A Dive into the Unknown

Senior Josh Schultz has gone from aSenior Josh Schultz has gone from afreshman walk-on to become Penn's top diver Plus the Minnesota native had heard about the grueling five-hour workouts endured by the college divers at the nearby University of Minnesota. Then he met fellow freshman Sean Lucan. Lucan, who was one of the divers Penn had recruited, convinced Schultz to come to the first diving meeting. Schultz met the diving coach, former Olympian Rob Craig, and decided to give diving a try. "It was totally random," Schultz said. "I came here saying 'I don't want to dive.' But I had packed a Speedo." Schultz was wary of collegiate athletics, after having spent time with many divers who put diving ahead of schoolwork. But he found Penn's coaches more understanding about academic commitment than their counterparts back home in Minnesota. Four years later, the former walk-on is holding his own in one of the most competitive leagues in NCAA Division I swimming. Schultz began diving in seventh grade, when his swim coach sent the team over to the deep end of the pool and told them to dive. Schultz thought it was fun, and a few weeks later, he was doing a front somersault straight. Or at least that's what Schultz thought. "It was ridiculous, I thought I was doing this really cool dive, and it was totally wrong" Schultz said. "I was doing it pike. And the coach had no idea." He began to dive during the summers, so by the time he reached high school, he had already learned the basics and was ready to make the jump to competitive diving. Fortunately, his high school coach, Tanya Carr, was ready to help him take that step. "My coach was phenomenal," Schultz said. "We started off with a lot of freshman divers that year, and one by one they all quit. By the end of the year, I was one of the only ones left." Schultz has a habit of sticking around. He is one of only two members of the Class of 1996 that is still on the squad. The past few years have not been kind to the Penn swimming and diving programs, yet Schultz remained as fellow team members jumped ship. His enthusiasm for the sport never waned. "It's been four years of tough times," Schultz said. "It's been tough, but there's always been a core that has persevered. It's been great. You don't see yourself getting better. But when you look at yourself on videotape, you realize just how much you've improved." Schultz's freshman year was less than spectacular. Craig was distracted with the responsibilities of fatherhood and could not really give his full attention to the needs of the divers. Schultz took the year to build his repertoire and familiarize himself with collegiate competition. The next year, Penn hired Phil Bergere to replace Craig. "Phil was a very different coach. He had a lot of energy, and he was really committed to the team," Schultz said. "During my freshman year, there was a great senior diver, who was very helpful. But having Phil around made a big difference." Schultz had already learned his dives freshman year. Bergere's mission was to clean them up. "Josh was really stifled freshman year," Bergere said. "He was not very confident, and he needed to do them again and again and again. Then we broke them down and perfected them, and he started winning meets. He's come a long way." For the past three years, Schultz has been one of the most consistent members of the team. Although diving is challenging physically, it is not the tough workouts that usually send divers running away from the pool. It is the strenuous mental preparation that most divers never master. "It's definitely a mental sport," Schultz said. "To learn a new dive is terrifying. Yet you just have to do it. And when you do it right, it's the most incredible feeling in the world. The trick is to focus on just one step at a time. You can't think about the dive as a whole. It's just too scary." With the end of his diving career looming on the horizon, Schultz is getting ready to take one last shot at making the top 10 at the Eastern Championships in March. He learned some new dives last year, and he has spent a good deal of time working on them. To do well, he will have to put together eleven consistent dives. "He'll do well," Bergere said. "You can always count on Josh to perform in a meet. He's successful at everything he does. "It's going to take me a long time to find someone as good as Josh again."