As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been learning to dive from Coach Keith Russell. This week I had a chance to interview him, and I asked him more about how he learned to dive.
The biggest relief came when Coach Russell told me how terrified he was when he first learned to dive. He decided to take up diving to earn more points for the swim team when he was about six years old. His coach (diving legend Dick Smith) had him stand on the top of the high dive and fall straight back into the water to learn a backwards dive. Unfortunately, Russell did just that... and landed straight on his back. From 3 meters (about ten feet). OUCH!
My first day in diving class, I landed on my back after a mighty jump from a one meter diving board. The next two weeks I was scared to go to class. I'm twenty-one years old. When Coach Keith had his "happy landing," he was six. That he stuck with it is a miracle. Especially after smacking his head on the diving board while attempting a reverse dive.
The big change came when he realized that he didn't need to be afraid of diving. He learned that if he followed certain principles, the "laws of diving," as he refers to it now, then he would have nothing to fear. He went on to compete throughout his life, including in the Olympics.
Coach Russell is 100% confident that if his students will do what he says they will be safe and successful. He resonates an attitude that dispels fear. I imagined that he had always been that way: that diving had been to him as effortless and nerve-wrenching as falling asleep. So often we see people do something seemingly effortlessly, but we forget that effortlessness follows years and years of effort, of work, of being afraid, of falling flat on your back, of getting hurt, of getting up, and of diving right back into the best that life has to offer.
Wonderful post! That was so neat to hear about your diving instructor. I love that you interviewed him. It reminds me of the four years I spent on yearbook staff, researching people and events, trying to produce the best quality copy for the yearbook. People can be so inspiring!
ReplyDeleteThere's something unique and wonderful about sitting down and actually talking to a person about his/her life that makes me excited for the future. It's so interesting to hear the kind of wisdom that each human has to offer. It's one of those things that makes me see how each individual has worth and has something important to share with the world. Do you think you'll continue to interview different inspirational figures in your life?
I was reading Dick Smith's obituary in thinking about Coach Russell's first dive, I got to thinking that maybe it's the failures in something that can motivate someone to do the extraordinary. For example, like clockwork every morning as a Missionary in Italy I would try talking to someone on the bus. The first time it was always awkward and didn't usually go well. However, once the first attempt was done and over, I wasn't afraid to talk with anyone (it would only get better) and conversations would then flow smooth and enjoyably with the other commuters. Failure isn't so bad if you stick with it!
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned that we forget the work goes into projects. When you only see the outcome, its hard to envision the hours of concentration and practice necessary to succeed.
ReplyDeleteNone of us learned to walk in a day, but we've all been doing it for so long, that we don't really appreciate it until we get hurt and have to figure out how to do it all over again.
Kacee, I like how you mentioned that talking to people helps us see their worth. I've had experiences when my perception of someone has completely changed as a result of talking to them and getting to know their story.
It's amazing that this one-on-one oral communication can change people. In your case, Sam, you gained confidence. The words someone spoke to you gave you confidence. That's an amazing gift.
ReplyDeleteI love how words are powerful in the scriptures. The Lord or His messengers using His children's names makes them feel His love (see JS-H 1:49 and Moses 1:25). Additionally, words are power. They create worlds and move mountains (see Moses 2 and Moses 7:13).
Thoughts on Coach Russell's "laws of diving"--the word "laws" makes me think "sophic"--scientific laws of diving. But he passes these sophic laws to you, Sam, orally. Does he do it in the father tongue or the mother tongue? It's also interesting that these sophic laws are based on his "mother" experience.