Summer program helps Zuidema, Ammon

Longtime Newman diving coach John Berge and first-year Sterling diving coach Mary Sue LeMay sat on a metal bench at the Duis Center in Sterling on Wednesday afternoon, each coaching a diver from their respective schools.

Golden Warriors sophomore Kallie Zuidema and Comets senior Abigayle Ammon are in the process of perfecting and learning their 11-dive schedule, as each qualified for this weekend’s state meet in Evanston. Both left Saturday’s Jefferson Sectional with impressive 11-dive scores in the 400s to extend their season.

Despite their differences in class, both are in their second year of diving, and it’s hard to imagine they would still be competing deep into November if it weren’t for the summer program that Berge helped orchestrate.

“The summer program brought in some new kids, and we got a good feel for what it was like at a different level,” Ammon said.

Berge started a USA diving program in Sterling this summer, with the hopes of engaging more area athletes in the sport, as well as giving the current divers – Ammon and Zuidema – a platform to prepare for college and large meets such as the state meet.

It was in those summer months leading into the fall sports season where both divers made noticeable improvements from a year ago.

“We wanted to start something here, so we started a USA diving program,” Berge said. “We went and got fully certified and all of the things that go with it. It was a great way for them to prepare and to compete.

“It worked well, because that led right into the girls’ season.”

Zuidema and Ammon, along with several other kids, went to one meet over the summer and faced competition from other USA diving programs. They left with wide eyes and a sense of what it takes to compete at a high level.

“We saw some great divers,” Berge said. “We weren’t anywhere near that, but we were also just starting out and getting back into diving after months off.”

The divers share the diving well during practice, and also share the two coaches, in a sense. While Berge focuses on Ammon and LeMay is charged with coaching Zuidema, both interject tips and ideas to the other.

LeMay comes from a successful diving background as an athlete. She dove at Newman from 2005-09, and is known as one of the area’s best divers. She competed at the state level in high school twice, placing 12th in 2007 before a runner-up finish as a senior in 2008. She was the first Newman swimmer or diver to earn a state medal.

LeMay received offers from various Division I schools, and went on to compete in the Big Ten at Iowa. When she graduated in 2013 from Iowa, she chose to stick with the sport, and volunteered as the Golden Warriors’ diving coach last season.

At the start of this season, she was hired to be the Warriors’ coach, and has worked with Ammon and Zuidema throughout the season, sharing her knowledge from the perspective of a recent collegiate athlete.

“She’s been a great person to learn from,” Zuidema said of LeMay.

LeMay, herself, did a lot of learning from Hawkeyes diving coach Bob Rydze, who was the team leader for the USA diving team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“I learned aw lot about diving in high school,” LeMay said. “But I learned so much more from diving in college. When I came back here, I was excited to be able to come in here and give my input. I feel like I bring a different element.

“John will see things that I don’t see, and I’ll see things that he won’t see. It works out well. These girls are so coachable.”

When Zuidema finished her dives Saturday morning at the Jefferson Sectional with a score of 458.30, she realized she had beaten LeMay’s sectional score of 452.60 by nearly 4 points ... and made sure to let her know.

“I was really happy for her,” LeMay said. “I was excited to be part of helping her improve. I told Kallie that, as a sophomore, she is way ahead of a lot of people, and to do that already is exciting.”

There will be 48 divers competing at the state meet. The field is made up of 16 automatic qualifiers – each of the sectional champions. The rest of the field is comprised of 32 at-large berths, which are the top 32 scores at the sectional meets from around the state.

Only 12 divers will advance to Saturday’s finals, so Friday’s preliminaries will feature two hefty cuts. After five dives, the field will shrink from 48 to 16. Then, after three more dives, the field shrinks again to the 12 advancing divers.

“There are some pretty big cuts right away,” LeMay said. “But neither of these girls are overwhelmed. Kallie talks to people in line to calm herself down, and Ammon listens to music.”

The state meet depends on the dive schedule, and LeMay and Berge have worked hard at planning that schedule for each of their divers. The idea is to top-load the schedule with the five best dives that will garner the most points in order to survive the first large cut. Then the next three successful dives would be next on the list.

“Most of the time, you will see the weakest dives on Saturday,” LeMay said. “Everyone is pulling out their best dives on Friday in order to make it to Saturday.”

Each dive is scrutinized more at the state meet. Berge said that judges will be looking for height on the dives, as well as entry and form. With Berge’s longtime expertise and LeMay’s personal experience, the two coaches know what is expected, and have been preaching height throughout the season.

“These girls are built for the state meet,” Berge said. “The judges expect you to be high off the board with a clean entry and good form. But you also need to dive within yourself, and I think that’s what these girls do best.”

State Diving Meet

When: Friday (prelims) 9 a.m.; Saturday (finals) 1 p.m.

Where: 1600 Dodge Ave, Evanston, IL at Evanston HS

Athletes: Kallie Zuidema (Sterling); Abigayle Ammon (Newman)