Zuri Berry: Into the deep end
Nevada Union junior qualifies for state championships
Zuri Berry
Sports Writer, zurib@theunion.com
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sports Writer
12:01 a.m. PT May 7, 2008
While others take the time to breathe, think and ponder, he's plunging into the deep end - in the pool and in the books.
Trevor Foster, Nevada Union's junior diver, doesn't like to wait. His reaction to standing on the board, in preparation for his next dive, is a quick one.
"Thinking too much about it can mess me up," says Foster, who is hailed as the Miners' top diver in the last 10 years. "I just kinda go for it. The worse that can happen is you get a little flop."
Foster, 16, is an exemplary athlete for the Miners. In only his third season apart of the school's swim team, he has excelled past expectations of a diver with his experience, NU diving coach William Heinz said.
"Trevor goes higher than just about any diver that I've seen for his age," Heinz said. "He has learned to be quite graceful ... He has the potential to be really, really good."
The young diver has propped himself up in the last few weeks, scorching the Sierra Foothill League for a second place finish in the league meets and then following with a fifth place finish in the Sac-Joaquin Section. The latter put him into the state championships, held May 31 in Tulare, eight miles south of Visalia. He'll be joined by NU's Samantha Shade who place 12th in the section and junior varsity diver Aaron Carver, who pulled out a sharp ninth place finish.
What's equally impressive, and in my mind deserving of much more attention, is Foster's grade point average: A whopping 4.3.
Foster is one of the many Nevada Union and Nevada County students who have excelled in parallel avenues - on the diving board and in the classroom - and continues to be a shining beacon. Today, he gets props for being a superior diver. Down the road, he'll get props for being a superior human being.
Because of his performance at sections, in which he netted a NU diving record of 401 points, Foster is eligible for All-American status. He passed the threshold of 375 points, Heinz said.
"Although, if you're around 375 you don't really have a chance," Heinz said, citing an outrageous 500-plus score from a Granite Bay diver last season.
What's exciting though, is that there's a lot to be hopeful about for this particular Miner in the coming month and in the future.
Getting into diving was not that far of a stretch for Foster. His dad was a diver and so was his brother, who is off at college now. Not surprisingly, Foster wants to dive at the next level, particularly at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
"I want to major in aerospace engineering," he said. "Hopefully, (my chances are) pretty good."
Foster, by any sort of reasoning, doesn't need any advocate to get him where he is trying to go. He, by far, has exceeded the expectation of a student-athlete and is approaching the college athlete realm on his own merit. To see him do it though, would be a joyous addition to the successful alumni already of our schools.
But before he passes on to the next level, which in my mind is undoubtable, he has the state championships to deal with. This one is going to require him to take his A game up to an A plus. And it's going to require some creativity.
"There's always areas for refinement," Heinz said. "It's all about consistency. That's largely a function of how long you've been diving. Everybody misses in practice. The best make the dives when they count."
For the looming championships, the two will work on getting him to speed up his twists to complete his moves earlier for cleaner moves. Foster may even work on some new moves for the occasion.
"I'm not too sure," Foster said. "I'm just gonna try and do my own thing."
That seems to have worked so far.
Zuri Berry is a sports writer for The Union. His column appear Wednesdays. Contact him via e-mail at zberry@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4244. You can also read his blog online at TheUnion.com.
