Jackie Apple is out of her element. Sitting poolside at the AFC, the 5-foot, 4-inch sophomore looks slightly uncomfortable being so ... upright. It's two o'clock, and the Cavaliers' premier female diver is supposed to be warming up for her afternoon practice session with coach Dave Fafara. Instead, Apple is on dry land struggling to explain what it feels like to launch herself a dozen feet into the air, execute a series of split-second flips, twists and somersaults, and land perfectly straight (and probably upside down) without so much as a ripple on the water.
This is easier said than done. Nevertheless, if you want to talk diving, Apple is the resident authority on the subject. Though plagued by a wicked case of mono and a persistent back injury over the past couple seasons, she still reigns as the No. 20 Cavaliers' best female diver and one of the top competitors in the ACC. In a Jan. 20 meet against North Carolina, for example, Apple was the highest Virginia finisher, placing second in the one-meter springboard and third in the three-meter. Two years ago, Fafara predicted she would have a "stellar career at U.Va." As long as Apple stays healthy, it looks like Fafara is on his way to being correct.
In the rarified world of big-time collegiate diving (which I'm sure you're all extremely familiar with), athletes are airborne for less than a minute over the course of an entire meet. Behind each reverse somersault and inverted twist, however, are hours upon hours of practice, guts of steel, and more than a few pump-up songs on the iPod. Remember those days at the community pool yelling at your friends to, "Watch what I can do?" Apparently, it's nothing like that -- and you don't even get points for a killer jackknife.
So, how does one learn a back triple somersault without suffering the worst set of belly flops this side of Fat Camp? It turns out that before ever stepping onto the board, Apple and the rest of the Virginia dive team spend some time on the mother of all trampolines. Seriously, this monstrous thing would make any third grader in America drool. Attached to a poolside harness controlled by Fafara, each diver launches herself off the deck and into the air to practice the set of flips and twists required to impress the judges.
"Where I come from, my club team, we had belts into the pool," Apple said. "So our coach would pull the belt and we'd do flips and safely land in the water until we felt comfortable. Then you take the belt away and you can do it."
That's not to say that all the nerves simply evaporate once the belt is gone. Far from it. According to Apple, the actual dive is a combination of mental toughness, instinct and a little bit of timing.
"It's complete muscle memory," Apple explained. "I kind of just do it. I don't really think about it. And I think if you do think about it too much in the air when you're going, it messes you up."
On top of all this, divers try to visually pick out "spots" around them to make sure they're on track -- and out of danger -- in flight (think slow-motion 'Tiger Vision' on Xbox).
"It's important for you to see your spots in the air, a point on the water or a point on the wall or something," Apple said. "If something happens and you get lost a little, then you're in for a rough time."
Those "rough times" can look pretty dramatic from the grandstands. Type "NCAA diving" into YouTube, and it returns almost as many blooper reels as it does footage of successful dives -- a testament to how difficult the sport is even for the experts. "Everyone takes some smacks here and there," Apple said. "Trying to do [the 5-meter] tower, which we don't have [at U.Va.], I got some pretty good smacks." Luckily, at some facilities, divers have access to a bubble machine that churns and softens the water -- almost like diving into a giant Jacuzzi -- to blunt the kind of blow that comes from a 15-foot freefall.
Although the Cavaliers seem to have their fill of diving talent today, Apple spends her free time making sure the next generation knows the difference between a tuck and a pike position. During the summer, she devotes her time coaching little kids -- a few of whom could use a little diving discipline. "Some of the children that I coached [started] off running and jumping and doing crazy little things, but I've gotten them to be pretty good little divers," Apple said.
So next time you're heading home from the AFC after a grueling session on the elliptical machine, stop in and watch Apple do what she does best. Sure you might find yourself getting a little jealous of the giant trampoline or itching to take a running jump off the three-meter board, but have a little self-control. The last thing you need is a case of the smacks.
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