Johann Schmidt wants you to join the Tufts diving team. The qualifications? Commitment, curiosity and athletic ability — in that order.
In a post submitted to TuftsLife.com on April 13 titled "Tufts Diving," Schmidt wrote: "Have you ever done gymnastics before? Have you ever been off diving boards and wanted to try more? Or are you just daring and willing to do a varsity sport? ... The Tufts Swimming and Diving team is looking for divers."
Schmidt had received three email responses to the post as of this Tuesday and he hopes more people will be up for the challenge.
"It's a lot of fun," Schmidt said. "We're not looking for national divers; we're not looking for NESCAC Champions; we're looking for people who want to be dedicated to the sport and that want to have fun at the same time."
In other words, they're not looking for anyone who can hold a candle to Schmidt, who as a freshman won 14 events, including the one−meter and three−meter diving competitions, at the NESCAC Championships and placed sixth in the three−meter dive at Nationals.
Based on Schmidt's performance, it might not seem like the team needs much support. However, the men's squad had just three divers this year — ideally it would have five or six — and with senior Trevor Stack set to graduate next month, the program would like to add a few more names to its roster, if only to make the training experience more fun and competitive.
Coach Brad Snodgrass, who has manned both the Tufts and MIT diving programs for 24 years, explained that Tufts has a history of divers who did not dive until college. Junior Kelly Flanagan, a former gymnast, began diving two years ago and just missed the finals at this year's NESCAC Championships. Snodgrass said he has seen ex−pole−vaulters, dancers and wrestlers shine as divers.
"I really think of [diving] as the original extreme sport — but it's safe," Snodgrass said. "It really is a lot of fun, and very few people who have tried it out don't like it."
Three out of the six members of the men's and women's teams did gymnastics in the past, as did assistant coaches Rob Matera (LA '10) and Lindsay Gardel (LA '10), who had great diving careers at Tufts.
Schmidt himself was a gymnast for six years and made the transition to diving during his freshman year at Clarkstown High School South in New York. Although he's now unstoppable on the boards, adjusting to diving from a mental standpoint wasn't easy.
"When I was younger I was so scared to go off the high−dive and the three−meter," he said. "That's probably the biggest adjustment I've had — it's more of a mental thing and having a better attitude about diving. When I first came in, I was so scared to do a lot of things, and now I just love it."
While the program has had some great divers in recent years, including the 2008 one−meter and three−meter national champion Kendall Swett (LA '08), convincing devoted divers to come to Tufts has been a struggle. The main reason: Hamilton Pool does not offer sufficient diving facilities — only a one−meter board in a nine−foot−deep area — and Tufts divers must therefore take an athletic van to MIT for practice five times a week.
Snodgrass and others have pushed for renovations, but the coach explained that due to economic troubles and other, higher university priorities, a new swimming facility will probably not be constructed for another five years, when he hopes that another phase of the new athletic facility begins.
Because of these lackluster conditions, Snodgrass makes sure his recruits come to Tufts for academics first and diving second.
"We've lost many people who come to Hamilton Pool on their recruiting trips and say, ‘You're kidding me? This is it?' I look forward to the day when we don't lose people because of the facility," he said.
For Schmidt, being a Div. III diver, even while having to make the trek to MIT five times a week, has been well worth it so far.
"The benefits really outweigh the costs," he said. "Yeah, you're going to have to spend a lot of time practicing, but you'll have fun with the team, you'll learn something new, you'll put this on your résumé — it's a great way to just have fun and be active on campus."
Now, he hopes others do what he did as a high school freshman and take the leap to diving.
"A lot of people have really wanted to try the sport, I'm sure, in their life, and this is an opportunity for people to try," he said. "We're not saying we're going to take you automatically just because you're willing to try it, but if you're willing to put in effort and you do show some talent, you could possibly be a great asset to the team and try something new for yourself as well."
Who knows? You might be the next Johann Schmidt.
