Emma Fudacz steps onto the diving board ready to perform her first dive. The room is quiet–you could hear a pin drop. When she performs her dive, the spring of the board echoes, followed by the crisp splash of her body entering the water. 

Emma Fudacz is a freshman diver and competes at the freshman/sophomore level on the DGS swim and dive team. Diving since 5th grade, Fudacz has focused this season on achieving new dives as she progresses. 

“My main goal is to get a bunch of new dives that I haven’t gotten before. Before I was on the high school team, I was stagnant in getting new dives and in the same place for a year and a half. The goal is to keep moving forward,” Fudacz said. 

Coach Lukes and teammates were proud of her performance at the first diving meet of the season. Senior diver, Karaline Monaco explains why Emma’s performance at the meet was significant. 

“As a team, it’s our goal that the freshmen reach 100 points by the end of the season. Emma broke 100 the first meet, which is a huge accomplishment,” Monaco said. 

At the beginning of the season, Fudacz sprained her ankle and was unable to dive for three weeks. The injury hampered her progress; however, she is motivated to take the steps needed for recovery.  

“It’s been a lot of work getting back to where I was before. I have been doing physical therapy which has helped build muscle back. It has helped coming to our early morning conditioning,” Fudacz said. 

Diving is a mentally challenging sport that requires confidence and a positive attitude. Fudacz stresses the mental aspect of the sport and strategies she takes to overcome her challenges.

“Mentally it’s hard because you have to be able to push yourself to do new dives even when it’s really scary. I just count down and do it,” Fudacz said. 

Coach Lukes has recognized the positive energy Emma spreads throughout the team. Her positivity benefits the rest of the team when they’re attempting challenging dives. 

“One of the most positive things about her is her attitude. She walked into the sport very excited to be here. She’s been super supportive of her teammates even while injured. She is always looking for feedback on her dives,” Lukes said. 

As a first-year high school diver, Emma revealed strong confidence and dedication. Coach Lukes admires her accomplishments and ambition because she knows that Emma has a lot of success ahead in the next couple of seasons. 

“She is going to be a good leader for the team and for the next couple of teams. Emma is going to be bringing up the younger divers,” Lukes said.