All Violet Williamson needed was a little success as a little girl to define what would soon become a path to college.
It all started when she decided to try diving for the West Windsor Whalers of the Princeton Area Swimming and Diving Association team at age 6.
“I honestly just wanted to try it out; I had signed up for the local summer league swim team and the dive team was open so why not also dive,” said the Notre Dame High junior. “What kept me diving was actually winning the girl’s six-and-under PASDA Championship meet in my very first summer diving. It may have just been six-and-under but it kept my spark for diving going.”
That spark became a flame that grows brighter and hotter each year, as the Hamilton resident has become Mercer County’s top diver and one of the top performers in the state. In doing so, she has battled the pressure of competition by turning it into fun.
“I feel lucky to say I enjoyed it right from the start,” Williamson said. “I just fell in love with everything about diving and couldn’t get enough. I’ve had my ups and downs, as anyone who does a sport for this long does. But diving has always been something I do because I truly enjoy it and the process that comes along with it.”
It is a process that has led to great accomplishments, although she had to wait a year to enjoy high school success.
When Violet was a freshman, state and county meets were cancelled due to Covid. She was unable to practice in New Jersey due to indoor restrictions, but her dedication to the sport refused to keep her idle. Her mom and dad took her to Colorado, where she could continue to work on her craft indoors in the winter.
“That’s pretty amazing to go somewhere else so she could just stay with the sport,” said Notre Dame diving coach Elisa Sautter. “I think they had a little more flexibility to be able to do that (with virtual learning). But that’s pretty amazing to go that far to keep training. Her parents are so supportive, and we’ve seen them around the pool for years helping out.”
When things got back to normal, Williamson went to work by winning the Mercer County Diving Championships last year while finishing third in the state. This year she defended her MCT title, and hopes to claim a state crown at the end of February.
“Winning MCTs during my very first high school diving season was really exciting,” the Mercerville resident said. “The meet has a long history of really talented divers winning and it was pretty cool to add my name to that list.
“Coming back this year it was just as exciting to defend it, and the competition aspect wasn’t the only thing I was excited to come back for. I really like high school dive meets because I get to see lots of local divers; and competitions are always fun and supportive between all the divers. I love the atmosphere.”
Williamson has also thrived on the club level while diving for coach Chris Hoffman with the Knight Diving Academy at Rutgers. In last year’s 2022 USA Diving Junior Nationals, Violet was one of just 12 divers to reach the finals, where she finished 11th in the 16/18-year-old 3-meter dive. The competition started with a preliminary round, where she took first place among a field of over 40 divers. Only the top six from each prelim advanced to the semis, and the top 12 semifinalists reached finals.
“I was incredibly excited to have made it out of prelims as the top finisher,” Williamson said.
Her most recent competition in AAU Nationals was in 2019, where she won both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives and finished second on Platform for the girls Group C; 12-13 age level.
“She’s an amazing diver,” Sautter said. “She has really clean lines and is just a really pretty diver to watch. You can tell she’s passionate about it. She knows where she is in the air.
“Even her off days are still beautiful. She’ll do a dive that any other diver would think was great, but for her she will add these little tweaks to make it better; because her entries and her lines are so beautiful.”
Violet went from the Whalers to the renowned Blue Dolphin program before that club dissolved in 2018 and re-emerged as the Jersey Diving Academy. After suffering an injury in the summer of ‘18, Williamson began diving with the Knights. After her trip in Colorado in summer, 2021, she returned to Rutgers that fall.
Since defending her MCT title Jan. 24, Williamson has been looking forward to possibly winning states, although she will get strict competition from girls from Hunterdon Central and Princeton.
“I was really happy with my (third-place state) finish last year,” she said. “I was up against some amazing divers who I am also good friends with, which made the meet a fun experience all around. This year, I have upgraded some of my optional dives to a higher degree of difficulty so I’m hoping that will help boost my overall score and place this year. I’m really just hoping to come away from the state meet proud of how I dove, and I hope all the other competitors are able to take away the same from the meet.”
It is those friendships made in the sport – which is a small but tight group in these parts – that makes the sport so enjoyable for Violet. That’s the case with both club and high school.
“I love being able to go to a meet and see people I maybe haven’t seen in a long time and immediately get to talking again,” she said. “To see people who live across the country from me and be able to catch up with them in a friendly way all while competing against each other is something I’d say is pretty amazing about diving.”
She also finds the art of the sport pretty amazing as well. The multiple flips she performs en route to the water provides a huge adrenaline rush.
“The whole process of training and practicing is what I love more than competitions,” Williamson said. “Going into every practice and pushing myself to leave just a little bit stronger, a little bit of a better diver than how I walked in, is what I love.”
She notes that the keys to a successful dive are mental as much as physical. She feels that divers must understand their own personal process in order to progress. And that process is a marathon, not a sprint. First they must build a strong physical foundation early in the season, which will lead to a stronger dive list that allows them to tackle new dives with confidence.
“You have to understand the best way to push yourself to get where you want to be, and be dedicated to work for what you want,” she said. “On top of that broad statement, all the nitty-gritty mental issues you have to push through in addition to the physical aspects require a good diver to have a strong positive mindset.”
Williamson has made sure to acquire such a mindset, as her pre-dive ritual is a practice in laser-sharp focus. Before even mounting the board, her mind is whirling with any corrections that need to be made in the upcoming dive.
“I remind myself I’ve done this dive so many times I just have to trust myself,” she said. “On the board, I block out everything around me and just focus on the dive I’m about to do. Again, I remind myself that I would not be competing if I wasn’t prepared. I take a deep breath and just let my body take over until I hit the water.”
It is a procedure she has honed so well, that college diving is definitely in Violet’s future. The recruiting process began last summer, and this fall she visited several schools. “The University of California Berkeley’s program and environment felt right,” Williamson said. “I am excited to say as of right now I verbally plan to dive there in college.”
So let the fun continue that Violet discovered at age 6.
Notre Dame diver Violet Williamson in action at Montgomery High School. (Photo by Joe Costello.),
