Swimming/Diving
Favorite athlete: Shawn Johnson
Favorite team: Steelers
Favorite memory competing in sports: After my 11th dive freshman year at districts, I looked over at my older sister knowing I just got second, and we were going to states together.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Stubbing my toe on the board and falling face first into the pool, right before a meet.
Music on iPod: Country and pop
Future plans: I will attend college and dive. I also want to major in nursing.
Words to live by: “Don’t be pushed by your problems, be led by your dreams.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
One thing people don’t know about me: I wear a size 4 sneaker – in children’s
By Mary Jane Souder
Sydney Szopo was heading toward a career as an elite gymnast.
But the Upper Moreland senior’s gymnastics career ended rather abruptly when her family moved from the suburbs of Pittsburgh to the suburbs of Philadelphia in 2005.
“We were really focused on finding a gymnastics team,” Szopo said. “There were a lot out here, just not as competitive as we were used to, so we joined the swim team.”
The “we” in this case was Szopo and her older sister Natalee, both of whom had been involved in gymnastics since a very young age.
“We were really dedicated to gymnastics,” Szopo said. “We were at high levels. We were going to competitions and practices constantly.”
The decision to walk away from a sport that had been part of her life since she was four was made easier by the fact that Szopo’s older sister had suffered a serious injury in gymnastics just prior to the move.
“She was going to be done with gymnastics either way,” Szopo said. “That made me kind of timid to go back into the swing of things, so (giving gymnastics up) wasn’t as hard as it sounds.”
Diving was a natural progression for the Szopo sisters, and when the diving coach heard that the swim team had inherited a pair of former gymnasts, he wasted little time before asking the siblings if they were interested in diving.
In the summer of 2005, the Szopo sisters began diving together at Sunny Willow Swim Club.
They never stopped.
Both sisters boast impressive resumes with Natalee laying claim to three District One AA titles (she finished second as a sophomore due to a broken arm). Sydney, meanwhile, finished second to her older sibling as both a freshman and sophomore before claiming the district title last year.
If it seems as though the competition might create some family drama, guess again.
“I’ve been competing with her and training with her my entire life in every single sport I’ve done, and I loved it,” Szopo said. “We were competitive, but it didn’t cause tension.
“We were so used to it, and I wasn’t far behind her. Yes, she beat me, but she always knew I was there for competition for her as well. As soon as we got on the deck, we were perfectly fine. We were good motivators for each other.”
It’s the kind of response Upper Moreland girls’ swim coach Melanie Rowland would expect from her team captain, who – according to her coach – is both positive and selfless.
“Sydney has an amazing personality,” Rowland said. “She was in the shadow of her sister – they look like twins sometimes because they’re so similar in appearance, and one always congratulated the other.
“They’ve backed each other and supported each other. Sydney is one of those kids that causes people like me to want to come back and coach, and I don’t even coach her.
“She’s a joy to watch practice, to watch grow over these four years and to watch compete and to watch in action when she doesn’t even realize that what she’s doing is a positive influence on other people.”
Upper Moreland diving coach Bob Israel knew his team was onto something special when Natalee – with a sister two years younger - came aboard as a freshman.
“I knew they had a solid diving background,” he said. “It’s been so fortunate for me to have both of them in the program for the last six years. It’s really been a blessing, and I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly.”
It’s easy to understand why. The Szopo sisters have done nothing but win since they stepped onto the deck, but it’s more than that.
“Sydney is very focused, very driven,” Israel said. “She’s a hard worker and really wants to excel. She’s very competitive and loves the competition.
“She’s very aware of her competition. She keeps up to date on who is doing what.”
Szopo was a captain of the diving team last year and also served in a secondary role as captain of the team as well. This year she is a team captain first and also serves as captain of the diving team.
"She’s a great leader, and she’s a great role model,” Israel said. “The kids admire what she does. They look up to her. She’s real good at encouraging and supporting the other divers on the team. It’s a great situation for me having her on the team.”
Szopo dives year round and competes in USA diving with TNT out of Upper Dublin. A typical week during the winter for Szopo includes diving every day Monday through Saturday with her high school team and twice a week with TNT.
The Upper Moreland standout, who has made three consecutive trips to the state championships, admits she has her sights set high this season.
“Last year was a difficult year for me at states,” Szopo said. “I was in first at states pretty much the entire meet back and forth with another diver.
“I unfortunately messed up a dive and dropped down to third.”
The dive – a reverse one-and-a-half – had been a challenging one for Szopo.
“It was very nerveracking because I kept trying not to get my nerves up and be so excited that I was in first,” she said. “I went up to do my reverse one-and-a-half, and I looked at my coach and said - I just have to do this better than I’ve ever done it because in practice it’s just not a good dive for me.
“I went up and got not very good scores. I just dropped right down to third and stayed there.”
Szopo, who has been working on her reverse one-and-a-half daily, is using that experience as motivation. A state title is within her grasp, and she also is looking to improve on last year’s fourth place finish at SOL’s where she finds herself matched up against Class AAA divers.
“My league competition is one of my hardest competitions of the year,” she said. “I enjoy it, but at the same time, I’m a AA diver, and I enjoy going to my AA events.”
In addition to a remarkable work ethic, Szopo is blessed with a long, lean frame that, according to her coach, is an asset on the diving board.
“There are certain aspects of an athlete in sports that are judged by others like figure skating and diving that lend themselves to making the performance just a little bit better,” Israel said. “Sydney has those physical attributes as well as being a very talented, gifted diver.
“She has a lot of technical skills, but then she has that physical makeup that just gives her the edge as a diver. This is one of those sports where you are judged by your performance, and the better you look doing that performance, the better your score is going to be.”
Szopo plans to continue her diving career at the collegiate level. La Salle is a front runner to land her talents, but she is leaving her options open. An honors student, she plans to pursue a career in nursing.
She is a member of Upper Moreland’s Key Club, and in the summer she volunteers at the Vintage Grand Prix.
Israel admits it will not be the same next year without a Szopo on the pool deck.
“There are no other Szopos coming along, and there will never be another – for me, at least – situation like there’s been for the past six years,” Israel said. “I try not to think about the end coming, but it’s inevitable.
“It’s been a great, great run. I’ve been so fortunate, and it’s been such an exciting time for me personally to share and guide them through this process. I’ve gotten a lot out of it, and I hope they have as well.”
