Made up of only two members, the WHHS dive team isn’t the most populated. However, these athletes, Sarah Cooper, ‘27, and Grace Kim, ‘28, are exceptionally talented and exemplary representatives of WHHS’ excellence.
After only a few years, the two have grown close. Kim reaches her fourth year in the fall, while Cooper is thriving in her second year after being injured for all of her sophomore year.
Being the only WHHS divers, the duo leans on each other for support.
“Having a small team is hard, but Sarah and I have created a close bond and have found benefits in having such a small team,” Kim said. “I definitely have become closer with her, not only as a teammate, but also as a friend.”
These accommodation and teamwork skills were put to the test at the beginning of the school year when the diving team was in need of a coach.
“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t have a coach because they [the swim team] just got a new coach, and we didn’t have a dive coach,” Cooper said.
Without a specific dive coach, they had to compromise and merge with other high schools that were in the same predicament.
“So now we’re combined with a few other high schools,” Cooper said. “It’s Mason, Loveland, and WHHS. We all just practice together with the same coach.”
Even in the face of adversity, the duo found the silver lining.
“When we’re going to a meet, we actually cheer for each other, and it’s nice,” Cooper said. “It’s not as competitive. It’s more just like, for fun.”
Kim also pointed out the struggle they face having such a small team, but on the bright side, it brought her and Cooper closer, even outside of diving.
This bigger team actually ended up being beneficial.
“We do support each other a lot, but it’s also because we bond with those other teams that we practice with, and we just all kind of lean on each other,” Cooper said.
Understandably, there is pressure when performing, especially because diving is often seen as an individual sport rather than a team sport.
“Yeah, it’s scary because you get one chance and if you mess up, that’s it,” Cooper said.
The team performs countless walkthroughs and practices, which can calm the nervous feelings they experience.
“I love the feeling of satisfaction after learning a hard dive that I was nervous for,” Kim said.
Routine may be tedious, but it fosters consistent success.
“I feel like as long as you work hard and do the same thing over and over and over again, it gets boring and repetitive,” Cooper said, “but it’ll make it more consistent.”
Some say practice makes perfect, which is inherently true for the duo.
“Sarah and I both placed in the top eight at districts. I think that we should both be extremely proud of that,” Kim said. “Both of us have worked insanely hard this season, and I’m really happy to see it paying off.”
As the season wraps up, Cooper and Kim have a message for the community.
“One message I have to WHHS about diving is to try something new,” Kim said. “Diving is such a small sport, and we don’t have many athletes. Even if you’ve never dived before, our community is so welcoming; no experience is needed to try something new.”