Diving is difficult. Luckily for EL, the diving team has cultivated a way of training that creates skilled divers. This training is tough and can be very difficult for some.

“We start off with front dives, front flips, back dives and back flips,” EL dive coach Holly Buckley said. “But in order for them to be competing legally, they need to have at least six dives in various categories.”

The dive training consists of jumping right into getting the technique down for each dive. Hitting the water can be uncomfortable for inexperienced divers at first, so Ms. Buckley provides them with wet suits to lessen the pain.

For many, the success is worth the initial struggle. Senior captain Lauren Hinckley, for example, was a new diver her junior year, and has progressed far since then. She had to learn 11 dives instead of six to participate in ECC’s.

“My inward flip took a while to get, and looked like a fancy cannonball at the beginning,” Hinckley said. “But I landed it at ECC’s last year. I’m excited to continue learning new dives and improving on the ones I learned last year.”