For weeks, junior Alyssa Mainard have been practicing to show off her skills for a mere thirty seconds at this swim meet. She swims for South’s Swim and Dive team. She and the crowd holds their breath as the swim scores are being calculated. Slowly, they get released one by one until the champion is shown. South’s very own Mainard is number one in dive.
Mainard is South’s first ever individual state diving champion and she couldn’t be more thrilled.
“Everyone was super happy. My coaches were happy. But yeah, I was super excited. I honestly didn’t expect it,” says Mainard.
Her coaches, dive coach Melissa Jackson and swim coach Errich Oberlander, are also delighted by the win.
“I think I jumped a foot off the ground when the leaderboard flipped to her name,” says Jackson. “It seemed like the scores were taking forever. I was so excited for her because I know how much work she has put in. She is a perfectionist that loves winning as much as I do.”
“I definitely yelled, “YES!!!”, when her score popped up after her last dive,” says Oberlander.
Both coaches can see how far the team has progressed.
“The work ethic that swimmers have to possess to be good is something that is fun to see grow over the season.” Oberlander says. “The attention to detail is another thing that really grows throughout the season.”
Jackson says that she loves watching her team grow.
“I really saw the team grow closer and more confident throughout the season,” says Jackson. “I think the best part of being on the team is building relationships and seeing hard work pay off. Overcoming obstacles is very rewarding.”
Mainard says that swim and dive is a time commitment.
“We practice every day. So yeah, it definitely takes a lot of time and effort every day,” she says.
Mainard has a history of winning big. She has won districts, conference, and state dive. However, she makes time for her other passion.
“I leave early every day to go to gymnastics, so I don’t get to be there for the whole thing [swim practice],” says Mainard. Colleges are scouting her both for diving and for gymnastics.
Mainard was also named KMBC Channel 9 Athlete of the Week the week before last.
