Diving takes physical, mental resilience

When thinking of the term ‘diving,’ the first thing that usually comes to mind is an image of someone dressed in a wetsuit high above a pool, intently looking down to where their body will be landing in a few seconds. While it may seem like an easy sport that requires little effort, diving has some of the most physically fit and well-trained athletes out there. Beyond the physical rigor, there are many other factors to consider when preparing for a diving competition—the diver must be both emotionally and mentally fit when entering the board. Even with a stable body, an unstable mind can throw their whole routine off-balance and ultimately conclude in disappointing results.

Typical diving competitions can range from platform diving anywhere from a foot above the water to as high as 32.8 feet up. Springboard diving—where the average height is three to nine feet above the water—involves a large steel spring to assist in lift from the board. There are both individual diving and team diving.

Team diving has been an Olympic sport since the Games of the III Olympiad in 1904. The most popular form of team diving is a synchronized event where two divers try to dive exactly the same as each other all the way to the water. While watching these divers can be very entertaining, the task itself is extremely hard to successfully accomplish. Diving may look effortless, but there is a careful series of coordinated bends, twists and spins that are constantly practiced so the divers move like a well-oiled machine.

Technically, falling off the board in anyway can be considered a dive. There are six different diving types, however, that are typically recognized in standard practices: a forward group, a backward group, a reverse group, an inward group, a twisting group, and the arm stand group.

Imagine being 30 feet high looking away from where you’ll be landing and then slowly falling backward with nobody to catch you––you can see why the sport is mentally exhausting. Divers must ensure everything is done correctly, as they face rigorous judging from a panel of seven judges who give them a score between zero and 10 for each dive performed. While judges analyze all parts of a dive, they focus the most on how well and high the diver jumps off the board or platform, how high the diver moves through the air and how they enter the water.

These scores are then added up, either on an individual basis or team basis. Diving is a careful game of calculations—even a slight error can result in major consequences, including career-ending injuries. During platform diving, divers are typically falling at a rate of nearly 40 miles per hour. Hitting the water in the wrong way can be nearly as harmful as hitting solid ground at that speed.

After months—if not years—of practice, you can only hope to have everything perfected and to have the most satisfying result: holding a gold medal in your hand.

Player profile: John Nasky, Blue Wave

Upstate New York seems to be a breeding ground for great swimmers. Olympian Ryan Lochte was born in Rochester and spent time as a child living in Canandaigua—a town just outside of Rochester. Blue Wave senior John Nasky, too, hails from Rochester—graduating from Brighton High School. Nasky has been on the team since arriving at Geneseo and started swimming year-round in his sophomore year of high school. “Before [high school], I didn’t really swim much,” Nasky said. “I knew how to swim, but I never practiced or joined a team.”

Nasky said swimming has been a big part of his life at college. Still, he has found it hard to balance the rigor of swimming with the other activities of college.

“I guess my biggest disappointment would not be listening to coach freshman year,” Nasky said. “Taking his suggestion about my GPA and other life activities would have been better.”

In his last year here at Geneseo, Nasky practices vigorously two times per day. There is no doubt that the sport is physically demanding and it has begun to take a bit of a toll on Nasky. “[Head coach Paul Dotterweich] is working us pretty hard—I would like to continue after [college], but I think my body needs a bit of a rest.”

Even with Dotterweich working the team hard, Nasky still has a good working relationship with his coach and values their mutual respect, saying that Dotterweich takes his thoughts into consideration.

“The good team chemistry between both the men’s and the women’s teams is a big factor to the teams’ success in his time here,” Nasky said. “Our team is like a family, which is great. We are lucky to have a good relationship with the girl’s team and we always hang out together. I live with four guys on the team. We all get along pretty well.”

While there were a lot of proud moments for Nasky involving the team, he said that his proudest moment was from the SUNYAC Tournament last year. “A couple of things happened [last year]—I made nationals and we also won SUNYACs,” Nasky said. “We beat SUNY Cortland by a lot ... so that was pretty exciting.”

