By Nancy Hiler
The two were among 15 members of the local Town of Hempstead diving team taking turns practicing their approaches (the steps toward the end of the board) and hurdles (the leap at the end), and fine-tuning their takeoffs, extensions, somersaults and twists.
The Newbridge diving team practices nearly every morning and afternoon, Monday through Saturday, from mid-July to mid-August. The only afternoons they don¹t practice are when they have meets, friendly competitions against one of the other three town teams.
Still, judging from the squinting smiles on their faces in the bright sunlight and the spring in their steps as they lined up for the diving board, no one seemed to mind the rigorous schedule. ³It¹s fun, it¹s a great sport, and Kelly is very, very nice,² said team member Nicole Moccio, 10, a town swim team member in previous years.
Kelly Corva, 18, is the team¹s coach, new to the job this season. ³I was a town lifeguard for the past two years,² Corva explained. ³And I used to dive for Vets and for my high school, Kellenberg.²
The diving team at Vets, or Veterans Memorial Park Pool in East Meadow, is one of the Newbridge team¹s competitors. The others operate out of the Echo Park Pool in West Hempstead and the Oceanside Park Pool in Oceanside. Kelly, who lives in Merrick, was referring to Kellenberg Memorial, a Catholic High School in Uniondale.
Each pool hosts two meets during the season, Corvo explained. As of that afternoon, she said, her Newbridge team had won against Echo Pool twice, lost once to Oceanside, and tied once with Vets. ³There are three judges at every meet, and they judge us by our age groups,² Anthony Carbone, 14, said. The judges include a town lifeguard plus the two coaches of teams not competing in the event.
³Anyone can join,² Corvo said, adding that most of the divers sign up after a few years of taking swimming and diving lessons at their local pool. Most of the members of the Newbridge Pool team, for example, are from Bellmore and Merrick, and the rest are from Seaford, Wantagh and Massapequa.
Town residents ages 8 through 17 can join the diving teams, and the competitors are divided into age groups for judging ‹ 8- and 9-year-olds, 10- and 11-year olds and so on ‹ and also into boys¹ and girls¹ divisions. A dive is scored from 1 to 10, and those marks are multiplied by the dive¹s degree of difficulty.
³Before this, for two years, we were undefeated,² said veteran Newbridge diver Lynagh, who is in her fourth summer on the team. ³We lost a lot of kids last year and this year, and have a lot of new kids on the team.² Lynagh set out to recruit a few newcomers herself. For example, Lynagh saw her teammate Sabo diving at the pool recreationally the summer before last, and urged him to join. ³ŒWe can really use you,¹ Erin told me when she saw me at the pool,² Sabo said.
³I like learning stuff, but I like winning meets most,² Sabo said of his experience since then. ³And as a reward when we win, we get to play Sharks and Minnows² ‹ a combination tag and racing game played in the pool.
³Even if we don¹t win, if Kelly sees that we tried, she¹ll still let us play,² Lynagh added.
At a few minutes before 3 p.m., when practice ends, the divers had been at it since 1, and before that from 9 to 11. Remarkably, they still scampered down the diving board with as much ease and enthusiasm as they had an hour ago ‹ most likely with as much as they had right after breakfast. Diver after diver took turns executing twists or somersaults in mid-air, as bright and steady as the summer sun that shone down on them.
Photos by Nancy Hiler/Herald
