My sophomore year of High School I was on the dive team. In our league we have a dive meet known as NBLs, North Bay League. NBL is a qualifier into North Coast Sectionals, NCS. In order to compete at NCS girls must receive a score of 255 points with an eleven dive list. Boys only have to receive a score of 245. I not only trained for this meet during the high school season, I trained year round. I went to dive practice almost every day for the past year in hopes that I would improve my diving. I gave up some of my social life to go to dive meets or practices. Turning down my friends for “girls’ night”, movie night, or sometimes even a dance seemed more than tolerable since I wanted to compete at NCS. I went through trying times with teammates; even watching one of my good friends hit the board resulting in a broken arm. I also had to complete that same dive, without breaking my arm. The day of NBLs I was so nervous. I felt as though my stomach was doing the flips and twists that the rest of my body was supposed to do off the dive board. I tried to make my dives look sharp by tightening my muscles or pointing my toes. That day I tried to chase perfection by soaring through the air and entering the water with hardly any splash. As the judges totaled up my score I waited anxiously on the other side of the pool biting my nails the entire time. Once the judges totaled the scores, I had an end score of 253.75 points. I was only two points away from qualifying for NCS. I scored higher than two of my guy friends who dive, but they would be able to dive at NCS because they had qualifying scores of 245 or better. In October of my junior year I decided to not dive at all for the school team. However, I would continue to dive on Santa Rosa’s club diving team. I did not want to receive such a close score and then not be able to go to NCS. I was not sure if I could handle the disappointment again. The swim coach at my high school heard about my plan. After hearing this, he tracked me down at a football game. As he pulled me over to talk to him, I recognized the look on his face;

that look is similar to one that a parent will give you as they prepare to yell at you for giving up on something with which you were becoming discouraged. He repeatedly told me that there was no way that I would not qualify this year. Finally, I told him that I would think about it, in truth I told him this just to get him off my back. Our swim coach knew that he had not convinced me, so he called my two dive coaches without telling me. He told my dive coaches that I was not planning on diving for high school. Saturday morning I went to dive practice just as I had for the past two years. I had to do twice as many push ups, sit ups, hand stand push ups, and lunges as my teammates. When I had finished trying to complete their impossible work out only then was I allowed to dive. If my whole body did not hurt from the work out, it then stung with welts from the water. After practice my coaches waited for me outside the locker room. They explained that they wanted me to dive in high school regardless of last year. After a few quick tears over feelings that I still had from sophomore year I agreed that I would dive in high school, but I placed an ultimatum on myself, I would not miss qualifying for NCS. There was no bruise from a dive that could last as long as the emotional one from my sophomore year when I missed the qualification by a mere two points. During the next couple of months I pushed myself to do dives with which I felt uncomfortable. My fellow teammate and I would occasionally sit in the locker room and cry after practice. We would complain about dives that physically we could do, but mentally we were not prepared for. Not only were we each others’ greatest competitors but we also became best friends. In May the exhausting practices and restraint on my social life had finally seemed worth it. I received a score of 270 at NBLs. The following week I was able to compete at girls’ NCS. Looking back on that situation I realized that you are always given an opportunity to continue to try and achieve your goals.