Late summer brought an opportunity for Powell divers to come out and practice for five days at the Powell Aquatic Center — bringing in middle school and high school athletes to learn from Powell High School coaches Stephanie Warren and Heather Christensen.

“It’s always good to see the kids get out and have an opportunity to get on the diving board,” Warren said. “Diving is not like swimming where kids can just go to the pool and practice. It is nice to give them a chance to get on the board and practice what they know.”

Christensen echoed that she was happy with the turnout at the camp, which included divers from an incoming seventh grader all the way to incoming seniors.

Still, Warren and Christensen would like to see more athletes out.

“I was very happy with our turn out, but I’d love to see more kids come out for diving,” Christensen said. “Both the boys and girls teams have graduated quite a few athletes. Seeing new faces join the program would be great. Diving is a fun, unique sport. There is no other sport like it offered by the school — I would like to see it grow more.”

Both coaches were thankful for the opportunity to coach with each other, having a storied history together with both being at the helm at PHS for an extended period of time.

“Working with Heather at this camp is always a great time,” Warren said. “She was one of my first divers that I coached early in my career. She is very knowledgeable, positive, talented and a very caring individual. What she has done with the girls’ diving program since taking over for me has been wonderful.”

Both coaches said that the ability for the athletes to come in and learn from the coaches, in addition to the athletes teaching each other with knowledge they learned throughout camps in the summer, helps the group grow together.

“I love having the kids teach us what they learn at other camps,” Christensen said. “We get to add new tools to our training tool box. Also, when the kids show Stephanie, myself and the other divers they become more confident in that skill — they work on communication skills and being a leader amongst their peers.”

With diving being a sport focused on the individual, both coaches know each athlete has a unique learning style and each coach tries to help each other lend advice in order for athletes to reach their full potential.

“We all want to see our athletes reach their fullest potential,” Warren said. “Working with other coaches helps that. After coaching diving for 22 years, I learned early on that other coaches bring a lot of great things to the world of diving. I have always encouraged divers I have coached to listen and ask questions to different coaches.”

The week-long camp also served as an opportunity for PHS girls’ divers to get out on the board with the season rapidly approaching and set to start on Aug. 14.

“It is great to see my divers on the board,” Christensen said. “This camp is a jumpstart into the season. It gets them thinking about their dives and their goals. It is also an opportunity for us to work on the building blocks of diving so we can focus more on their dives during the season.”