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11/26/2015 11:00 PMBrooke Dietter has been in the pool since she was five and, although she never really felt like the sport of swimming was her for, Brooke went out for North Haven’s squad and ultimately discovered her niche was on the diving board. A few years later, Brooke is one top athletes to ever compete for the team as she broke the school record for an 11-dive performance twice in the recent postseason.
“I was forced into it because all of my siblings did it. I just wanted to do a sport in high school, so I did swimming because of my experience,” says Brooke, now a senior. “Coach told me to give diving a shot and I enjoyed it a lot more than swimming. It was just better and a lot more fun.”
Becoming a diver certainly wasn’t an easy transition for Brooke, who says it took some time to learn the vast amount of techniques.
“It was actually really hard at the beginning. It took a lot to get used to it. It was really challenging because it was scary,” Brooke says. “Experiencing it every day and practicing hard, it’s gotten me a lot better. I just take more risks than when I first started.”
Brooke’s favorite dive is the inward as it’s the one she typically scores the best on. All five dives were crucial for Brooke both times she broke North Haven’s school record. Brooke originally did so with a final score of 324.50 when she took fifth at the SCC Championship and then topped that by totaling a 340 for fourth place at the Class M State Championship—a pair of performances that delighted Head Coach Martha Phelan.
“I couldn’t be more proud of her accomplishments this season,” says a Phelan. “In particular, leaving a legacy of breaking the 11-dive school record.”
Etching her name into Indians’ history was something Brooke set her mind on at the start of the year and she feels thrilled to have accomplished her goal, while leaving her stamp on the program.
“I was really, really happy and proud of myself. It was a goal I made before the season started. Accomplishing it was very exciting,” says Brooke, who was also a member of North Haven gymnastics her freshman and sophomore years. “I was really determined to make my goal, so I practiced hard and saw improvement.”
Still, this year wasn’t without its setbacks for Brooke, who found out just two days before the campaign started that North Haven’s home of Gawrych Town Pool would be without a diving board because a new one was going to be installed. Luckily, Brooke had the opportunity to practice at Hamden High School throughout the season and North Haven’s Senior Night was moved to Hamden Hall, which allowed Brooke to dive.
“I couldn’t compete in any home meet. It was bad. I had to practice at the Hamden High School pool because we couldn’t use the North Haven pool. It was a struggle, but I kept with it,” says Brooke. “I was apart from the team. I was alone. It took me away from the team and made me feel like I was my own team. I still had a lot of support, especially at away meets, but it wasn’t the best experience. But I just had to do it.”
Despite the odds, Brooke overcame the obstacles and will now have her name engraved in North Haven’s record book by virtue of her stellar campaign. Seeing what she could achieve in high school has Brooke considering continuing her career on the board as she says she may dive at Southern Connecticut State University next year.
“I’ve been considering going to Southern and going to the diving team,” says Brooke. I’ve talked to a coach and he thinks I’ll be good. I’m not really sure yet. I still have to think about it.”