Nasky has been a devoted athlete, always trying to improve, both for his personal success and the team’s success. “We’re doing pretty well this season … you always want to go faster, but I think at the same time you don’t want to strain your body,” Nasky said. “Everyone wants to do better so it’s all good.”

Intense practices propel Blue Wave

When thinking of physically demanding and rigorous sports, swimming and diving may not be at the top of everyone’s list. The amount of effort put into each kick and reach in order to have the body move like a well-oiled machine is actually tremendous. The divers have a whole different skill set—they stand high above the pool staring down into a water-filled pit, trying to run every move and motion of the dive through their head. With every stroke, tumble and turn of the head, the diver’s fate can be determined. Seconds are divided into milliseconds––it will all determine personal success and ultimately the success of the team.

Both the men’s and the women’s teams had success on Saturday Nov. 8 against SUNY Fredonia. Freshman Jeff Doser won three individual events for the men and senior Abigail Max took two individual events to lead the Blue Wave.

The effort must be unrelenting until the race is officially over—with hearts pounding and heavy breathing. There is no exception to this physical rigor both in the practices and meets of the Geneseo Blue Wave. Led by 15-year veteran head coach Paul Dotterweich, the swimming and diving teams practice strenuously. With a demanding six-day schedule, the athletes have to constantly push themselves to new physical and mental extremes. In fact a large portion of physical training––and sports as a whole––is mental toughness. How far is an athlete willing to go for their team or even themselves? That question depends on the individual—whether or not they have the ability to propel themselves to victory.

A sport is a game in itself; a game of sacrifice. With essentially every sport, every athlete has to sacrifice something. Whether it is a physical sacrifice or personal sacrifice, to achieve the common goal of a championship, athletes have to be selflessly devoted.

“You have to give something to get something” holds especially true in sports—to get the gold you have to give something up, whether it be a tangible object or the body. Nothing can stand in the way of a devoted athlete and their goal. This is why more programs are becoming available to assist athletes when the mental or physical toll is too much, and stress becomes unmanageable.

The length an athlete is willing to go to achieve greatness depends on who they are as a person and if they’re willing to “have a moment of pain for a lifetime of glory.”

The teams take to the pool next against SUNY Cortland on Saturday Nov. 15.

Blue Wave splashes into season

As the temperature begins to change in Geneseo, so do the sports teams. The swimming and diving teams are looking to pick up right where they left off last year. Both the men’s and the women’s teams won SUNYAC titles, sending six players to the NCAA championships with the women finishing in the top 20 in the country. Head coach Paul Dotterweich is in his 15th year of coaching at Geneseo. He hopes that the team has the same success that they had last year.

"We want to win two championships again,” Dotterweich said. “It's always our goal to send as many players possible to the national championships.” While it’s hard to improve upon a season like last year’s, the bar is set even higher for the Blue Wave.

Dotterweich is still confident that Geneseo will have another successful season this year, noting how hard the players train. "We have a lot of talent in the pool and we’ve got a great set of divers this year,” he said. “I wouldn't be surprised if we won two championships, but I try not to get too excited until January."

Advancement into the postseason is determined by overall times and athlete performance during the year. This could be tough since Geneseo has a more challenging road this season.

“We have a reasonably hard schedule,” Dotterweich said. “I like it that way because it will lead to better races and [athletes] to push themselves further." Non-conference opponents are typically more competitive than SUNYAC opponents for the Blue Wave.

Composed of 30 women and 29 men, the teams are well-developed in any lineup. Dotterweich also noted that the large incoming freshman pool––no pun intended––will further solidify the teams’ success, adding high quality swimmers and divers.

The teams practice vigorously in the mornings and afternoons on Monday and Tuesday and have a lighter workout on Wednesday to allow for player recovery. The intense weight room and pool workouts continue on Thursday and Friday, leading up to matches on Saturday. The athletes know that this level of effort is necessary to remain on top—it’s paid off, having been champions on the women’s side 11 of the past 14 years and 13 of the past 14 years on the men’s side.

