by Darren Diekmann
news@thenewsleaders.com
Jackie Braun, a 2014 Sauk Rapids-Rice High School graduate and accomplished diver in high school, qualified for the NCAA Division III national regional competition.
Diving for the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point at a meet in La-Crosse, Braun scored a 266.95 in the one-meter springboard event to win first place. The score was well above the 255 needed to qualify.
She was also recently awarded the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week. Last year she earned the Female Freshman Individual Sports Athlete of the Year honors and UWSP Newcomer of the Year.
Braun said she has reached this level because of her intense competitiveness but not necessarily against her competition.
“Even if I place high at a meet, I am not satisfied unless my performance was better than at the last meet,” Braun said.
She said her college coach Sara Schierl has to repeatedly warn her not to over train.
“I am usually a lot tougher on myself than anyone else, mostly because I love a challenge and hate regret,” Braun added.
As a result, the dives that were once the most difficult for her, those in the reverse category, are now her best.
“I have spent so much time on my board work and entry of the dives that they have become my specialty.”
Braun credits Schierl in this area.
“Sara helps me out of my comfort zone when I need a little push.”
Even when falling asleep, Braun is trying to improve on that last performance.
“I prepare for meets by visualizing my dives every night before I go to sleep. Even if I am exhausted, I try to picture myself successfully performing each dive before I start to dream.”
She learned this technique from her high school coach Cassi Mrozek, who Braun said helped prepare her for diving at the college level.
“I used to think she was a little too tough on me” Braun said. “She built a strong foundation for my athletic career.”
In her senior year at Sauk Rapids-Rice, Braun was All-Conference and Section Diver of the meet. She went to state from her sophomore through senior year. As a sophomore she found state intimidating, but with greater strength and confidence she made the final cut of 16 her last two years.
Braun said it was a large adjustment going from high school to college. The competition is much tougher, the men and women practice together and the training is more rigorous and time-consuming, requiring a higher level of dedication.
“My work ethic has been put to the test while diving in college,” Braun said. The diving team practices both mornings and evenings and they must be self-motivated.
“Especially as Division III athletes…there are no scholarships forcing us into the pool, or parents making us go to practice. We are there everyday because we truly love the sport.
Individual swimmers are also expected to find time in between practice and class to lift weights four times a week.
“There is no coach there to know whether we do it or not,” she said. “However, the results in the pool are a dead giveaway.”
Another adjustment for Braun, she said, was the three-meter springboard event. She admits she is not entirely comfortable with it yet but is making progress. The one meter is certainly her better event. She will compete in both events at nationals.
The social structure of this team also required some getting used to. While her diving team at SRRHS was a close group, she did not spend the majority of the day with them as she does with her college teammates: they are together for the two daily practices, several classes, Team Meal and team study tables at night.
“At first I thought, ‘Well, I had better get used to these people.’ But now they have grown to be my best friends, and I choose to spend my time with them even in the off season.”
Braun said since diving takes up so much time, it seem like a full-time job. Despite a part-time job with the athletic department and a Sunday-school class she teaches, Braun, as a former high-school student of AP classes with better than a 4.0 grade-point average, has managed to maintain top grades. She has made the dean’s list every semester during her college career to date. She is off to a good start on her way to earning a major in dietetics, with which she will pursue a career in sports nutrition.
One thing Braun said she hasn’t had to adjust to is the support of her parents Tony and Lisa. In the last two seasons, they have become experts on the geography of Wisconsin and of its college towns. They can be seen pool side showing their Proud Parent of Jackie shirts. And Tony can be heard insisting the best dives are the ones with the biggest splash.
Jackie Braun prepares for a dive at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
