Letter to the Editor: Shoreline Resident Katrina Young to Dive in Olympic Trials

To the editor: 

Katrina Young, a Shoreline resident has qualified to go to the Olympic Trials on 10 Meter Platform. The trials will be held at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way this June.

Katrina has always been passionate about her singing and athletics. When she was six, she joined a recreational team at Seattle Gymnastics, and before long was part of the competitive team. She stayed there until the age of 13, when she was a level nine gymnast, and had been training for a year at level ten skills. At the same time that she was doing team gymnastics, she was also a spectator, watching her older sister Samantha dive with a team called Pacific Northwest Diving, owned by Jim Southerland.

When she was nine she began to dive also, as well as continue her team gymnastics. She loved both sports, and knew that in the future she would have to choose one. When she was 13, the amount of practice hours had increased, so tearfully she said goodbye to her coaches, Igor and Amy at gymnastics, and began full time on the dive team.

Katrina and her older sister Samantha attended Shorecrest High. Samantha was a springboard diver, and attended Berkeley on a diving scholarship. Her younger brother, Eddie is also a springboard diver, and is a senior at Shorewood High. He has won State three years in a row, and has also been All-American. He has been recruited and will sign with a University in April.

Katrina is very fortunate to have grown up with both of her grandmothers near to her. Her Grandma L. Bert, who she lived next door to in Shoreline for 18 years, has always offered her invaluable life lessons. One of the things she has passed on, is that there is never enough love in this world, and that the most important things in life are free, compassion, a smile, or a kind word.

Her other Grandmother, Elaine Young, a 1948 Olympian, 1950 British Empire Games as well as international competitor says-"Focus, focus, focus." Katrina is able to take advice from both of her grandmothers and with her strong mental approach as well as focus on details, she continues to pursue her quest to be an outstanding female athlete.

One of the athletes that Katrina has always aspired to be like is Kelly McCormick, who has been there as a mentor and a coach for Katrina through the years, and attended a Ron O'Brien training camp with her. 

In 2005, Katrina competed in the J.O. Pan American Games, held in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. After the first day of waming up for competition, the teams came back to compete, however had to stop at noon because it was getting extremely windy, and it was too dangerous to be diving at an outdoor pool. Everyone headed across the street to the host hotel, and saw that the windows were being boarded up. Apparently there was a Hurricane headed that direction, and a short time later they had named it- Hurricane Katrina!  Ft. Lauderdale was the first place that it touched land, before it went on to it's path of destruction. All the teams had to stay inside, so even though there was a language barrier, they played cards together, traded pins, swimsuits, clothes, or whatever else they had. (Both Katrina and Eddie still have socks, shorts and suits from Brazil.)  The next day scuba divers came to the pool to clean out the broken glass, and all the parents helped remove the broken tree limbs, and the meet continued.

Katrina got 2nd place on platform, and 4th place on 3 meter. In the summer of 2006, Katrina got 1st, 2nd, and 3rd on 1 meter, 3 meter, and platform, which gave her the highest points at the J.O. National Meet, and qualified her for the World Meet, held in Malaysia. She came in 11th on Platform there. In order to compete at the level she is, Katrina has cross trained in weightlifting since she was 13. Her coach, Michael Reams has coached her, and in 2006 she decided she wanted to compete at an Olympic Lifting meet, where she came in 1st place.   

Then there was the fateful day of October 13, 2007. She was diving at a Shorecrest High School meet, and on her 5th dive, her leg buckled and she fell in the water. Everyone was stunned and didn't know what had happened. She had broken her right leg across the growth plates. This was truly devistating, and many were counting her out, however not the friends who know Katrina, and her desire, guts, and determination. Her surgeon who performed the operation called her back to his office so he could remove the pins and reduce the scar tissue. He told her that when she was standing on the podium, he wanted her to look good! After a year of physical therapy she started working out with her strength coach, and again competed in Olympic Lifting. She became nationally ranked, and represented Shorecrest High, getting 2nd in State. 

In August of 2009, she went to the National Diving Championships held in Florida, She was there to compete with college athletes and Olympians. With tropical Storm Claudette approaching the Florida panhandle, divers at the Morcom Aquatic Center in Tallahassee tried to beat the rain. After the experience of Hurricane Katrina as long as the meet continued, Katrina was going to dive. She ignored the pelting rain, and came in 5th on Platform. Now Katrina is back in Tallahasse, attending Florida State University on a diving scholarship. She is majoring in Commercial Music, so she gets to do the two things she loves in life, music and diving! She's even been able to sing the National Anthem at several of their events, including an FSU basketball game.  She is now a Sophomore, and this year won 1st place with a record breaking score on 10-meter platform at the Atlantic Coast Conference meet, which is a competition between 12 universities.

She also finished 4th on the 10M Platform at the NCAA Championships in March, garnering her All-American Honors.

"I couldn't have been more thrilled," Head Diving Coach Patrick Jeffrey said, "What a way to finish. It was awesome to get some points on the board for FSU and it's a great way for Katrina to finish the season."

In March, Katrina got her invitation to compete at the Olympic Trials. She is so excited to be able to come back to her home pool, and is proud to represent her Shoreline Neighborhood!                

Carol Young

Shoreline