The Whitney Young Girls Diving Team has been very successful in the past few years. The points scored by both varsity and JV divers contributed towards the swim and dive team’s victory at city. A large part of the team’s past success can be attributed to their coach, Dar Novak, who coached at Whitney Young for over ten years.

“Dar was a really great coach. She encouraged me to push myself extremely hard in diving. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have the motivation to attempt new dives and continue improving. Dar was also super funny, understanding, and passionate. I miss her a lot and diving will never be the same without her,” says Claire Macellaio, ‘21.

    Coach Novak quit coaching at Whitney Young in early August and took a position at UHigh in Hyde Park because she was unable to fit the heavy time commitment into her schedule. Many of the divers found this unexpected and upsetting.

    “I was really surprised when she quit and I didn’t know what was going to happen to our team,” says Larissa Gosslau, ‘22.

    Coach Novak was replaced by Coach Guy Stehley, a former All-American diver at Lake Forest College. Although the divers were sad to see Coach Dar leave, Coach Stehley has proven to be a great coach as well.

    “Coach Guy has given me several opportunities to enhance my diving skills by constantly motivating me and giving me constructive criticism. Diving takes a lot of trust, and coach Guy has done an exceptional job of gaining mine,” reports Faith Lee, ‘23.

    Regardless of who their coach is, let’s all wish the team another successful season!

Photo of the girls diving team last season by Barbara Makowski