Great Kills tops Hillside in recent diving meet
Posted by nrizzi July 16, 2009 13:17PM
Great Kills Swim ClubThe Great Kills Swim Club diving team
gathers for a photo on the boards at the swim club.
WILLOWBROOK -- The showdown was set for high noon last Friday. But the face-off wouldn't take
place, cowboy style, on a dusty Main Street with weapons at the ready. Instead, it came at the College
of Staten Island's aquatic center, and the combatants were divers ranging in age from 8 to 18.
What made this meet so dramatic was that it pitted, arguably, the two top swim teams on the
borough's summer club circuit -- Great Kills Swim Club on the South and Hillside Swim Club from
the West. The two-hour test of skill among close to 50 divers ended in Great Kills' favor this time, but
tensions always rise when these two squads compete for bragging rights. (By the way, Hillside came
out on top in the swim portion of the head-to-head.)
"The league is still pretty similar to when I first started, in terms of competition," said Great Kills
Swim Club diving coach Jim Cooney, who can't recall a single loss for the Great Kills diving team
during his three decade-long tenure. "There are a lot more kids involved now, though."
Diving is a precision skill that is as much art and grace as it is athletics. Top divers must be strong and
sculpted; their timing must be dead-on; and their eye for line and balance finely honed. Their
repertoire must include any number of breathtaking combinations which are built around five basic
entries -- forward, back, twisting, reverse and inward.
Yet for most people, this spectacular sport lands on the radar screen just once every four years --
when the Summer Olympic games feature the best in the world.
Staten Island has five teams that offer youngsters the opportunity to try the sport each summer. In
addition to Great Kills and Hillside, diving and swim teams are fielded by Village Greens, South
Shore and the Richmond County Country Club.
Divers compete in age groups, just like the swimmers in amateur meets, starting with 8 and under;
that group is followed by 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-18. Each competitor performs seven different
dives at each meet. As the athletes get older, the dives get more complicated, with some competitors,
like Steve Crea, in the 15-18 bracket for Hillside, performing two-and-a-half twists that make the
diving board rattle and the water explode upon entry.
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