Rory Killelea, a former Clay High School regional diver, has returned to the diving scene to become the head coach of Saint Joseph High School’s diving team. He took six inexperienced divers– only having two returning from the previous season– and turned four of them into a sectional diving squad, each having a total of eleven different dives.
Diving back into the world of the aqua tribe brought back some memories for Killelea. He reflected on his teammates during the season that have become his lifelong friends and family. He even met his wife through this sport! Killelea emphasizes the importance of community and reminisces about the days in which he competed side-by-side with his friends during practices and meets. These values are shown in the style of coaching by fostering a supportive and encouraging team environment.
Killelea’s favorite part about coaching so far has been seeing his divers succeed and improve with each meet. He says, “I know firsthand just how agonizing it can feel to learn new dives, so seeing our team compete with confidence is definitely my favorite thing.”
He has also enjoyed getting back on the boards at practices and finding out he can still do all of his dives. However, there was a learning curve for Killelea as he realized that success looks very different for each person. He says that “for some divers, success means placing first at a meet. For others, it can mean that they attempted a dive they were scared to throw.”
Either way, he has learned to adjust his expectations and celebrate the achievements of his divers based on the effort given at matches, not necessarily from the scores his divers receive. Killelea also had to overcome the nightmares of scheduling conflicts with his divers and the pool that his team practices at, along with turning the program around into a serious varsity sport due to it being very different and lax in the previous years.
Killelea’s commitment to his divers and the sport is evident as he carries them into the championship season. The program is blessed to have him and appreciates his dedication to his newfound position.
