Diving in with Both Feet

In many ways, gymnastics and diving are very similar. Both require body control, good flexibility, and great balance. One just happens to be over water. So when Tanner Lange, a 7th grader at Sonoran Heights Middle School, asked his parents to try out diving after four years of gymnastics, they obliged. Tanner started gymnastics at the early age of 4, but after trying out diving at age 9, he was hooked. “It’s a very natural transition,” said Tanner’s Mom, Genny. “A lot of gymnasts will transition to dive because they already know about body alignment and flexibility and positions.” For Tanner though, it’s the combination of water and the tumbling that sparks his interest. “I just like being in the water and doing flips,” he said. “My whole life I’ve been doing flips. It’s just an adrenaline rush.”

Tanner started off slow with diving, because COVID had put a damper on sports for a while. His first year he hardly competed at all and just focused on learning the sport. His second year of diving, Tanner took off, making it all the way to nationals. “It was a great trip,” he recalled. “Everything was green (the meet was in West Virginia) and everybody was really nice. I did pretty good.”

Tanner placed 2nd on the three meter springboard, 2nd on the platform, and 3rd on the one meter springboard for his age group. That’s quite the accomplishment for a second year diver. This past year, his third in diving, he took it up a notch. “I went to nationals in San Antonio and got first on the one meter and three meter springboard, and 4th on platform,” he stated with pride. At 12 years old, Tanner had taken to the sport quite well and began making a name for himself. Back in late August, Tanner and his family got an email that would take him even further. Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), one of the organizations that Tanner competes in, had selected him to join the prestigious national team to compete in Sweden and Denmark.

“We are very, very proud of him,” said Genny of her son. “We have high expectations of our kids, and we know that they can achieve them. This is one of the payoffs. You get to experience something so amazing, and it’s an honor to be invited on the team, which shows that his hard work is paying off.”

Tanner is taking the news in stride. “It’s pretty cool,” he said nonchalantly. “It’s a little scary competing against Europeans.” That sort of thinking is nothing new for Tanner. To hear him talk about his process and diving, it’s easy to tell that a certain mental demeanor is necessary to be successful in the sport. “You have to be calm and collected,” he said. “It’s not scary, but you have to do a lot of things right to not hurt yourself. You have to know where you are in the flip, you have to jump out a bit, but not too far, so you don’t hit the board. You have to enter the water straight up and down, and then you have to pike it so you don’t make a splash. It’s a lot!”

Sometimes up on the board when doing a hard dive, Tanner will close his eyes and envision the dive and the entry. He said the biggest thing he needs to work on for Sweden and Denmark are his entries and ensuring there is no splash. “I just need to stay calm, thinking that it is not a meet, it’s just a practice.” Tanner said his hardest dive to do is a forward three and half somersaults off the three meter springboard. “I’ve only done it like 10 times.” The dive he considers his best is the back one and a half somersaults with a half twist.

Tanner’s family will be going with him to compete from October 26 through November 11 in both Stockholm, Sweden and Lund, Denmark. Tanner will compete in the one and three meter springboards, as well as the five and 7 meter platforms. All in all, the national team will have 39 divers from across the nation and 11 coaches attending the competition.

“We push him very hard and expect a lot out of him, and sometimes we forget that he’s only 12,” said Genny. But hearing her talk about Tanner and share some of his stories, it’s clear that Tanner is still grounded and humble, which is one of the family’s mottos.

“He’s very good with other kids when they are just learning dives and stuff,” Genny said. “He likes to help and encourage and support. Even his coach will text me and share that Tanner was helping this younger one who was scared, and Tanner was up there with him walking him through it, encouraging him and easing his mind. Tanner is really good with the other kids.”

Tanner wants to dive in college and clearly has that goal in mind. “One of my first meets at Mission Viejo, there were two kids who were juniors, and they are getting looked at by a couple colleges,” Tanner shared. “I was diving, and my coach came up to me and said, one of the college coaches is looking at you!”

Genny chimed in though after the story by sharing that both her and the coach reiterated that everyone needs to slow down. He’s only in 7th grade, after all. It goes back to that family motto of staying humble, and letting your actions speak for themselves. For now, the Lange’s will focus on this upcoming trip and ensuring Tanner has a good experience. “This is an honor, this is exciting, and everyone is just very proud of him,” Genny said with a smile.