Sherritt says sophomore diver has potential to win conference championship
After the swimming and diving team’s first meet of the season against Texas A&M and UNC on Saturday, sophomore Patricia Kranz walked away with first place on the 1-meter board.
But the real victory for Kranz was not in the result, but in achieving one specific objective.
Coach Todd Sherritt gives his divers a goal for each meet — never a score, but a mechanical objective dealing with the execution of a certain twist or somersault. With his advice in mind, Kranz and USC’s other divers improve the details of a dive without focusing exclusively on the end result.
“It may not keep all the pressure off, because I want them to have that adrenaline and excitement,” Sherritt said. “But I think what it does is take off the burden of doing certain things. If all you’re trying to do is go out there and [reach] an objective that I gave you, that’s like training.”
Kranz picked up diving as a freshman in high school after competing in gymnastics for 10 years. She said Tom Fagley, the swim coach at her high school, convinced her to try the sport. She and Fagley are still in contact, and he was in attendance when she won the 1-meter Saturday.
Last season, Kranz finished 14th in the SEC on the 1-meter, but after spending her summer training in Columbia, she hopes for much bigger results this season. Sherritt said USC’s recent success in the conference has set a high standard for Kranz to meet.
The best scores in the conference in both the 1-meter and the 3-meter have been posted by former Gamecocks. In 2011, senior Taryn Zack was SEC champion on the 1-meter board with a record score. Senior Courtney Forcucci won the conference meet with a record score on the 3-meter board last season.
“The record breakers are coming out of this program,” Sherritt said. “The standard helps, and [Kranz] trained with Courtney, so she knows what she’s going to look like when she hits that elite level. She’s definitely on her way.”
Kranz said she has worked to add three or four new dives to her repertoire early this season to increase her degree of difficulty. When his athletes are learning new dives, Sherritt uses belts attached to the ceiling to ensure there is no risk of injury until divers can comfortably execute the move.
In each meet, divers perform six dives. There are five groups of dives: fronts, backs, inwards (in which divers stand at the end of the board facing away from the pool but dive forward) reverses (in which divers walk to the end of the board but dive backward) and twisters.
Each competitor must perform one dive from each group and may duplicate any group she chooses. Kranz enthusiastically called the twisters her favorite. She also said while she competes in both 1-meter and 3-meter, she has a strong preference.
“I love 1-meter. It’s my favorite,” Kranz said. “I feel most comfortable on it. I’m willing to go for new dives on that more than on 3-meter. I like [3-meter], but it’s a little more challenging for me mentally. Todd’s really helping me get over it, so they’re both pretty good.”
The biggest learning experience for Kranz on Saturday was on the 3-meter. Sherritt said her competitive nature caused her to deviate from the goals he set for her.
“I messed up on some things and didn’t really hit the objectives that Todd was telling me to do,” Kranz said. “But it gives me a lot more fire, a lot more desire to work hard and go in this week and work on what he’s telling me to do.”
Sherritt said he was confident Kranz would benefit from the experience she gained.
“She’s the kind of person that once she makes a mistake, she won’t make it again,” Sherritt said. “I know the next time if something doesn’t go right, she’s not going to become competitive but go out and get the objectives.”
Kranz said every meet USC has this season, up until the SEC Championship, will be treated like a training meet — with one small objective at a time, Sherritt said he expects Kranz to continue South Carolina’s successful legacy in diving, adding that she has the talent to be one of the top 12 divers in the nation at season’s end.
“I believe she can win the conference championship,” Sherritt said. “If she continues to progress like she has and works hard and does what I tell her, she’ll be there in the end.”