As the weather turns frigid around this time of year, there’s a sense of anticipation in the air for Solon High School’s winter sports teams. While the basketball team may draw most of the attention, according to some members of the diving team, they might just have a year to remember despite their Men’s Districts Championship last year.
Senior Sal Miller, entering his final season as a diver, said he’s made many connections with members of diving team over the years.
“I am looking forward to another amazing season with my swim and dive family that I have gotten close to over the years,” Miller said. “I think we are gonna be an amazing team and we will see what the future has in store of us.”
Miller has been on the team for a number of years, and has seen a variety of teams and talent. This year, Miller expressed optimism about the upcoming season, given the team’s previously undefeated season and a strong start to the current one, even after losing key pieces to the team last year such as four-time State Champion Dominic Roberto.
“Our first meet already passed,” Miller said. “The Boys [team] is 3-0 on the season, and the boy divers are looking to have another undefeated season this year.”
One of the team’s most experienced divers, senior Ryan Shaner said that diving is a lot tougher than most people think or realize, and he said that he is going to try to lead the team to stay motivated and succeed throughout the season.
“As a senior who has been on the team all four years, I have seen this team have a lot of highs and lows,” said Shaner. “I know how physically and mentally challenging this sport can be which a lot of people don’t realize. So I make sure I am always trying to help my teammates stay motivated and learn new dives while still having fun.”
Shaner also said that the team is striving towards continued excellence for the season, and outlined their practice routines and schedules that he thinks will help them succeed.
“So every week we have a different category of dives that we have to work on that must be included in that week’s meet, so we focus on that,” Shaner said. “So, on an average day, we start with our stretching, then our coach gives us a list of dives to work on, and the goal for that day, and then we usually end the practice with trying a new dive.”
Senior Sasha Demenkova said that she does diving because of the strong bond with her teammates and hopes to continue the fun along with success throughout the entire season.
“I like my team a lot,” Demenkova said. “I think that’s the reason I still do diving. The sport is alright of course, the diving team and the girls swim team are really close, and we just do a lot of fun things together. The pasta parties and the team breakfasts are all really fun. I like being around the people on those teams because I’ve been around them a lot. It’s been a really fun season so far, and It will hopefully continue to be like that.”
