It only takes seconds to perform a dive, but within the twists, bends and tucks, the precision of a maneuver is magnified significantly.
None pay more attention to the finer aspects of a dive than Ohio junior Morgan Srail — one of the Bobcats’ most consistent divers and one of only two who will be returning next season.
“Her desire to win is one of her best attributes,” said Ohio diving coach Russ Dekker. “She has great work ethic and is never satisfied. Sometimes she is her biggest critic.”
Thus far in her career, Srail is a three-time NCAA Zone qualifier, placed second at the 2012 Mid-American Conference Championships in the three-meter dive and was a part of the conference’s 2013 academic team.
More recently, she finished within the top three in the one and three-meter dives — including a top finish in the one-meter competition against West Virginia on Feb. 1. She finished second and third, respectively, in the events this past weekend against Miami.
But even though Srail’s accomplishments catalog similarly to a greatest hits list, she admits to considering herself a perfectionist.
“I think that’s something all athletes do,” close friend and senior diver Kristin Capcik said. “But Morgan is hard on herself. She wants to be the best and she shows that every time she dives.”
Srail didn’t just one day wake up and decide diving was her calling, however.
Her career actually originated with gymnastics before she switched to the pool during her freshman year at Avon Lake High School.
Jeff Arnold, Srail’s high school coach, remembers her vividly.
“She had the ability where she would get down on herself at times, especially in practices when working on a dive, and then get to meets and be confident,” said Arnold, who coached almost 30 high school All-American divers in his 40 years of coaching. “As an athlete, you have to be critical in order to succeed, and I think that helped her, really.”
Throughout her career, Srail has battled with nervousness and psychological pressure but has showed in clutch moments that she is able to overcome the pressures associated with her sport.
After seeing a psychologist to learn to cope with the pressure later in her high school career, nervousness still crept into her routine in her first collegiate season. However, she was able to put aside the pressure and place second in the three-meter dive at the MAC Championship during her freshman season.
“I was so nervous for the three-meter dive,” Srail said. “I remember being in the bathroom crying and shaking before the event, and Alexa Gordish (a teammate) was just trying to calm me down. I eventually got second, so really it wasn’t a big deal in the end.”
Srail has learned about nerves both in the pool and the classroom as a pre-exercise physiology major, where she studies how physiology intertwines with health and fitness.
“Early on in my career, I attended a sports psychologist,” Srail said. “I went in and I would be evaluated and he would help me deal with the nerves I was having.”
Over time, each dive has washed away some of Srail’s psychological pressures — much to the Bobcats’ benefit.
“Morgan is always so consistent,” said Ohio coach Derick Roe. “She’s always putting in hard work on the boards every day.”
She comes to practice early — often to work on her one-meter dive reverses — something even lifeguards in the Aquatic Center have taken notice of.
But there’s a side to her that even spectators in the stands won’t ever see.
“Toward the beginning of her freshman year we didn’t talk during one practice, we just communicated through barking,” Capcik laughed. “She’s just one of those people who’s a complete goof and isn’t afraid to be who she is.”
@Lukeoroark
lr514812@ohiou.edu
This article originally appeared in print under the headline "Overcoming Diver’s Block"
