Dynamic Divers: Freshman Abby Hunt and Reese Erickson have participated in KU’s training dive program to prepare for East dive team tryouts

Inhaling sharply, Freshmen Reese Erickson and Abby Hunt step onto the low green diving boards in front of them, swinging their arms before falling into a pool of foam blocks.

They started off on diving boards — Hunt starting at nine years old and Erickson at thirteen years old turned into weekly practices during the fall and winter. Erickson decided to start diving after years of swimming and realized how much she enjoyed it. They both fell in love with the work that goes into diving, the technique, the trial and error and the success of it all.

Once a week, Erickson and Hunt sit through an hour-long car ride to the University of Kansas campus for their dive practice, starting in the gymnasium to warm up before heading to the pool.

“There is a big importance of dry-land practice for diving because you just automatically think of water for diving,” Hunt’s mother, Amy McAnarney said, “But I especially think the KU program has such a big emphasis on the dry land warm-up.”

Dry-land is a way to start off land before getting into the water — a board is used above a foam pit to rehearse the motions of a dive.

At practice, Hunt and Erickson’s top priority was their form and how the practice dives would convert into their meets and future tryouts. Their focus was on one dive at a time to create the correct motion while on the board. Hunt improved the most on her inward flip and her reverse dive.

“It’s definitely a commitment,” MacAnarney said. “But it teaches the athlete to be good at a sport, you have to commit.”

A typical practice at KU consists of an hour of dry boards practicing dives like flips and back dives. The next 30 minutes were spent on a three-meter board practicing what they’d done in their warm up — except now in the water.

Hunt had been involved with the KU dive program before the pandemic caused it to shut down, and returned this year — bringing Erickson along. The program allows younger divers to use the KU facility for practice, providing times for private slots during the week. At KU, they have access to both a gym and pool where they’re able to practice dives without getting into the water.

The opportunity came around from recommendations by Hunt’s parents who thought it would be a good chance to prepare for East dive tryouts. By repeating the same motion over and over, their dives are now tight and concise.

The East dive team only has 10 spots, making tryouts exceedingly competitive — especially for freshmen. This led the two girls to begin driving to Lawrence every Monday to prepare for the upcoming season.

“Since we’ve been doing this, it’s helped so much,” Erickson said. “Just to build our skill and build our muscle memory. So the tryout won’t be as difficult.” 

Although the drive was inconvenient, after signing up for the program, Hunt and Erickson were locked in which built their commitment throughout the time given into their practices. From leaving at 4:30 p.m., starting at 5:30 p.m. and heading back home at 8 p.m.

Compared to local pools, the KU dive program offers the experience of what diving would be like outside of high school. They are practicing in a college environment with coaches that work with professional athletes every day.

“I think it all goes back to building confidence,” McAnarney said, “KU was a different place where they had to perform and practice and having that experience will just help with working with that level of coaching is good from a mental standpoint as well.”

Now the girls look forward to their upcoming tryout at the end of this month, feeling physically and mentally ready for when they walk into the East pool.