Kiaralys Rodriguez at a diving meet over the summer
There are so many exceptional athletes here at Doherty across all different kinds of sports, all amazingly talented and unbelievably skilled. This week we are highlighting our very own Kiaralys Rodriguez who represented at high school sectionals at Springfield College last week. The young diver got the Worcester Swim Team in the top 10 of the 1 meter diving event and top 25 across all of the Central Mass Team rankings. She’s an unstoppable force.
It takes a lot of hard work to get on the level she’s on, and in her words it’s “traumatizing” at times. Her routine is long and tiring, not to mention the actual meets. Practices are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, but since the start of the High School season practices have become a little more random.
Practices are usually an hour and a half long at the Clark University pools and they vary from day to day on what they practice, usually it’s a specific category or their whole list for competitions. The key to a good practice session is stretching. The importance of stretching was highlighted when we talked. Her coach makes the team stretch for a good 10 to 15 minutes before getting in the pools. Once she’s in the fun begins.
A part of the fun of Diving is the sense of community of it brings. From the practices to the meets there is always amazing friendships being made. During the 15 minutes of stretching it doubles as gossip time.
“At practice everyone is friends, everyone is talking and telling stories. I’m always laughing with my teammates who I love very much. Every time I go it’s a new thing to talk about or laugh about. Everyone [at sectionals] was very nice. We were all very supportive of each other whether we did good or bad. Even if we were all competing against each other we all got along and had fun.” Rodriguez explained that is a big part of her success.
Diving does not come without it’s challenges. Mental blocks are stressing and often. “Mental blocks are a big thing and they are the worst. Once you have one it’s hard to get rid of them.” she tells us, and it can happen while she’s on the board. There is a moment of complete silence so the competitors can focus but it just leads to her psyching herself out.
Why diving? Rodriguez says it’s challenging and testing at time but that is why she likes it and what makes her try harder.