competition, you might perform well, but you won’t win.

  Pleased by Sophia’s praise, Traci said, “I still have a long way to go, but thanks.”

  “Sure you do. But Margo was right about you,” replied Sophia.

  Before Traci could ask what Margo had said, Margo herself joined them. “Sophia is here to help me with a simulated competition,” Margo said.

  “What’s that?” asked Traci.

  Margo explained. “Some of you will do five dives each, the same five. Sophia and I will act as judges and score the dives for quality, just as judges do in real competitions.”

  The rest of the girls gathered around. “There will be no winners or losers,” Margo continued. “I want to give some of you who have not competed a chance to experience how these events work. Each diver will get the list of dives. The standard rules of competition will apply. Divers have to complete each dive within a time limit. They must keep their lists handy and do the dives in the right order. Once a diver is on the board, if she does not do the correct dive, or fails to dive, her score will be zero.”

  “I understand,” Traci said.

  “Good, because I want you to be one of the divers,” Margo said. “None of the dives you will do is beyond your present level of skill. And, as I said, there will be no winners or losers. But you will have an idea of how competitions are run. Also, this is being videotaped.” Margo pointed to a woman holding a camcorder. “You’ll get cassettes of your dives to study.”

  Traci nodded, her mouth suddenly dry. She was certain that all the other girls in this group were still much better than she was, no matter how much she had improved lately.

  Four girls were in the group in addition to Traci. When Traci read the list of dives that they were to do, she was relieved to see that she had done all of them. The most difficult was a two-and-a-half somersault reverse dive in a tuck position.

  The girls drew numbers from a box to determine the order in which they’d dive. Traci was to be the fourth one in each round. The first dive on the list was a backward one-and-a-half somersault in the pike position.

  The first diver did what looked to Traci to be a pretty good dive. The pike was not perfect. The girl didn’t bend enough, but her entry was fine. Margo gave the girl a 6.5 and Sophia rated it a 7. The second diver had a problem with her approach and messed up her entry badly. Both coaches awarded only 4.5. The third diver, whom Tracy barely knew to say hello to, aced it. It was a beautiful pike, a well-timed come-out, and a straight up-and-down entry. She received scores of 9.2 from Margo and 9.4 from Sophia.

  Traci went out on the board and paused, closing her eyes as she always did to visualize her actions. Her approach and hurdle were smooth, and she got good lean into the dive. But she didn’t quite finish her come-out, and her entry was rushed. She got the same score from both coaches: 6.5. The last diver also got a 6.5.

  On the next two dives, Traci did somewhat better. Her third, a one-and-a-half inward somersault in a tuck position, earned her a 7 from Margo and a 7.2 from Sophia—the second-highest score among the five divers.

  On the fourth dive, a forward two-and-a-half somersault in a tuck, Traci lost concentration. She mistimed her entry and landed on her back with a loud splat. It got her a 3.5—the lowest score any of the girls had gotten.

  Traci felt angry at herself, and the anger helped her to focus hard on the last of the dives: a one-and-a-half reverse somersault with a twist in a pike position. Her approach was fine, and she got good elevation off the board. Traci knew that her pike was good—her forehead touched her legs, and she thought her entry was outstanding.

  She scored two 8.5s—her best marks. Traci felt that she had done well enough. At least she knew she had not embarrassed herself.

  Margo nodded to Traci at the end of the session, meaning that she was satisfied. “You’ll get the cassette tomorrow,” she said. “Study it carefully. In ten days, there is going to be an exhibition, with real judges. You’ll be one of the divers. I think you’re ready.” Traci hoped that Margo was right.

  12

  The next few sessions were busy ones for Traci. She learned a couple of new dives and worked hard to polish the ones she already knew. She learned that for the exhibition she would choose her own dives. There would be five in all, and she would have to decide for herself how difficult her choices would be.

  Valerie called her one evening to ask if Traci wanted to split a pizza for dinner. After asking her mother, Traci agreed to meet Valerie a little later.

  While they waited for their order, Traci studied Valerie for clues to how her friend was feeling. Finally, she said, “You look better than the last time I saw you.”

  Valerie put down her drink and smiled. “I am better. I mean, gymnastics is better. I’m still not numero uno or anything, but I’m really working again, and the coach is happy.”

  Traci smiled. “So you’re not planning to quit just yet, huh?”

  “No way,” Valerie said as the waiter put their pepperoni and mushroom pizza on the table. “And you were a big help.”

  Traci shrugged and reached for a slice. “It was no big deal.”

  Valerie replied. “It was a big deal, as far as I’m concerned. I’d never lost confidence before, not even for a second. I thought that was it, I was toast. You made me see that I was totally wrong. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Traci wiped some cheese off her hand with a napkin. “You can call us even. You did the same thing for me.”

  “We’re the same kind of person as far as sports goes,” said Valerie. “We both want to take it to the limit, go the distance. We each know how the other one’s mind works. That’s why we helped each other through these situations. It takes someone who knows what’s happening.”

  Traci thought as she chewed on a bite of pizza. “I guess that’s right. I’ve learned something about myself since I started working with Margo. I found out that I really do want to see what I’ve got. I’m willing to push myself, and I work harder when someone else pushes me. I was worried that I’d be afraid to dive off a three-meter board, but you know what? I’ve learned how to concentrate until my fear sort of fades away. It doesn’t disappear, but it shrinks, and then I can handle it.”

  Valerie nodded. “And I’ve learned that when I find myself facing tougher competition than I wa
s used to, it revs me up. When the bar is raised, I’ll do whatever it takes to get over it.”

  Traci frowned. “What happens if we don’t make it to the top?”

  “I don’t know,” admitted Valerie. “I guess I’ll be disappointed. But as long as I know that I gave it all I could, I won’t be destroyed, you know what I mean?”

  “Yeah,” Traci said. “I do. The same thing goes for me, I think.”

  A few days later, Traci was working on a dive that she was considering for the exhibition: a two-and-a-half somersault inward dive in a pike position. She thought that if she could nail this one it would be a big help in her final score. On the other hand, if she messed it up, it could be a disaster. She decided she’d have to try several more until she was confident she could do it well. If not, then she’d use the—

  “Traci?”

  Startled, Traci turned to find her mother standing there, looking very upset.

  “Mom? What’s the matter?” Traci knew just from Mrs. Winchell’s expression that something was very wrong.

  Traci’s mother took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking. “It’s your brother. Pete’s been in an accident.”

  Traci stared at Mrs. Winchell. “Is he all right? What happened?”

  “His bike was hit by a car. He’s been taken to the emergency room at County Medical. Your dad is there with him, and we’ll meet him there.”

  Traci rushed to her mother and the two hugged, forgetting completely that Traci was wearing a wet swimsuit. “How is he doing? What did you hear?”

  Mrs. Winchell stood back and shook her head. “He’s unconscious, and they’re still running tests. That’s all we know for now, honey. Get dried off, and I’ll wait for you here.”

  Traci noticed Margo heading their way with a questioning look on her face. Quickly she explained what had happened to Pete. “I have to go to the hospital with my mother.”

  “Of course you must,” Margo said, looking worried. “I’ll wait here with your mother while you get dressed.”