East Jefferson Rivals Girls Swim and Dive — particularly the renewed dive team — has been making waves this season, capturing attention with their improving performances and …
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East Jefferson Rivals Girls Swim and Dive — particularly the renewed dive team — has been making waves this season, capturing attention with their improving performances and undeniable team spirit.
This young dive team, which was revived last year after an eight- year hiatus, was due to the initiative and leadership of Zella Mack, now a senior and team captain. She convinced her mom, Erica Nixon Mack, to be the coach.
“I was a gymnast in high school, so I know about flipping and twisting, but I was brand new to diving. I had, and still have, a lot to learn,” said Coach Mack.
Head coach Peter Braden said, “As a physical therapist, Erica has a wealth of knowledge about body mechanics and is a great fit as a dive coach.”
Each week the divers have been learning new dives, striving toward the six different dives from five different categories that are required to score points for the team. There is no diving board at Mountain View Pool, so the divers travel and train at Shore Aquatic Center in Port Angeles and North Kitsap Community Pool in Poulsbo, the nearest pools with one-meter diving boards.
“With diving, you can warm up, practice drills, and start learning some skills on a trampoline, for example, but at some point you just have to go for it and try it off the diving board. It takes a lot of courage,” said Mack. “It is really inspiring to watch them gather their courage and try a new dive.”
“The backward dive is my favorite. It feels like you are flying for a moment,” said junior Ursula Schmidt.
East Jefferson Rivals Girls Swim and Dive has had four meets so far, with three of those meets against the top teams in the WIAA District 3 Olympic League, including Bainbridge, North Kitsap and Port Angeles. Bainbridge is expected to win the 2A state meet while North Kitsap could place in the top three. The Rivals finish their dual- meet season with four meets that are expected to be close and competitive. The Rivals face Bremerton on Oct. 8, Sequim on Oct. 15, Klahowya on Oct. 17, with the sole home meet scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 22, at Port Townsend’s Mountain View Pool.
Erica Nixon Mack is the coach for the East Jefferson Rivals Swim and Dive team.
