Haley Hansen ‘28 is a diver at Berlin, and even with her short amount of time in this sport, she takes large strides.
“Last summer, I started just diving for a summer league team to try and get at least a little background knowledge on diving before the winter, and fell in love. I had previously played volleyball but never really loved it,” Hansen said.
This year is Hansen’s second year in the sport. Over this short amount of time, she has grown exponentially. This growth is mainly due to her hard work and constant practice. Over the past summer, she worked at a pool and dove when she had any free time.
This was accompanied by practices twice a week. Now that it is the regular season, Hansen practices four days a week, three at the Ohio State University pool and once at the Dry gym.
Last season was Hansen’s first season on the team, and she stunned everyone. She qualified for districts and placed 33. This season, she placed third at OCC’s, and she counts down the days till districts.
“I had a great season last year, but this year I am looking to do even better. In the previous season, I was really focusing on the basics, but now that. I have those down, I am able to work on harder dives and up my degree of difficulty,” Hansen said.
As divers advance, they are able to do harder dives that can earn more points. The harder the dive, the higher the degree of difficulty (DD) and therefore the more points scored.
Currently, Hansen has a DD of 18.6 and is hoping to reach a DD of 20 before next year. This goal can only be achieved with a great work ethic, which Hansen has. As time goes on, Hansen gains more and more motivation.
“Haley is so motivated and focused. Every time I see her behind the blocks, she is so focused it’s crazy to compare that to the same girl cheering at the end of the lane. It has also been so amazing to watch her grow as a diver in such a short amount of time,” Noel Wu ‘29
It is easy to see how hard Hansen works. Teammates also say that Hansen is the best teammate. Though the swim team and dive team are often at different meets, Hansen goes to watch all the swim meets she can. From her work as a timer behind the block to the best cheerleader at the end of a Berlin swimmer’s lane, she is there.
Hansen looks forward to a great end of the season and, hopefully, great improvement from last year.
“I’m excited to see how I do at districts, and I’m so excited for my next two years diving at Berlin,” Hansen said.
