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03/31/2016 12:00 AMWithout question, Connecticut’s most dominant boys’ diver on the high school scene the past three years lives in Madison and his name is Teddy Zeng.
Zeng, a junior at Hand, started out as a swimmer, but was then recommended to switch to diving. From there, Teddy was off and running as he claimed first place at the SCC, state, and State Open diving championships in each of is first three campaigns with the Tigers. Even more impressively, Teddy holds meet records with the highest scores in state history for the Class L (604.55) and Class M (603.20) state championships, along with the top all-time mark at the Open, which he set on March 17 by scoring a 608.80 to break his own mark of 607.60.
“I got sick very easily when I was a kid, so my parents sent me to have sports training and they led me to choose swimming. However, one of my coaches said that I couldn’t be a very outstanding swimmer because of my height, so he recommended me to choose diving,” says Teddy, who trains with Dive Haven and previously dove with a team in Hong Kong. “I’m just very happy now to have had all of my efforts pay off with these victories and championships. It’s an honor that I can hold these records. It’s also recognition of my efforts.”
Teddy had to adjust to the rigors of a lengthy dual-meet season, as well as the three postseason meets, when he first stepped on to the varsity circuit at Hand. However, Teddy has grown accustomed to the grind and feels it’s helped him develop as both an athlete and a person.
“When I was a freshman, I wasn’t used to the long competitive season, but now I’m just fine with it,” Teddy says. “It’s been a good experience for me because it teaches me how to adjust in coping with different situations.”
Taking a triple crown of titles in one’s rookie year might cause some athletes to grow complacent and rest on their accolades. Instead, Teddy used his early success as a stepping stone to reach even greater heights and higher scores.
“It was really a great encouragement to me after the competitions in my freshman year,” says Teddy. “After each success, I would remind myself to keep on practicing and hope to have a better performance in the coming events.”
Tigers’ Head Coach Christina Forristall says that Teddy simply can’t be taken off his game when he’s getting ready to step on the diving board. She also praises Teddy for adding a new maneuver to his repertoire.
“Teddy is a very humble teammate and athlete. He stays very quiet and much focused at meets, unlike any athlete I have ever worked with,” says Forristall. “Over the past year, he has been working on his strength—lifting more, so he has more weight to manipulate the board and be able to successfully complete harder dives. He worked very hard this season on adding a reverse 2½ tuck to his 11-dive list. He performed it for the first time at SCCs and then at states this year beautifully.”
In terms of his objectives for his sendoff senior season, Teddy aims to stay innovative with fresh techniques that will challenge him even more on the board.
“I hope that I can create some new dives for myself next season,” says Teddy, who thanks his entire family, along with his coaches and teammates. “I also want to increase the difficulty of some of my dives.”