LI Girl, 10, To Represent USA In International Diving Competition

DIX HILLS, NY — A 10-year-old Dix Hills girl is hoping to make waves on an international stage this summer.

Alex Birrer has only been involved with springboard and platform diving for two years, but she recently qualified to represent the United States in an international diving competition scheduled for July in Croatia. Her father, Chris, said she has shown "remarkable talent."

Chris said he is a proud father and shared that he was a collegiate diver for a Division I program when he was in college. The Birrers, a family of four, have been 10-year residents of Dix Hills.

His older daughter did not show much interest in the sport, he said. Alex did, however. Chris took his daughter to the Nassau County Aquatic Center in Eisenhower Park.

"I got her up on the boards, and she really took a shine to the sport and really enjoyed flinging herself off the board and trying new things and exhibiting this no-fear approach to diving," Chris told Patch. "It's good and bad; more good."

The Birrers recruited George Taylor to coach Alex, with Chris assisting with his own diving knowledge. Alex has run with it ever since, attending many meets over the past two-and-a-half years, from small AAU invite meets, which are structured based on age and skill, to larger national-level competitions.

Alex will compete against children her age from a variety of European countries when she heads to Croatia from July 2 through July 6, according to her father.

She qualified for the international meet by winning her qualifier for the upcoming AAU Red, White and Blue National meet, slated to take place down in North Carolina over Memorial Day weekend.

Last year, Alex was the AAU National Champion on the three-meter springboard and runner-up on the one-meter springboard. She was also a top place finisher in USA Diving Junior Olympic Nationals last year.

Chris said he does not know how stiff the competition against European children will be, but he expressed optimism in his daughter's talents.

"I would imagine that she is a very viable candidate to podium for sure," he said. "It obviously comes down to performance that day or those days during the event. Right now, she seems to be diving very well, so it's a very realistic possibility. That's something I find really exciting."

While Alex is still "very young," Chris said, she has expressed her dream of one day competing on the highest athletic stage: the Olympics.

Alex dives with a boy named Arthur, who is two-and-a-half years older, who is "an exceptional diver in his own right," Chris said. Arthur has won his own share of national titles on the AAU level, Chris said.

"They get along very well on the pool deck and they have these little kid conversations," Chris said. "They always joke around that one day, the Olympics might have a mixed synchro event, because right now, they only have same-sex synchro events, in addition to individual events, that they might be able to compete with each other at the highest level. I thought that was pretty cool. It's always good for a kid to reach for the stars. Even if it will most likely not pan out, it's always good to have those goals and work toward something like that."

Chris said he and his wife would do whatever they needed to do to help Alex pursue her Olympic dreams — as long as she wants to.

"If that meant taking her to different parts of the country to ensure she got the requisite coaching she needed, we would do that," he said. "Right now, in addition to going to Eisenhower, we also go down to clinics at the University of West Virginia. We train there. So, that way, she is able to get a different flavor of coaching from a different coaching staff."

Chris said he is "really optimistic" with Alex's development.

"She's shown a lot of talent and capability, and, frankly, a lot of poise at such a young age. I really think that kind of level of not only commitment but talent and diligence in anything, I think is such a good thing for other kids to see. It really is. I think sometimes, it has gotten lost where kids are going through the motions on their respective iPhones and looking at these 20-second TikTok clips that don't mean a whole lot. When you have a kid like her and say, [Arthur] working day in and day out to hopefully realize their dreams, I think that's something brave. I really do think that will encourage kids who are aware of something like this to maybe establish their own dreams pursue those, as well."