Game. Set. Match.

I learned a new dive yesterday! And the reason I am so excited about it is because I got the fundamentals down in the last 15 minutes of practice. I learned a... (I have to think about this) a reverse... inward... tuck dive. This means I stand on the edge of the board backward, jump up and back while flipping forward towards the board in a ball and then opening into a layout in time for the water.

The Greek coach was back (which always makes me quivering with fear) and some people on my board were working on this dive. About 15 minutes before practice ended, it was my turn and I stepped onto the board when the coach asked if I wanted to try it. I wasn't one to say no, so I said yes.

A little backstory: whenever we're trying new things (with the other coach) we generally get dryland instruction first, where it's explained to us on the ground and we go through the motions on deck, then we're coached in a complete preparation on the board how to approach it, how to hold and move your body, and what to expect and do as you're jumping and falling. With the Greek coach, it's a little different, apparently.

I've done reverse take-offs before, so I went to the end of the board and turned around, with my heels off the edge, and then looked at him expectantly. He looked at me. I looked longer. He returned my stare.

"You're going to do it, right?" he asked me.

"Yes, I am," I said.

"So what you waiting for?" he called.

"I don't know what to do," I responded.

"Just do it!" he yelled.

So I did. It resulted in me getting halfway around and planting in the water on my face, and emerging to a great big round of applause from everyone who witnessed it. The coach told me that was great, now I have the sensation of jumping backward and turning toward the board, so now I just need to really do it next time. And you know what, I did. And that was the craziest part. The first time doing any dive is always a mess because your body probably isn't sure how to react to the gravity and direction and it's hard to command it as you're falling through the air. The next time I went up, I thought about it harder, prepared for what it felt like... and I nailed it enough to get a non-ironic round of applause. I was so proud!

I wanted to write about diving today cause I've been so busy and exhausted and mentally tired and I find it's the only 2 hours of my week where I finally get outside of my head and forget about the outside world and just have fun. Going home in the 10pm cold and wind is miserable, however. But now it's February!