Emma Whitner Florida- Best Buddies Program

Emma Whitner Florida NCAA Zone Qualifier

Being A College Athlete- The Most Challenging & Rewarding Both- Says Emma Whitner!

    Being A College Athlete- The Most Challenging & Rewarding Both- Says Emma Whitner!

Karen Carter

Press Release

Media Contact: 513-226-5542

Being a college athlete is one of the most challenging, yet most rewarding things a person can do. You practice 20+ hours a week and there is certainly no skipping practices (except for illnesses, injuries, or emergencies of course). Besides practicing and competing, you must also take on a full course load and maintain a good enough GPA to keep your place on the team.

Any high school athlete who is thinking about college athletics must prepare themselves to not only excel in their sport, but in their education as well. College is a whole different ball game than high school (pun intended). However, people who work that hard to reach their goals in athletics are typically just as dedicated in all aspects of their life.

While playing a varsity sport in college can be challenging, it is also extremely beneficial. You learn responsibility, time management skills, tenacity, and great leadership skills, to name a few. Of course, I cannot forget to mention the potential of receiving scholarship money. Additionally, it never hurts to have college athletics listed on your resume when it comes time to apply for a job after college.   

Emma Whitner is a sophomore varsity diver at the University of Florida. Emma set a goal to dive in college while she was in 8^th grade and she worked hard enough to achieve that goal. In addition to diving, Emma maintains a near-perfect GPA, is a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, held a summer internship position this past summer at a real estate company, and outside of college life, she is a debutante. Emma says she has diving to thank for her outstanding college career thus far.

“Being an athlete my whole life has taught me how to set goals and achieve them. It has also driven me to be the very best person that I can be.”

Emma diving during the 2018 SEC Championship meet

If you have the option of participating in a sport in college but you are on the fence, you will have to decide if it’s right for you. If you know that you can handle the course workload along with long hours of practicing, then you should consider the positive impact it can have on your future.

Learn the experience of being a college athlete from the Emma Whitner Florida- A UF Diver!  She says being an athlete my whole life has taught me how to set goals and achieve them. It has also driven me to be the very best person that I can be.”

 

10 Meters Diving Tips and Experience

 

Karen Carter

Press Release

Media Contact: 513-226-5542

A lot of people are scared the first time they jump off a high dive. Most of these high dives are only 3-meter springboards. Now imagine not only trying to jump off a 10-meter platform, let alone dive and flip off one. I think most people would get to the top of the platform, look down, and immediately turn around.

I know personally, I have only been given the opportunity to jump off of a 10-meter once in my life. Most pools only open these boards for diving teams or special occasions. The reason I was allowed to attempt it was because I was lifeguard at a pool with platform boards and we were allowed to try on our last day. I remember jumping off the 5-meter was a piece of cake and was actually really fun. I thought that two meters more wouldn’t be too difficult, so I climbed the stairs up to the 7-meter. I felt sheer terror looking down at how far away the pool was from me. After debating with myself for 5 minutes, I decided to just jump. It was a rush!!!! 

Finally, I had worked my way up and it was time to conquer the 10-meter. I climbed all those stairs to the top and walked out onto the platform. I became increasingly aware of how close I was to the ceiling. I slowly walked to edge and looked over down to the water. One look over the edge and I was climbing back down the stairs, defeated. I’m not even scared of heights but free falling from that height was terrifying to me. 

I couldn’t even bring myself to THINK about jumping off that height, yet divers are doing it every day with ease. I am always impressed watching the Olympics and seeing divers get on the top of the 10-meter, do a handstand on the edge, and then push themselves off into a sequence of flips.

This made me wonder what goes through a diver’s head when they get up to that height. Are they scared? Or is it something they get used to quickly?

I spoke to University of Florida diver, Emma Whitner, to see what she had to say about the platform. While Emma mostly competes on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards, she has still had her fair share of 10-meter dives. Whitner started diving off the 10-meter when she was 14 years old after joining a new diving team in Orlando, FL. 

“It was very scary at first. Even jumping off the 10-meter feet first was intimidating, but you start with the basics and build from there. Eventually, it gets easier and easier until it really isn’t scary anymore,” says Emma.

The dive that Emma competes off of the 10-meter is a back 2 ½ with 1 ½ twists, meaning when she gets to the edge of the platform, she has to stand backwards and flip off.

“Any fear that I had up on the 10-meter went away after 2 or 3 dives. Sometimes I still get scared trying a new dive up there but the fear isn’t as bad as my first time. You really do get used to it and it’s not so bad,” she says.

While this is reassuring, I still can’t say that given the opportunity, I would be able to jump off a 10-meter board. I think I choose to continue watching people dive from the safety of the ground. 

The Best Buddies Program

The Best Buddies Program

Best Buddies International is a nonprofit organization creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This organization serves people with Down Syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and others.

Best Buddies is a great program because it helps people with disabilities form meaningful relationships with their peers and help them feel included. Not only is it great for the students with disabilities, but it very rewarding to the volunteers as well.

College sophomore Emma Whitner participated in this program while she was a high school student. During her junior year, she and another student volunteer were paired together with an entire middle school class so she had the opportunity to work with multiple students. During her senior year, she had the same system but was paired up with a high school class instead. This is one way the Best Buddies program works, but volunteers may get paired up one on one with someone as well.

Best Buddies International not only offers these friendship programs, but they also offer leadership development and integrated employment opportunities as well. The purpose of the leadership development program is to allow people with special needs to gain public speaking skills and confidence. The employment program seeks to find jobs for special needs people to suit their interests and talent. 

If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity in your life that is rewarding and fun, Best Buddies International would be a great program to look into. Not only will you be positively impacting a person’s life, but will you will make lasting friendships in the process.