School: Pennsbury
Swimming & Diving
Favorite athlete: Apollo Anton Ohno
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: “Winning the first AAU National competition in 26 years in Platform Diving and breaking the Pennsbury High School pool/team record.”
Music on iPod: “I listen to all different kinds of music, but my favorites would have to be Jason Mraz, Jack’s Mannequin, Cartel, and Lady Gaga
Future plans: To attend a Division One university to compete in diving and major in sports psychology
Words to live by: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” -Ambrose Redmoon
One goal before turning 30: Travel around Europe and Japan
One thing people don’t know about me: “I would like to learn to pole vault.”
By Alex Frazier
What makes an athlete tick?
That’s something Emily Howard would like to explore.
The Pennsbury senior has been diving since she was nine years old, and she can’t explain the funk that settled in during her sophomore and junior years.
“I almost wanted to quit diving it was so bad,” she said. “I couldn’t do easy dives I’d been doing my whole life. I’d get up on the board and completely freeze up.”
It certainly can’t be attributed to lack of success.
Howard has a stunning resume.
In ninth and 10th grades, she was second in the SOL and District One. As a junior and senior, she won both SOLs and districts. She qualified for states all four years, placing eighth as a junior and fourth as a senior.
She owns the Pennsbury pool and school record for six dives with a point total of 264.85.
In her four years of diving at Pennsbury, she compiled a staggering 59 wins and one second place.
She was a four-time all-SOL, all-District One and all-PIAA State diver.
She was also a National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) All-American last year and has been nominated for NISCA Scholastic All-American this year.
In club diving, she is an eight-time AAU All-American and an AAU National Champion of the three-meter board. She has qualified for the Eastern Nationals or Zone meets 20 times and has made it to the Speedo US Nationals three times.
This year, Howard has qualified for Eastern Nationals in Miami of Ohio.
Neither she nor her coaches could explain her mental block.
But this year she pulled out of it in large part because of Joe Costello, who took over Pennsbury’s diving program this year.
“He helped build my confidence so much,” she said.
As Costello explained it, “One day she says to me, ‘Why are you so nice to me,’ and I said to her, ‘If you believe in yourself half as much as I believe in you, you’ll take this record and go to the top.’ From that day forward, it must have clicked.”
A good example came in the state meet. With two dives left, Howard stood in 14th place. She was a bit nervous before doing her reverse one and a half in the pike position. Costello told her it was the last one she had to do in her high school career.
“Stay on the start, ride the board and you’ll drill it,” he said.
And she did.
Although she hadn’t hit it in practice, she went up on the board, and scored 51 points, which catapulted her into third place.
“It was a big moment at that meet,” said Costello.
Her last dive was a bit off, however, but she still finished in fourth place.
“Fourth pace diver in the state of Pennsylvania, not too shabby,” said Costello.
Throughout the season, Costello focused on “the little things” to get her back on track.
“I told her we weren’t going to change anything,” he said. “I’m looking to attention to detail. We’re not going to give away points and we’re going to try and get points. A little tweak here, a little tweak there, and it worked out. She made me look real good.”
“Growing up a little probably helped too, realizing this was what I wanted to do in college,” said Howard.
Howard started diving at the Lower Makefield Township pool when she was nine.
“I took swim lessons there and I would always be watching the diving team practicing during my lessons,” she said. “I would try and dive off the side.”
Howard was already in gymnastics, but it was too big of a commitment, so she decided to dive the next summer.
“It was a little less dangerous,” said Howard.
She started diving for Lower Makefield in the summer and Pennsbury Aquatic Club in the winter.
“The first year or two was a little shaky, but I really enjoyed it and my coach encouraged me to go up to higher levels,” said Howard.
In 2002, she joined the US Diving team.
The coach wanted her to go out for the Junior Olympic team, but she was still only in fourth or fifth grade and she wasn’t ready for that commitment. Instead she trained with the team for two days a week.
Eventually, she built up to five days a week.
Even in high school, Howard would dive with the Falcons from 2:30-5 p.m. and then head to her club practice at Upper Dublin from 6:30-8:30.
Talk about commitment.
“I’d do my homework at Starbucks, get things done when I needed to,” she said.
”She’s a great kid,” said Costello. “I saw her when she was 12 years old, and she was the best 12-year old that I’ve ever seen dive.”
As you might suspect, Howard excels in the classroom as well as in the pool. She carries a 4.38 weighted GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society.
She was a Girl Scout for 10 years earning the Bronze Award before diving incurred too much of her time in eighth grade.
“I didn’t have enough time to handle everything,” she said.
She also helps out on the Prom Committee at school, works in a restaurant and helps coach diving at the township pool in the summer and for the Pennsbury Aquatic Club in the winter.
Howard is considering three colleges next year—Delaware, George Mason and Clemson.
She is waiting to see how much financial aid she will receive before she makes a decision. Delaware hasn’t notified her yet, and George Mason can only offer her an academic scholarship.
Clemson holds the edge right now and has offered her a scholarship for diving, but she doesn’t know how much it will be. She visited the school last fall and will be making an official visit this weekend.
“I’ve been working so hard in diving, I would like to be paid for my effort,” she said. “When I went there in the fall, I fell in love with the campus. I’m meeting the team this week. If I love the team, I’ll probably go there, but it will be hard to say no to Mason because I loved the coach there.”
Howard plans to major in psychology, most likely sports psychology. Her interest in that field came partly because of her own mental block as well as a course in sociology and psychology she took this year at Pennsbury.
“By studying hard and doing research, I’ll be able to help people like me that have a lot of trouble,” she said. “I want to expand my knowledge of sports way further than diving. I love baseball, so hopefully I can figure out what’s going on in Brad Lidge’s head.”
If she can do that, she’ll be set for life.
