The Westford Academy Girls’ Swim & Dive team faced several challenges this season like having a smaller group of divers, but with the guidance of their coaches, the team has pushed forward with goals of improvement and team development.
According to Caitlin Klick-McHugh, the Westford Academy Girls’ Swim team head coach, one of the biggest hurdles this season has been finding a practice facility. With a limited number of pools that have diving boards, the team has been fortunate enough to be able to partner with the Concord-Carlisle team at the Beede Center Concord.
However, this arrangement has its challenges. The team’s divers must practice separately from the swimmers, which while necessary, can create a sense of distance within the team. The obstacles increase the need for consistent communication which is necessary to maintain the team’s strong sense of community.
“We look for divers who are willing to try new things, are committed, and can communicate effectively with both teammates and coaches,” Klick-McHugh said.
This season, the girls’ dive team only has three female divers: freshman Sonia Kapasi, freshman Lily Caggiano, and freshman Emily Deeks. But the collective dive team’s bigger challenge concerns the Boys’ Dive team. Currently, there is only one boy diver now, freshman Ethan Slater, making it difficult to compete because the boys start many points behind their competing team with less diving points. The coaches are hoping to recruit more boys to dive in the coming weeks to ensure the team can meet the requirements.
Despite the small roster of girls diving, the team is dedicated to improving and growing together. One of their main goals is to continue to develop the divers they have while also expanding the team. They want to make sure that every diver gets better throughout the season.
Kapasi is one of the new members of the team this year. As a first-time diver, her initial goal was simply to compete at every meet.
“Since it’s my first year diving, I didn’t have all the required dives,” Kapasi said. “But I just wanted to make sure I could dive officially at every meet, so I’ve learned all the dives I needed, and I even got to try more fun and cooler dives.”
However, the season hasn’t been without its challenges for Kapasi. Similar to many new divers, she’s still working to understand the rules of the sport and how the scoring works. Additionally, practicing with only other freshmen has its own set of difficulties. Practicing with only other freshmen prevents the new divers from receiving advice from a more experienced athlete who has spent more time on the team. Still, Kapasi’s mindset keeps her motivated.
“I’m still learning the rules and scoring system, and it’s tough sometimes being on a team with just freshmen,” Kapasi said. “But I’m excited to continue improving.”
Caggiano is another new freshman member of the team. Currently in her second year of diving on a team, Caggiano has grown both in skill and confidence since the start of the season. She is particularly focused on refining her technique and mastering her dive routines.
For Caggiano, the growth she has been working towards this season goes beyond just executing difficult dives, it has also been about trying to score points for the team during meets.
“New divers will get to compete, but unofficially due to the requirements that in order to compete you need two dives from each section, which is six different dives. Since we don’t have that, we will not be able to get points for our team,” Caggiano explains.
However, currently, all three of the girls competing in the meets are able to score points. The Westford Academy Dive team’s journey this season has been one of progress, from overcoming hurdles to learning unique and unfamiliar skills. With goals set for both individual development and team growth, the divers are learning to navigate various challenges and hope to establish a stronger standing in the DCL as the season continues.
