Southeast senior Evan Farr always dreamed of going into military service. Both his uncle and grandpa were in the military which allowed him to have an idea of what it was like. Now, he can finally make that dream a reality through his hard-work and dedication to diving, which earned him a scholarship to dive for the United States Air Force Academy.
Farr has been diving since he was 10-years-old and has been consistently improving for the past five to six years. His love for diving first started when his former club coaches first taught him the key dives that have led to his success in high school. Farr believes good coaches are key to helping progress a diver’s skills and the actual dives themselves.
“The coaches for [my] club in town got me to do club diving and helped start to develop relationships with those coaches,” Farr said.
Farr has been able to progress his diving with help from his high school coaches as well. Erik Sutterfield, who has been serving as the Southeast Dive Coach the past three years, has helped give Farr tips and tricks in order to make sure he is competing at the highest level possible.
Sutterfield talked about Farr’s improvements and how he has “grown physically and mentally” since the beginning of the season which has led to Farr’s success.
Farr didn’t always take diving super seriously, he just found it to be a fun way to get in the pool in middle school. The rec pool allowed him to build up his skills while having fun doing it. This allowed him to start having a passion for it and really start to want to go to a higher level with it in high school.
“In high school, I started to realize that there was a lot more competition out there and I needed to get better,” Farr said.
Sutterfield has seen vast improvements from Farr and his ability to go out and try something new. He has performed some difficult dives this year and has been able to perform them very well.
“He has gained confidence with some of his harder dives and improved his technique on his easier dives,” Sutterfield said.
A lot of preparation for diving is outside the pool as well to build core and strength needed to perform extremely difficult dives. This is one of the most important aspects we see from divers because it helps them build up the confidence and strength needed to perform special dives.
“So you jump on trampolines or you jump into a foam pit from a diving board on dry land and then we do a lot of abs and a lot of stretching,” Farr said.
The reality of a sport like diving is sometimes you aren’t going to perform to your standards. That being said, in diving it is very important to forget about your dive and move on to your next dive. Farr is able to be “uncomfortable and persevere through that discomfort while learning dives,” Sutterfield said. This allows Farr to focus on the things that matter most to him, getting a high score.
Farr also shows outside of the pool that he wants to be involved in diving by setting aside a lot of his personal time to help improve his skills so that he is ready to compete at the highest level when he can. He is involved in a club that travels to meets, meaning he sets away weekends just for diving in order to make sure he is at the highest level he can be.
“Diving is a big part of Evan’s life and his actions show he really enjoys it and wants to be the best he can be,” Sutterfield said.
As for the future, Farr plans to be a lawyer or pilot in the Air Force after attending school there. The Farr legacy isn’t over at LSE however, as freshman Colin Farr looks to follow in his brother’s footsteps as the next great diver at Southeast.
