By Brian Jennings
“Legs, core, arms. Legs, core, arms.,” Swoop, splash, ripple. “Where? What? Wait, what happened?”
Sweat poured down the side of her face. The room was dark and the shadows on the wall recreated the images that played back in her head. Cold and still shaking, she was trying to catch her breath.
Madison Vestergaard dives for the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils, and if you have never seen her dive before, maybe you should… because she is something else.
The junior from Middletown, Connecticut earned her seventh Northeast Conference Diver of the Week Award by helping the Blue Devils defeat the Wagner Seahawks 190-101. She posted a score of 242.39 in the one-meter and 220.12 in the three-meter.
She was in a class of her own, winning the one-meter by 46 points and the three-meter by 27 points. She also set personal records for herself in the process. Impressive.
Vestergaard is not just a diver for the Blue Devils; she is the diver.
It was her freshman year of high school at Middletown High School where Vestergaard would take to the pool and start diving. She grew up with a swimming pool in her backyard and enjoyed swimming, but never enjoyed it as much as diving. Vestergaard’s favorite part about diving is the feeling she gets from it.
“I love the thrill you get from diving,” said Vestergaard with wide eyes. “I never got that with swimming.” When asked to describe diving in one word, Vestergaard described it as exhilarating. “I love the adrenalin rush it gives,” said Vestergaard. “Getting a good dive, rippling through the water; it’s putting a smile on my face as I talk about it right now.”
Vestergaard’s brother was a talented diver in high school and would be her inspiration to take up the sport. But, it was her coach in high school, Coach Quin, who taught her how to dive. Diving for Middletown High School would be different than diving for the Blue Devils.
“We fooled around more on the diving team in high school,” said Vestergaard. “Plus, I was on the guy’s team in high school, and Central doesn’t have a men’s team.” Vestergaard feels that she was instructed to focus more on body position before you dive in college, where in high school you just dive, or as Vestergaard says, “Just chuck it.”
Even though she loved diving coming out of high school, Vestergaard didn’t initially plan on diving for the Blue Devils. She anticipated on playing soccer instead. However, it was her brother’s coach, Mr. Baldwin, who would change her mind.
He told her to talk with the Blue Devils diving coach, Dave Maliar. Vestergaard dove in a summer program called Construct Diving that the coach ran.
“Coach Maliar was very focused and taught us the correct fundamentals before diving,” said Vestergaard.
Vestergaard came to the Blue Devils diving team as a walk-on. “I struggled, I was young, and I wasn’t that talented,” said Vestergaard. “But my diving coaches helped me.”
Vestergaard feels that she has a good relationship with Coach Maliar and even feels that the assistant coach is close with the team as well. She spent most of last season alone because of injuries the team had suffered. She had the opportunity to see why Coach Maliar did certain things the way he did them. “We have a very tight-knit team,” said Vestergaard. “It’s nice to go to practice and not wonder how’s it gonna go today.”
It’s easy to see why Vestergaard has such a good relationship with Coach Maliar, being named the NEC Diving Coach of the Year for the past two years. “We have coaches that go above and beyond,” said Vestergaard. “There is not as much frustration this season as there was in past years,” said Vestergaard. “This season is awesome and is much better.”
Vestergaard and the Blue Devils have faced some of the top competitors already this season, in schools such as, Rutgers University, Florida International University, and the University of Miami.
“We dove against girls that were much more talented than us,” said Vestergaard. “But, it’s much more beneficial and we use it to our advantage because we look at their techniques and everything they do.”
Vestergaard has now had a streak of six consecutive awards between October 26 and January 18. She accredits her impressive streak to determination and mental strength. Living with three girls that don’t play sports for the university, Vestergaard finds it hard to stay focused on diving. She feels that eating right, thinking about what needs to be done to stick the dive, and lots of sleep all play a big role into the preparation needed before a meet.
Vestergaard is different than other divers and feels what separates her most is the fact that she is gutsy. “I’ll do anything,” said Vestergaard. “I don’t want things to stand in the way.”
When Vestergaard is up on the board, she blocks everything else out and thinks about one routine that plays back over and over again like a broken record in her head: legs, core, arms.
“As a diver, you gotta’ have legs, core, arms,” stressed Vestergaard. “Having a good push off the board, not looking like a hula hoop in the air, and getting a good summersault from your arms and legs,” said Vestergaard, are just some of the techniques that go into diving.
But there is one ritual that she practices before each dive only at the Blue Devils’ Jack Suydam Natatorium. Having the big scoreboard in front of her when up on the board before each dive, Vestergaard can see the word time in front of her. “When I see the word time I know that this is it, it’s time,” said Vestergaard. “It helps me to think positive thoughts.”
Even with all of the success and confidence, Vestergaard is still nervous about the NEC Championships at Massachusetts Institute of Technology coming up.
A nightmare haunted her about them the other night. “I’m nervous,” said Vestergaard bluntly. “I’ve never been to M.I.T. before. I set such a high bar for myself this past weekend, but I want to do better.”
One can only imagine how much better Vestergaard can possibly do after setting personal records for herself on Saturday against Wagner University. “I am excited for the whole team and think we will do awesome and win,” added Vestergaard.
“I never thought I would get this far. My dad has helped me a lot and is gung ho about everything I do. But, I feel like I’m on top of the world. I have a purpose, and it’s nice.”
