Looking inward: Hard work and confidence are leading Marlins diving team to the top

The YMCA of Greenwich Marlins Junior Olympic Diving Team took second place overall, won six gold medals, and took first place in the women's division at the 2011 USA Diving Spring Regional Championship held recently at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.

"Every single diver on this team really brought their best to this tournament," said Marlins Coach Dylan Korn. "This was the first major competition for a lot of our divers but they all looked focused and excited and made each dive count. This tournament really has everyone fired up for the next competition!"

That next competition is the East Nationals competition in Knoxville, Tenn., in early April and the Marlins have nine divers that have qualified to dive there. The Citizen spoke with Coach Korn to learn more about him, about the team and its road to success.

Why does Greenwich have such a strong team?

I think because each one of our athletes is so dedicated to the sport, the Marlins program and each other. We also have very dedicated coaches who put in a lot of effort to make sure we all reach our maximum potential.

Who are some of your stand-out divers?

On the whole, our team is very strong and works incredibly well together. At every practice and meet, I am so impressed with how they perform. There are many promising young athletes on our team. A few who really go the extra mile are Carolina Sculti, James Hopper, Rachel Burston and Kirsten Parkinson. These four athletes practically live at the pool, where they are always working on their technique.

Explain the Junior Olympics program.

The JO program is the highest level of diving that young athletes can be a part of in the country. This level of diving is designed for kids who have mastered the fundamentals of the sport and want to compete against other high-level divers around the country. This level is for athletes who take the sport very seriously and want to take diving to the college and professional level later on in life.

What age are the divers on the Marlins Junior Olympic Diving Team?

Right now, the youngest JO diver at the YMCA of Greenwich is 10, and the oldest diver is 17.

How do swimmers join your program - do you recruit, are there tryouts?

At the beginning of each of our sessions, we have an open evaluation where kids can come in and try out diving. A lot of the times, we have kids on our team who have brothers and sisters who are on the swim team and when we do our open evaluations, siblings come down and try out for diving because their sister or brother is always saying how much fun they are having at the Y.

How often do you practice?

The JO team practices 4 to 5 times a week.

How will you prepare for the nationals?

In the next couple of weeks, we will do a combination of working on basic techniques such as the take-off from the board and the entries into the water. Consistency is a big part of this sport, so we also will do a lot of repetition work on the dives that the kids will be doing for nationals. This will definitely help them feel more confident going into the next competitions.

What skill set do you need to be a good diver?

You have to be a level-headed person. This sport is very mental, and there can be a lot of fear involved with it. In order to excel in this sport, you need to be able to think rationally about your dives and have a lot of confidence in yourself and in your coaches. It's also important to be committed to the sport -- and that's a quality every diver on our team has.

Talk to us a little about your background -- as a coach and as a diver.

I grew up in Westchester, N.Y. and started diving at a local summer club, Westwood Swim and Tennis, when I was 7. I competed all the way through my senior year in high school, where I dove for Westlake High School. I was Section 1 champion for four years in high school, and I still hold records in the Westchester summer league. As a JO diver, I dove in New Canaan for Whirlwind diving where I competed on a national level and furthered my diving career. After high school, I went to a Division 1 school, Rider University, where I got a scholarship for diving and pursued a degree in communications. At Rider, I was conference champ all four years and held numerous conference and school records. When I entered college, I helped coach a local JO program a few days a week. In the summers, I coached at a summer club for three years. After I graduated from college, I got my current position coaching at the YMCA of Greenwich, where I have been for the past two years.

What are your goals for the team?

We have had such a successful first half of our season, and I'm already incredibly proud of what the team has accomplished. And going forward, I hope the team will keep up the hard work and dedication that I have been seeing these past few months. After this past weekend's competition, I have no doubt in my mind that the kids will make it to the Speedo Championship at the end of June, where they will not only have a chance to compete against the nation's top divers, but place highly there as well.