Lone James Clemens’ diver flips and twists toward her goal for diving championship
MADISON – To dive or not to dive has been a question Laurel Hunter has never had to answer. Since taking up the specialized, and many times solitary, sport just prior to her freshman year at James Clemens, she has dove head first into a competition level only a few high school student-athletes have the opportunity to savor.
As the only diver on the James Clemens swim and dive team, the senior Jet is on the path to a possible Class 7A state title in the one-meter dive competition in 2025. As defending state runner-up, Hunter dove into the current season as the expected top diver in Alabama for the current high school season and has prepared to perform her best dives in that quest for her senior season.
“James Clemens does not have a dive coach, so I attend club team practices each day after school from 4:00-7:00 p.m. at the Huntsville Aquatic Center,” said Hunter, who holds the James Clemens school record in the 11-dive competition and is second by just four points in the six-dive event.
Hunter has a dive plan for 2025 which is subject to change as the season progresses:
• 6-Dive – Front 1.5 (somersault) in Pike, Front 2.5 Pike, Inward 1.5 Pike, Back 1.5 in Tuck, Reverse 1.5 Tuck, Front Flip with 2 Twists.
• 11-Dive – Front Dive Pike, Back Dive Pike, Reverse Dive Pike, Inward Dive Pike, Back 1.5 flip ½ twist, Front 1.5 (somersault) in Pike, Front 2.5 Pike, Inward 1.5 Pike, Back 1.5 in Tuck, Reverse 1.5 Tuck, Front Flip with 2 Twists.
A participant in both dance and gymnastics for at least eight years, Hunter said her experience in both sports have easily helped her to become a top-level participant in diving in a very quick time. She explained, “Gymnastics gave me a great foundation of being able to twist and flip easily. In many ways, the movements are the same except in diving I land in water instead on a gym floor. I participated in all gymnastics events as my favorite and my best event was the uneven bars.”
“I never imagined I would get into diving as gymnastics was passionate for me, but when COVID struck, I got stuck in the same level of competition. One of my friends was diving and told me about upcoming school and club team tryouts. I wanted to keep going in the area of acrobatics so I attended tryouts. The coach was impressed with my diving so I joined the team,” she added.
Hunter quickly exceled at her new sport and took private lessons from Robert Raley, dive coach for the club team Huntsville Dive Association. She also attended week-long summer camps for diving in both Indiana and Florida and was soon making a name for herself in a sport she never imagined would be her forte to a possible college education as several collegiate schools have reached out after taking notice of the outstanding talents she exhibits each time she climbs onto the diving board, which includes her taking to the three-meter competition within the Huntsville Dive Association where she is the No. 1 ranked diver for the Gold Team, a level of elite divers within the association.
Standing 5-foot-5 and weighing in at 127 pounds, Hunter has what many would consider perfect physical attributes for a diver. She perfects her athletic talents through vigorous workouts both on dry land and on the diving board. The dry land techniques of practicing dive includes wearing a harness with wiring controlled by a nearby coach as Hunter bounces on a trampoline and goes through her normal diving routine in attempts to perfect her twists, turns and flips. She also goes through diligent physical core exercises and usual weight training. Diving is not for those not willing to put in countless hours before a chance to exhibit their talents to where they hit the water of an awaiting swimming pool-dive well.
The teen daughter of Lucas and Whitney Hunter, who has an older sister, Kimsley, a junior attending Mississippi State, the teenage Hunter remembered her start in diving as being a quick learner. In her freshman season at James Clemens, she finished 12th at the State Meet, improved to fifth place as a sophomore before taking runner-up in last year’s season-ending championships where the Lady Jets swim program utilized her points in the diving competition to finish fourth as a team.
“I do remember when I first started diving as I was so excited about participating in something new, I was doing flips off the board and the coaches were instantly impressed and excited about my possibilities,” said Hunter. “I also remember my first year at the State Meet as a freshman I was so excited and nervous I did two incorrect dives by mistake.”
Her mistakes are now ancient history in her mind as she has set a goal for 2025 to obtain that gold medal of winning a state championship and has set a map to do so by increasing the difficulty of her dives in competition to earn higher points from the judges.
“Last spring in my club team competitions, which included other girls from here in Alabama, I won both competitions,” said Hunter, who also possesses the talent to play piano, and enjoys doing arts and crafts as a hobby, and loves outdoor sports such as waking, biking and kayaking.
James Clemens head coach Kelly Davis is looking to Hunter to have an excellent chance at standing on the highest level of the dive podium at the State Meet scheduled for Nov. 21-22. In the meantime, Hunter is now going through the current season schedule with her sights set on being the best.
“I pray before each swim-dive meet, and waiting for my turn to dive, I visualize my dive and go through what I need to do in my mind,” said Hunter.
Once on the diving board at the 2025 State Meet, Hunter hopes all of her years of hard work will help her answer any questions she may have concerning on whether she made that correct decision of joining the sport of diving just before becoming a high school student- athlete.
