Diving Season Kick-off

Yesterday morning we attended the diving season kick-off party.  It was a potluck brunch and they handed out this season's team shirt.  They also took the group photo.  All the different diving levels and programs come together for this picture.  

Far Westerns Dive Meet

Leo competed in a dive meet on Friday and Saturday.  His first event on Friday was the 3 meter.  He got third place!

 Immediately after the 3 meter awards were given, Leo had to go warm up for the platform event.  He competed in the 5 meter event for the first time.  He got forth place and we were really proud of how he did especially since this was his first time completing on the platform.

 On Saturday, he competed in the 1 meter event.  He moved up a level in this event so he was competing against older, bigger boys and doing more challenging dives.  He scored well on three dives but not so great on three.  He ended up with a 5th place ribbon and he was a great sport about it.  He demonstrated great sportsmanship throughout the meet.

 It was a tiring two days, and he came home Saturday, crawled into bed and took a nap.  I don't remember the last time that happened.

Santa Clara Invitational Dive Meet

This weekend Leo participated in a two-day dive meet.  He competed in 3 meter on Saturday and there were 44 kids diving in his event (not all on the same level but all sharing the same board).  It made for a long morning.  He didn't perform his best that day but he handled it well.  I worked the snack shack all afternoon as part of my volunteer hours.  I got to see some pretty incredible diving while I worked.  

 Saturday night there was a vegan pop-up next door to one of our favorite pizza places.  Serafina was with Nana, so Tom, Leo and I went to check it out.  I had delicious vegan food, Leo had pizza and Tom had both.

 Today was the 1 meter event, which is Leo's stronger event.  There is less time in the air for things to go wonky.  He did a great job and it earned him a second place medal!

 He was really proud of himself and with good reason.  He works hard three times a week training to do well and his improvement is really noticeable.

 This is his coach, Karla.  She is absolutely wonderful with all the kids but especially Leo.  I don't know if he would stick with diving if she wasn't so great and encouraging.

He did some serious chilling this afternoon after two busy mornings in a row.

Fall Dive Meet

Leo competed in a fall dive meet on Saturday.  It was cold and smoky and generally miserable.  Leo wasn't diving well and I was stuck in the snack shack during his events due to a last minute schedule change.  At one point during his first event, he really just wanted to go home.  I don't blame him but after a pep talk from his coach, he persevered.  Finished out the first event and made it through the second even though we had spent over six hours at the pool.  

Like I said, he didn't dive particularly well but he didn't give up and he ended the day with a good attitude despite the adversity, and that's what I'm most proud of.  

Diving Season Kick-off

It was the diving club's season kick-off party today.  There was tons of food, team t-shirts and a group photo.  

 Both kids had lots of funs with friends and ate plenty of junk.

First Dive Meet

Leo has been enjoying diving.  The program switched to the summer schedule last week and his group gets two nights at the pool instead of one at the gym and one at the pool.  This weekend his home pool hosted a dive meet that was open to all.  His coach encouraged him to enter so he could get the experience of participating in a meet.  

He was scheduled to compete in the 3 meter event on Saturday.  We got there bright and early to check in and warm up.  

 It was a beautiful day.

 Here he is with his team mates - George, Abigail and Sophia.

 Leo competed in the most entry level group for competitive divers.  There were only a handful of kids from Santa Clara Diving (his program) participating on Saturday, and a ton of kids from the Stanford diving program.  There were at least 20 kids diving in between his dives.  The kids do six dives for the event.  His coach told us in advance what dives he should register for and all the dives are building block skills that are essential for executing more complicated dives later on.

Here's his first dive of the day, a Forward Jump Straight.

Forward Jump Tuck. 

Back Jump Tuck

Forward Entry Straight

He got a little feedback after a couple of dives from his coach Karla.

 After he was done, he changed and we wandered over to the award presentation.  We weren't sure what to expect.  There were only about seven or so other boys competing in his level so I thought his chances of getting a medal was pretty good.  He had solid scores and he looked good up there.

And sure enough, he won third place.  It was super exciting!

 Here he is on the podium.  His teammate Sophia won first out of over 20 girls.

 He didn't expect to win.  Prior to the meet, we talked a lot about this just being a learning experience and how he just needed to try his best and have fun.  He was so thrilled.  He wore his medal to the falafel joint where we got dinner.

 This morning was the 1 meter event.  The 1 meter boards are further away from the stands so I couldn't get any good pictures or videos.  There were less kids competing today, probably because it's Father's Day.  He did really well on some dives and not quite as strong on others.  He got third again!  Very exciting.

Poor 5th place winner Armando was not having a good morning.  He was with the Stanford diving group and he was in tears in the pool and before the awards, and then he was especially miserable after he got fifth.  His parents still had him get up on the podium and kept telling him to smile.  I felt so much for this kid and his mom.  Baseball used to bring out a lot of tears in Leo and I've been that mom trying so hard to get your kid just to suck it up enough to get through the activity.  

I'm not sure how Leo would have felt if he got a ribbon instead of a medal.  I'd like to think he would accept it with grace.  He enjoyed being part of the meet and wants to do it again.  I knocked out 50% of my volunteer responsibilities on Saturday by working in the snack shack for almost four hours.  It was super exhausting but less disgusting than the little league snack shack.

Diving update

Last fall, Leo took diving lessons on Saturdays.  He liked it and at the end of the session, he was one of only a couple kids asked to join the Developmental group.  These kids train twice a week and are part of the competitive diving program.  He will do his first dive meet in June.  The best part?  He actually enjoys it.  He never really like swimming and baseball got to stressful once he moved up to the more competitive divisions.  He never complains about having to go even if it's cold out.  And he likes hanging out with the other dive kids.  

Here he is going off the 7 meter board.  That's the highest done so far.  

Then there was a group jump off the five meter.

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Diving

Leo is taking diving lessons on Saturdays.  This was his first class in the pool.  Last week they worked out in a gym because there was a festival at the park adjacent to the pool.

Here he is going off the "big board".  He was nervous about it before the class started, but went right ahead without hesitation and did it several times.