Anna Flanders makes diving look easy. But often times, it’s quite the opposite.
“Diving can be very stressful,” Anna says. “It’s a very mental sport. But I try and make sure everyone around me, even if they’re not my teammates, we’re in a good, cheerful, supportive mood so we can all help each other out.”
Flanders doesn’t let the stress of a big stage get to her. That was evident in her taking home the diving gold in the NYSPHSAA tournament.
But Flanders’ journey to get there is anything but normal. In her younger days, she was a gymnast before a knee injury that required a plate and a dozen screws forced an early retirement.
What You Need To Know
- Albany High sophomore Anna Flanders is the best high school diver in the state
- She’s coming off a NYSPHSAA championship, but the road to the top was filled with left turns
- Flanders almost didn’t participate in the sport, then lost her grandmother shortly before the end of the regular season
“I think it’s a little bit of genetics, but also early in my career for gymnastics, I injured it and it was downhill from there,” Flanders said of her knee.
Trying to move on was difficult.
“Yeah, it took me a few years to get over gymnastics and I still miss it,” Flanders said.
But the switch to dive has come with its achievements. Flanders came in eighth in the state tournament two years ago as an eighth grader. But Flanders nearly didn’t participate in the sport this past season.
“At the beginning of the school year, I was on the verge of not doing it,” she said. “I didn’t feel very supported and so my mom was like just try it, keep going and I stuck with it and I glad I did.”
But right before sectionals, her grandmother passed away. Flanders lost one of her biggest supporters in her life.
“I know that she’s very proud of me,” Flanders said of her grandmother. “If she was still here, she’d probably tell me something funny, you’d make it no matter what. It was pretty difficult at first, but I know she’d want me to keep going, keep trying and do my best.”
Flanders dedicated the rest of the season to her grandmother and came home a champion. Her memory will always be with her. And with two years left in her high school career, Flanders thinks she has what it takes to stay on top.
“We’ll see,” she said with a laugh. “We’ll see.”
