By Jessica Jimenez— Staff Writer
Twists, tucks, pikes and somersaults.
The sport of diving is complex and challenging.
Just five months ago, sophomore Anna Jabs took up diving and became a collegiate diver.
Prior to joining the team, Jabs trained as a gymnast for nine years before starting her Division I career at SJSU.
She decided to switch after hearing of former gymnast Eri Tamada succeed as a gymnast-turned diver because of an injury.
The shift came about after Jabs dislocated her shoulder and tore her labrum on the vault, requiring surgery.
“I wasn’t the same again after that,” Jabs said. “I wanted to do something that I could put my gymnastics skills to use.”
Diving coach Karla Helder and swimming coach Sage Hopkins brought Jabs to the team and had her train extensively before the school year started.
“I told her over the summer to go down to SoCal,” Helder said. “You’ve got a couple of clubs that surround you, find one of those clubs and learn to dive.”
Despite having limited knowledge of the sport, the transition for Jabs took a short time to adapt.
“It was difficult at first learning how to flip and land on your hands and not your feet,” the sophomore said. “After the first month it all started to feel pretty natural.”
From a coach’s perspective, Helder can already see Jabs having the qualities of a collegiate diver.
Gymnastics demands a special kind of discipline. When gymnasts transition to diving, which is common, they understand the technical aspects of what is asked.
The difference between the two sports is that gymnasts use gravity to create their somersaulting and twisting abilities whereas the springboard creates that for the diver.
“Anna has learned that Mother Nature can be a great teacher,” Helder said.
Ditching old gymnast habits is difficult. Life-long training doesn’t go away in an instant.
Jabs is currently competing in the one-meter and three-meter springboard events. The one-meter springboard is her favorite so far.
Senior Natasha Sondeno, Jabs’ teammate who has been diving for 11 years, has taken a coaching role in guiding her.
“The ability to remain calm in stressful situations and the ability to overcome your fears takes time to learn,” Sodeno said. “Diving is just as mental as it is physical.”
These two main qualities are huge components of diving which Sondeno says Jabs is still learning.
Having a new teammate to compete alongside has brought joy to Sondeno.
She was going to be the only diver for the season, but with Jabs joining the team it has been an exciting and fun experience for the duo.
“Anna has made my senior year significantly better,” Sondeno said.
Jabs has fallen in love with the sport over the course of a few months, especially because it is more relaxed and easier on the body.
Injuries in gymnastics are more common with high impact landings, whereas landing in the water eases the blow.
Helder’s main objective for Jabs is to get her a one and a half lists on both awards so that she can either compete or exhibition at conference in February.
“My goal for this sport is to have fun with it through the rest of my college days and see how far I can get,” she said.
A career-ending injury opened a door to a new sport that she dove head over heels in love with.
Follow Jessica on Twitter @jessicajim06
