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Taking a dive for Oberlin

by Jeff Glickman

Senior Elizabeth Edelstein and junior Hannah Borthwick feel fortunate to have a coach this year. The two are the sole members of Oberlin's diving team.

After Vicky Reighley, the former diving coach, left one month into the season to concentrate more on her full-time job, the two divers were left to fend for themselves for a month.

Edelstein and Borthwick are both in their second season of diving at Oberlin. Borthwick dived competitively in high school while Edelstein started at Oberlin. Both were involved in gymnastics and dived for fun.

The two had a hard time coaching each other. Instead, the women invented their own dives. The double stag, which is also known as the back dive ballerina, and the cheerleader straddle jump are two products of that month.

Finally on Oct. 15, Andrew Casper walked into Swimming Coach Dick Michaels' office and inquired about the diving coach position.

Casper heard about the job opening from his girlfriend, an Oberlin alum, who noticed fliers advertising an opening for a diving coach while working out in Phillips Gym.

Casper first visited the gym while volunteering for a Special Olympics swimming invitational, when he noticed the posting. The following week he came back and just walked into Michaels' office.

"I asked him if the job had been filled and he asked me to tell him about myself," Casper said. "He interviewed me and offered me the job."

Casper accepted on the spot.

Casper started diving at a pool in his home town, Milwaukee, when he was 10. He dove competitively in high school. Casper was a diving instructor during high school and college, a job that continued after he graduated. Casper received degrees in business and communications at Ohio University.

"I hadn't gone out of my way to be a diving coach. That's not what my aspirations are," he said.

The position is Casper's first coaching diving. Casper currently runs a group home in Lorain County for eight individuals with mental retardation.

Casper has volunteered three years for both the Special Olympics of Ohio and of Wisconsin.

At Oberlin, Casper has had an immediate impact helping the divers to improve.

In order to be entered into the competition, divers must have a repertoire of six dives: the front dive, the back dive, the inward dive, the reverse dive, the twister and an optional dive.

Divers must perform all the dives, and the reverse keeps swimmers from entering the diving competition for more points.

Most divers fear the reverse. "It's what keeps swimmers from entering the diving competition," Borthwick said.

Divers must jump off the board forward and then in the air do a back dive into the water.

Last year at conference Edelstein's head was so close to the board that she was still scared to perform the dive this year until Casper explained to her exactly what to do, and what problems she had in the execution of the dive.

"Now I can go up to the board and do it without without hesitating," Edelstein said.

The reverse is keeping Borthwick from entering the three-meter diving competition, in addition to one-meter competition.

The reverse dive was a problem for Borthwick when she began to dive competitively in high school.

Borthwick started out with only five dives in high school; she just didn't perform the reverse, even off the one-meter board. One day the swimming coach told Borthwick that if she did the reverse, she would get the shirt off the coach's back.

Borthwick performed the dive and the swimming coach gave Borthwick the shirt.

The shirt has a diver on it, "with a really nice entry."

Casper doesn't promise the divers shirts. "I just promise them their safety," he said.


Photo:
Without a splash?: Junior Hannah Borthwick is one of Oberlin's two divers. Recently, the pair has been diving under a coach, Andrew Casper, not having to coach themselves. (Photo by Whitney Smith)


Oberlin

Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 12; December 13, 1996

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