Noah's initial involvement in diving may have been due to a scheduling conflict, but his success in the sport has been the result of perseverance, hard work and community support.
Training to become a world-class diver requires a significant time commitment, but it was a lack of time that pushed Noah Duperre toward diving in the first place.
Between their busy work schedules, it was difficult for Duperre’s parents to get him to weekday activities and practices when he was younger, but diving fit right in.
“Diving was on the weekend, so they enrolled me in a diving lesson and I kept on with it ever since,” says Duperre.
“Kept on” is an understatement for a diver as accomplished as Duperre, who moved to New Albany from Atlanta with his mom, dad and sister in 2005. Last year, as a freshman at New Albany High School, he won the Central District Division I Diving Championship and placed second at the statewide Ohio High School Athletic Association Swimming & Diving Championship. He repeated both feats this year as a sophomore, bettering his scores along the way.
“I am very thankful of how supportive New Albany High School has been to me over the years with my diving career." - Noah Duperre
For those who have not participated in organized diving or swimming, it might be surprising to learn that divers do not train strictly in the pool. Duperre and his teammates at the Ohio State Diving Club have “dryland” sessions, “which is basically flipping on trampolines and mats to help us form a good basis of our dives before we perform them in the water,” says Duperre. He also says dryland is efficient because it allows divers to do more repetitions of each dive than in a pool for an obvious reason. They don’t have to climb out of a pool.
In addition to the dryland sessions, Duperre cross-trains with cardio and lifting weight three times a week with his club team, which practices year-round.
“High school and club diving are drastically different,” he says. “With club diving, it’s pretty much year-round, but the high school season only lasts a few months. Because of this, for high school meets, I compete a lot in a more condensed time. So instead of one competition a month, I’d have four. It really taught me how to build up my mental strength and not get too worn out.”
Duperre, like most top athletes, understands the important role others have played for him along the way.
“I am very thankful of how supportive New Albany
High School has been to me over the years with my diving career. All the teachers and staff have been really flexible with me to allow for maximum training time to make sure I become the best athlete I can be,” he says.
Duperre points to Peace Week and competing for the house cup, as well as history class, when asked his favorite parts of being a NAHS student outside of diving. Additionally, the city of New Albany plays a vital role in Duperre’s life.
“New Albany is so special to me because of our feeling of unity and community,” says Duperre. “I like being able to recognize people wherever I go in town, and most of the kids from school I’ve known since elementary school, so it feels like we are just one big family.”
Divers don’t normally commit to a college prior to the fall of their senior year, so Duperre still has time to determine what that phase of his life will hold, though he knows he wants it to include diving. Duperre’s next goal is to make the 2018 USA Diving Junior National Championship team, a team he has made in the past, and represent the U.S. in Kiev, Ukraine in July. He’s also looking forward to competing at the U.S. Junior Nationals, which will take place in Atlanta this August, bringing Duperre and his family full circle, back to the city where he was born, back to the start of his diving journey.
Bob Valasek is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
RELATED READS