So far, Dotterweich is proud of all the success and commitment put forth. “They sacrifice a lot,” he said. “But it’s all worth it in the end when we put banners on the wall.”

Jeter’s blog provides athlete’s perspective on sports world

Just because legendary New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s Hall of Fame career has come to a close does not mean his legacy and greatness has as well. Shortly after the end of the season, Jeter launched The Players’ Tribune, a website that Jeter describes as “a new media platform that will present the unfiltered voices of professional athletes, bringing fans closer to the games they love than ever before.”

The first article on the website was published by the Captain himself; a letter describing what the website hopes to accomplish and to thank the fans for support in his final season with the Yankees. Jeter talks about how the website will hopefully change the way that fans can connect—emotionally and technologically—with their favorite athletes and discover new things about the world of sports.

Published by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, the second article describes his experience with being a bully. “I rubbed [kids] heads in the dirt at recess,” he wrote. “I bit them. I even knocked teeth out.” Wilson claims he was saved by his faith at 14 years old and wrote the article to “pass the peace to support victims of domestic violence.” Wilson also recently launched the “Why Not You Foundation,” which raises awareness of the tragic effects of bullying and domestic violence.

I personally look forward to the articles to come from all the other athletes that choose to participate. It is a really enjoyable read because it is straightforward and honest, not sugarcoated so that it is deemed “appropriate” or “safe” for a sports website or newspaper.

The Players’ Tribune is more than sports; it’s articles that discuss the brutal truths of real life that athletes and fans alike can connect to.

Insight into NFL scouts’ lives proves enlightening

Before you build a Super Bowl-winning team, you need to find the right players and a catalyst to ignite the fire in a team. The National Football League Films series “Finding Giants” on NFL Network emphasizes this; zeroing in on what happens behind the scenes in teams’ front offices. The New York Giants are the focus of the show, and the first episode premiered on Tuesday Sept. 30 as the first installment of a four-part miniseries that runs every Tuesday at 9 p.m. through Oct. 21.

To have a Super Bowl-ready team, you need unified players. They need to not only be talented, but mentally focused on the common goal of winning a championship. That is the job of the scouts—they go out and find talent and report back on who may be a big contribution to the team.

The Giants specifically said on several occasions throughout the premiere that they travel throughout the country visiting colleges and high schools, looking for who could be the next big-name athlete.

The Giants typically do three visits throughout the year from three different scouts––they compare each report for talent and progression at the end of the season. If a player is lucky enough to be picked by the scouts, they are then given a player evaluation. General manager Jerry Reese, the position coach and head coach Tom Coughlin then receive that report to see if they should be given draft consideration.

Vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross oversees all the scouts. He has a map of the entire United States densely filled with pins—red pins as “A” schools (high possibility of talent) and blue pins as “B” schools (lower possibility). This can change year to year depending on the prospects and number of students in school, according to Ross.

The Giants definitely make sure they have their bases covered, having scouts in the Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, Southeast and the West with approximately two scouts per region at any given time.

With all the prospective football players in colleges across America, the Giants can really only focus on potential prospects in their upperclassmen years. This is why there is an independent scouting organization called BLESTO that focuses on underclassmen and reports back to the teams on who may be of interest. They can help significantly in making the pool of prospects more manageable.

After watching the episode, you could really get a sense of the everyday life of an NFL scout—not just for the Giants, but for any team. They are constantly traveling and their decisions can affect a team for years to come. I encourage any NFL fan to watch this series, as I truly enjoyed watching it and the new insight it gave me.

The Face-Off: Will the rising numbers of defensive penalties hurt the NFL

This new season of football has brought a new set of stricter rules. While it’s understandable that the National Football League head office wants to protect the players and preserve the integrity of the game, there’s a line between protecting players and treating them like 3-year-olds. Will the next line of enforcement be dressing them in fluorescent tutus and putting flags in the back of their pants? Will it be two-hand touch? In either of these two outcomes, how could players in the league stop playing the way they’ve been taught their whole lives?

