Dare to Dive
Junior Alyse Green dives into the water. Green is passionate about bringing exposure to young African American varsity athletes.
March 22, 2023
Alyse Green, sophomore at Crown Point High School, has made history as the first African American female varsity diver.
Green is passionate about paving the way for future generations of women at the high school and possibly even collegiate level.
“It puts out a lot of exposure for more African American female divers and African American female athletes as a whole,” Green said.
Green’s coach, Ashley Holland, has been a member of the diving staff for over three years now and has celebrated many victories with the team.
Holland describes the rigorous practice and expectations that come with being a varsity athlete.
“Making varsity comes down to learning eleven dives and showing retention of those skills as well as being able to exhibit improvement in technique, execution, and the continued progression of learning higher difficulty skills,” Holland said.
Holland then goes on to describe what she has found to be the most important aspect of being a diver, stating that, “I value determination the most. In diving, you must be comfortable with being uncomfortable. There is nothing normal about throwing yourself off of a 1 meter or 3 meter (high dive) for fun,” Holland said.
Holland emphasizes the mental strength of Olympic diver Kimiko Soldati who said, “to be a diver, you have to be at least a little bit crazy.”
Holland also brags of Green’s most impressive accomplishments. “Her back one and a half was a new skill this year. Each meet, I saw growth and she nailed that dive at the sectional championships, ” coach Ashley Holland said.
Holland then went on to describe the effects she believes Green will have on the school as a whole, saying that, “I hope that it will encourage anybody with an inkling of interest to come and give it a try. There are no rules of who can or can not dive. Just a passion to be better and learn.”
Green ’s hopes for the effects of her accomplishments. Green says that she hopes students will learn to “…not be scared to come out and do different sports, and that just because they’re black doesn’t mean they should pass on important opportunities.”
When asked about how she discovered she was the first African American female on varsity, Green states that, “It was my mom’s idea to look into it, and I’m glad she did.” Green then described how surprised she was by the discovery, considering how long Crown Point has been around.
Green’s bright future is ahead of her. “I’ve been looking at colleges to go to a Division 1 school, but we’ll have to wait and see where that goes,” Green said.
Regardless of where Green’s diving career takes her in life, it is undeniable that this young woman has worked hard to get where she is today. Her talent has led her to make history, and by daring to dive, Green has opened up opportunities for countless young women of color to gain courage as athletes and achieve their dreams.
