After starting from humble origins, the WAIS Diving Program is working ever closer to its long term goals of regularly producing elite Western Australian divers.
As an underpinning program of the national sporting system, the WAIS Diving Program is targeted at developing high quality athletes capable of representation on senior national teams.
What started as little more than junior development has now seen its first major success, with Commonwealth Games medallist Maddison Keeney promoted through WAIS en route to a flourishing career that has already seen her represent Australia at World Cup and World Championship level, with the springboard talent now based at Queensland’s national high performance centre.
It’s hoped that athletes like Keeney will be the circuit breaker. Prior to this, Western Australian diving had experienced a comparative lull. It’s the aim of WAIS head diving coach Shannon Roy to ensure that more talented West Australian athletes follow Maddison’s rise to elite ranks.
Following its inception in 2009, Roy – who became just the second coach in the program’s reign last year – suggests the blueprint is still in its cumulative yawn.
“The Program is very much in its infancy stage,” he says. “We’ve got a lot of young kids coming through and we’ve now established the right culture and the right direction for the squad.”
“I think we’re sitting well on the pathway for the national body and towards international success. I’m encouraged that over the next few years we’ll grow and develop into that role.”
With program athletes meeting targets at age level and expectedly strong at the recent state titles, Roy is preparing to meld his athletes with the nation’s best, and figuratively test them at the deep end, albeit in a sport not immune to a plunge.
His squad will contest the Open National Championships in Adelaide next week, and whilst results against Australia’s best, won’t define WA’s emerging bunch, Roy is confident his charges will relish the occasion.
“I want to see how they hold themselves, how they stack up. A number of them have learned new skills in recent months and I’m keen to see how they can handle themselves under a different type of pressure at senior level,” Roy said.
Within the WAIS squad, Josh Ong has represented Australia at Junior World Championship level, whilst the precociously talented Teju Williamson earned selection for a national junior squad after impressing at age level earlier this year. Whilst the talent is undeniable, Roy doesn’t regard it as expectation.
“Expectation is a funny word in my diving and in my philosophy,” he explains. “I let my athletes know that the only expectations are how they handle themselves and how they perform, we don’t focus on an outcome or a result. The expectation is of being able to control the process.”
“Josh is starting to come into his own and is consolidating his competition preparation in the 3m, which is his focus, being an Olympic event.”
“Teju’s an interesting athlete in that she’s quite shy and timid, but when she gets a handle on something and she’s confident, her tenacity just rules everything.”
“I don’t think she realises that she can compete against one of the best divers in the world in Melissa Wu, which is good, it works in her favour,” he muses.
As if summersaulting off 10m platforms wasn’t unique enough, Williamson holds more strings to her bow, as a highly skilled violinist with a long list of academic credits at MLC.
“She’s quite the prodigy,” Roy begins. “Violin specialist, an all round natural talent. She can do the athletic, she can do the academic and she’s got this gift for music,” he said.
In something of paradox, whilst Teju is firmly grounded, Roy suggests Williamson excels at height.
“She gets better the higher she goes. She’s a short little compact package of an athlete, and being as explosive as she is, platform is a natural fit for her. 10m is her forte and it’s where she’ll have most of her success.”
The 2014/15 Australian Open Diving Championships will be held at the South Australian Aquatic and Leisure Centre from Thursday 11 – Sunday 14 December.