The word football is practically synonymous with the phrase “rough and tough” and players know that from the day that they start playing. Anybody that doesn’t understand the physical aspect of football just needs to look at one play and they will see how physically demanding the game is. Injury is an inevitability in the game of football, no two ways around it. Does the NFL front office really have interest vested in protecting the players or are they essentially coddling them so they can be seen as angels in the public eye for focusing on their safety?

In any event, the commissioner knows what the game is. The players signed up to play, and the fans choose to watch for a reason. If you can’t respect football for the great and physically demanding game it is, the bowling alley is right down the street.

Team chemistry boosts women's volleyball

The Knights volleyball team continues to impress this season. The team moved to 7-0 after sweeping the Houghton College Highlanders (25-21, 25-20, 25-16) at home on Tuesday Sept. 9. Sophomore libero Dani Sayler, a defensive specialist, had 10 kills on the evening and contributed heavily to the Knights’ sweep. “I think I did well,” Sayler said. “[I’m] getting back into the flow of things, coming off of surgery this year … Getting back was my ultimate goal.” Sayler noted that part of the team’s early success comes from pre-game routines and team camaraderie.

“In our team room we blast music and have a little dance party,” she said. “It helps me and my teammates prepare.”

The Knights have a dynamic mix of players from several years here at Geneseo. Sayler believes that this close-knit group of players is an important part of their success. From talking to the players and observing how they interact on the court, one can see how close they all are. Sayler believes their chemistry, both on and off the court, is a large factor in the teams’ success so far.

“[My teammates] are some of my best friends here. I live with most of them and we are a family,” Sayler said. The Knights have swept all but one of their matches so far this season. As the libero, Sayler can be seen moving quickly around the court trying to cover all of the responsibilities the position calls for. She stated that her most memorable play of the match was a dig at the end of the third game that helped secure the victory. A dig is when a player stops a spike or a serve from the opposing team from hitting the ground. When talking about being undefeated this season, Slayer was ecstatic.

“It’s so hard to describe the feeling,” she said. “Especially coming off of last season [with a 13-19 record], it’s great just to come out strong.” The Knights will try to remain undefeated when they face Medaille College, Clarkson University and St. John Fisher College at the Rochester Institute Of Technology Tournament starting on Friday Sept. 12.

Volleyball starts strong in Pennsylvania

The Geneseo women’s volleyball team began its season on an extremely high note. In their first tournament, the Knights went 3-0 and swept all three matches at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania on Aug. 29-30.The team defeated Cazenovia College, the Rochester Institute of Technology and host Misericordia University in 3-0 matches across the board to dominate the tournament. Coach Jennifer Salmon believes this is the kind of start the team needs after struggling through the 2013 season and finishing with a 13-19 record. “This [team] is the most committed, the most disciplined, the most positive team I’ve ever had,” Salmon said. “We have the most depth I’ve ever had in each position.” Salmon also cites strong leadership and experience as reasons for the Knights' early success. The Knights roster includes 14 returners, including six juniors and eight sophomores. Salmon said that this past winter, the expected standards of the team were set high. “[We want to establish] who we are going to be this season and show everyone what Geneseo volleyball is all about,” she said. That mentality has been displayed clearly in their matches so far and Salmon is eager to see what is next for her team. While all players contribute to the team’s success, Salmon recognized sophomore middle-blocker Courtney Cleary for her level of improvement and impact on the team. Cleary’s experience cannot be understated. Although she is only a sophomore, she played in 30 of Geneseo’s 32 matches last season. Salmon also praised junior outside-hitter Lizzy Morton for her success at the tournament. Morton had a team-high eight kills and three service aces against RIT and nine kills against Misericordia. Salmon is thrilled with the team’s current level of performance and work ethic. “Everything is falling into place,” she said. The team hopes to continue its success in its farthest tournament from home of the season Friday, Sept. 5 at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.