Winter is upon us, which means the Warrior dive team is back in the water. The Warriors face a new challenge this year, without their home pool. As Westside continues its construction on a new wing of the school, practices for the swim and dive team will be held at Burke High School. Setbacks aside, there is a new up-and-coming diver for the Warriors. Junior Jay Murphy is now in his second year of diving and is rapidly progressing. Murphy recently qualified for his first state championship where he will represent his school.
“The opportunity is awesome,” Murphy said. “I have been working very hard for about two seasons now, and to say I can help my team in the state is such an amazing feeling.”
Although Murphy has only been diving competitively for two years now, he has a long storied history of being in the water. Between summers spent at the pool, swim team in elementary school, and frequent trips to the beach, Murphy has been around water almost his whole life. It is no wonder that he took so quickly to diving for a team.
“Diving has come relatively naturally for me,” Murphy said. “Learning to control my body and stay focused on all I need to do has been a great challenge. There is so much to improve on, yet I still have come so far.”
Dive coach Pete Andress has witnessed the development firsthand. Andress understands the strides forward that Murphy has made in his short time on the team.
“Jay began diving as a sophomore with very few skills,” Andress said. “However he quickly developed and began mastering the skills necessary to develop rapidly. By the end of his sophomore year, he had learned 11 competitive dives and missed qualifying for state by less than a point. As a junior, he began the year at nearly the same level as he ended the prior year.”
Murphy’s success so far is not attributed only to his story in aquatics. Consistent practice and a strong work ethic have been the main driving factor in our current situation. In addition, Murphy cites a certain special exercise that helped propel his progress.
“I trained a lot,” Murphy said. “Even when coaches weren’t present, Nolan and I would try some crazy new dives on the board to help us mentally get over fears.”
Coming up in Westside’s dive program, something relatively foreign to Murphy, would be something that some might find a little difficult. Luckily, Murphy took on this challenge with a close friend. Junior Nolan Boarts has been good friends with Murphy for several years now. In the months leading up to their sophomore season, the pair decided to give it a go and jump in head first.
“It was different at first,” Boarts said. “It was a lot of stuff we had never done before and it took a little bit to get used to. However, once we got the hang of it and got into a bit of a groove, we both began to develop. Even though it was a little difficult, I knew that Jay and I were in the same place, which took much of the weight off my shoulders. Knowing that it was something that we were doing together made the whole process a lot more enjoyable in the long run.”
Murphy agrees. When doing something new, having a friend by your side makes everything all that easier.
“Getting Nolan to join Dive was initially a hard task,” Murphy said. “Once he joined, he loved it as much as I. He has helped a tremendous amount these past two seasons, and made the whole experience so much more fun.”
Boarts is understandably very happy for Murphy. To see not only your teammate but your close friend succeed at that level, is something incredibly special.
“Jay and I came up through the program together since the beginning,” Boarts said. “Jay has worked super hard all season and never took any shortcuts. He paved the way for himself and he is incredibly deserving of where he is now in his career.”
Murphy is known by his peers and close friends as a positive and friendly individual. Coach Andress had nothing but praise for Murphy, stating that his personality is what truly sets him apart from divers of the past.
“Jay sets himself apart from others with his personality,” Andress said. “He is always in good spirits, is comfortable with his skills and weaknesses, and always gives 100% effort. He brings a calm dedicated sense of humor to every moment. He is also a great teammate. Constantly supporting others at practice and meets. Often going out of his way to provide rides or provide levity when needed.”
Dive, a relatively mental sport, requires a strong mindset to succeed. Coach Andress is now in his second year of working alongside Murphy. In these two years, Andress states that he has seen a great amount of development from Murphy. A large part of the development comes from Murphy’s mindset.
“The best part of Jay’s training has been his ability to build on what he learned prior,” Andress said. “There has been very little regression in skills and he continues to grow. He is much more comfortable with the skills necessary to compete at a high level and has a much better understanding of what he needs to do to succeed in the sport moving forward.”
Looking forward to the actual state championship run, Murphy will be looking at the biggest challenge he has faced yet. That being said, his coaches are incredibly optimistic, based on what they have seen so far this year.
“My goals for Jay at state are simple and no different than any other time,” Andress said. “I’d like to see him develop into the best Jay he can be. To learn what he is truly capable of achieving. Coach Katy and I believe Jay is capable of finishing within the top 20 at state this year.”
As for Murphy, spirits are running high. With his understanding of past performances and overall development, the sky’s the limit.
“My mindset for state is obviously to perform to the best of my ability and get Westside some points,” Murphy said “A goal for me is to finish on the podium, which will need tons of hard work to achieve.”