For over a decade, senior Celia Hodge’s life consisted of floor routines, vaulting and back handsprings. Each time, she landed firmly on her feet. Starting at four years old, Celia was a gymnast, first and foremost, mastering her skills.
“I loved the floor and vault,” Celia Hodge said. “I put a lot of time and effort into gymnastics.”
Fast forward 12 years and Celia sought out a new challenge.
“I ended up getting burnt out,” Celia Hodge said. “I wanted to try something new, and I had heard of other gymnasts that I knew who had switched to diving.”
For the past three years, Celia’s put her skills to good use, transferring her air awareness, flips and turns from the gym to the pool, while learning to be soft on the board and land on her head without making a splash.
Having the skills from gymnastics gave her an upperhand when learning the new sport. Although the switch wasn’t easy, she was able to overcome challenges quickly due to her newfound love for the sport.
“It was hard to leave gymnastics because I had done it for so long,” Celia Hodge said. “My first practice I remember being so scared to hit the water, but [gymnastics] definitely helped because I was able to come into diving with the ability to flip and have flexibility.”
Celia Hodge started diving at the age of 15, and even though the sport changed, her support system stayed constant. Her parents come to cheer her on at every meet, where her dad, Don Hodge, has learned all of her dive numbers and which ones she’s scared of, that way he can cheer extra loud.
“I love watching her gain confidence,” Don Hodge said. “She continues doing incredible things.”
When her parents are present, it helps to keep her grounded, something which helps along when she is constantly flipping through the air. She learns more with each practice, and often reflects on her progress.
“I have learned to trust the process,” Celia Hodge said. “With diving, things take time and as I have spent more time diving I realize this more. If I could go back in time I would tell myself to trust my coach, myself and my abilities.”
Successfully switching sports in high school is rare, but having a good coach and mentor who can walk through the process, makes all the difference.
“Celia started diving her sophomore year,” diving coach Peter Charles said. “In only three years, she has worked very hard to be one of the top divers, not just in the state but also nationally.”
Celia Hodge never expected to dive after high school, but when the University of South Dakota Diving coach reached out, she realized that competing in college was a possibility.
Accepting the offer to go D1 for USD will be challenging, but whatever happens, Celia will take her determinaAtion and drive to navigate the twists and turns that life has to offer, diving head-first into all of the challenges that come her way.
