Laura is the most competitive of the Rowlands’ children. She won’t admit it, but it’s true. Sure, we all play an intense hand of 500 and a fierce round of Mexican dominoes, but Laura’s competitiveness extends far beyond the family’s dining room table. And this developed at an early age.
Mom and Dad enrolled Laura in gymnastics when she was just a toddler. She had lots of energy to burn, and they saw it as the perfect venue. She quickly tumbled her way out of the kiddie gym with the foam blocks and nylon tunnels and onto the regulation balance beam and uneven bars. While it took my tall 17-year-old frame months to perform a back handspring without hitting my head on the mat, Laura’s petite 7-year-old body effortlessly flipped, tucked, and twisted.
Towards the end of her “career,” Laura was spending roughly 15 hours per week in the gym. My parents (and us siblings, when we could) traveled across the region to watch Laura earn gold and silver medals in her level. She loved the sport, but she began to lose interest as she approached middle school. She wanted to join her friends on Dover’s volleyball and field hockey teams. So she practiced bumping balls and swinging sticks after school, grabbed a quick dinner, and headed to the gym for evening workouts. The busy schedule quickly wore her out, however. Laura made the decision just before her freshman year of high school to quit gymnastics. We all knew we’d miss the competitions, but in the typical nature of my family, we were nothing but supportive; it was her decision to make.
And so Laura faced some choices when she entered high school. Which sports would she choose to fill her finally free schedule? Diving seemed like a natural fit. Her gymnastics training would perfectly play into the new endeavor. So she joined the small and inexperienced team that was typically an afterthought next to the successful swimming program. Her coach immediately saw potential, as did my parents. Laura not only practiced with the school team, but she also joined a club team and attended practices with other divers in the county. During her first season, Laura placed 4th in the district and 15th in the state. Not too shabby for a beginner! And it was then that she earned the nick name, “diva diver.”
As Laura entered her sophomore season, she set high goals for herself: 1st in the district and top ten at states. She reached her first goal a few weeks ago, edging past the second place finisher by just a few points. She looked cool, calm, and collected on the board, but she said she didn’t feel solid. Her twists weren’t tight enough, her pikes not precise enough, her entries not smooth enough. As I said, she’s constantly aiming higher — always has and always will.
With the state meet quickly approaching, I decided it was time for Team Rowlands to step it up a notch. Andrew planned to drive down from NYC, Mom and Dad would pick up Nick on their drive west, and I would head east. What better way to show our support and pride than with bright red custom-designed t-shirts?! The frustrations I encountered at Office Max and Kinkos (which I realize could have been avoided if I’d been a better planner), were quickly forgotten when I saw the look of surprise on Laura’s face when we entered the natatorium.
The competition was tough this year. There were the freshman teammates from the northern part of the state whose legs looked about half the length of Laura’s; they contracted their small bodies into compact balls. There was the newcomer sophomore whose stocky gymnast build propelled her high above the pool. And there were girls whose corkscrew twists were quick and taut. Laura’s nervousness was visible in her big brown eyes and clasped hands, but when she mounted the board, she looked confident. Her long lean frame gave way to graceful dives.
Laura was the 24th of 24 divers in the line-up. As the girls entered the final dive of the first round, we calculated our guesses as to where she would fall in the rankings. Andrew, being the quickest at math, placed her in the top five. Sure enough, Laura was in 4th place going into the second round! But the competition would get tougher. She only had a few more difficult dives, mixed in with solid 1.6s and 1.7s. Each time her name was called to approach the board, Dad would flip record on the camcorder, Mom would mumble “stick it stick it stick it” under her breath, Andrew’s eyes would narrow in on his little sister, and my legs would knock against Nick’s as we both trembled under the pressure.
Laura nailed her dives through the second round and entered the finals in 8th place. We were reminded that the top eight receive medals, and so we cheered louder for our diva. Mom tried to keep track of the scores on the blank backside of the program, and though we teased her, we scrambled to see the results after each of Laura’s dives. Though her final dives did not match the difficulty levels of her opponents, she performed them beautifully, and her scores were high enough to keep her in the race. Entering the last dive of the afternoon, we knew exactly what she needed to finish in either 7th or 8th place. Laura saved her least-favorite dive for last: the reverse. There’s something about jumping off the board facing forward, tilting backwards in the air, and entering the water headfirst that really gets Laura’s heart racing … I don’t blame her! But, as usual, she nailed it! We hooted and hollered when the judges posted their scores, knowing that she’d finished in 7th place!
The competition concluded with the medal ceremony where Laura proudly stood among the other top divers in the state. Her team of coaches, who’d traveled several hours to watch her compete, offered high fives and congratulations. And Team Rowlands, beaming in our matching red t-shirts, waved signs that spelled “D-O-V-E-R … D-I-V-A!” If we did embarrass Laura, she didn’t reveal it. Her smile stretched widely across her face as she gave hugs and posed for pictures. We couldn’t have been prouder of our diva diver.
And, true to her competitive nature, Laura is already looking toward track season. Last year her 5’2″ high jump was good enough to take the gold in Counties. Since she’s grown two inches since then, she figures she can reach 5’4″ this season. Perhaps I should get an early start on the “jumping queen” t-shirts!
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