Dream Come True

Palisades High Senior Diver Maya Salvitti Signs Her National Letter of Intent with UCLA

One of Maya Salvitti’s most cherished possessions is a photograph she got when she was 2 years old with legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, known as the Wizard of Westwood. Salvitti was too young to remember that experience, but she keeps the picture proudly on display and she has had a lifelong connection with UCLA ever since. So she was thrilled to sign her national letter of intent in November and looks forward to officially joining the Bruins as a student athlete next fall. The Palisades High senior diver made her childhood dream come true at VIP’s Cafe in Tarzana, signing her letter while sitting in the same booth where Wooden ate breakfast every morning. As a freshman, Salvitti placed second to Dolphins teammate Alexis Kleshik at the City Diving finals in May 2018 with a score of 507.10 in 11 dives from the 1-meter board. Her strong showing also earned valuable points for her team as Palisades’ girls swim squad captured its ninth consecutive section title a few days later. “I wasn’t sure how I’d do, but I’m pretty surprised I got second,” Salvitti said at the time. “My front two-and-a-half was my favorite dive… I scored all 6.5s and 7s.” She went on to compete at the CIF state meet in Clovis, where she tallied 296.25 points on her way to finishing 18th in a field of 27 female divers,  five spots ahead of Kleshik. A resident of neighboring Brentwood, Salvitti attended Warner Avenue Elementary School and Paul Revere Middle School prior to Pali High. She also competes for Los Angeles Dive Club at Spieker Aquatic Center, where she trains on the 1- and 3-meter boards and tower. Here is her interview with the Palisadian-Post:

PP: What has it been like competing and training through COVID-19? Where and when do you practice?

MS: While we are not competing right now due to the coronavirus, we are still finding ways to practice regularly. Since we are not able to practice at our usual pool, we have to train primarily out of the water for four days a week at a gym, accompanied by water practice once a week. This is much less than our usual training hours, but it is all that is presently available to us.

PP: When did you first become interested in diving? Do you like springboard or platform? What is your favorite dive?

MS: I was a competitive gymnast for about six years and subsequent to making the decision to quit gymnastics, I heard about diving through a friend who went through a similar transition from gymnastics to diving. I prefer platform because it is less unpredictable than springboard. Due to the unfixed nature of the springboard, the results are often more varied and I much prefer the stationary platform, despite the significant height. My favorite dive is 205c (back two-and-a-half tuck) on a 3-meter board because I have enjoyed the feeling of improving on this dive over the past year.

PP: Why did you choose UCLA?

MS: UCLA has always been my dream college and while I did consider a few other schools, I leaped at the opportunity to commit to UCLA once the offer was extended.

PP: What was it like getting second place in City as a freshman? How did you do as a sophomore and a junior?

MS: High school dive meets are very different from club meets but it was a fun experience to get second at City during my freshman year and compete alongside some divers that dove for my club. Unfortunately, I was injured during the entirety of the sophomore season but I did well in the Junior Olympic season and took third at the Zone meet that qualified me for nationals during my club season that year. Coronavirus appeared before my junior season, so I was also unable to compete that year but I am hoping that the 2021 season will go on as planned.

PP: What will you miss most about Pali High? Do you do participate in any other sports besides diving?

MS: What I will miss most are the many friendships and the everyday aspects of high school, like eating lunch together. I used to be a competitive gymnast, but diving is the only sport that I am currently participating in.

PP: Who have you learned the most from? Is there a teammate or a coach who stands out?

MS: The coach I have learned the most from is my coach, Wei Wei, who was a member of the Chinese National Team. She came to our club three years ago and I feel that I would not be where I am today without her coaching.

PP: What is it about diving that you enjoy the most? How is it similar to gymnastics? How are they different?

MS: What I like most about diving is the feeling of accomplishment and adrenaline that comes with doing a new dive that I may have been scared of. While diving is not a team sport, there is still an environment that is full of support and camaraderie, and we always cheer after every smack or bellyflop. Years of gymnastics definitely helped with diving but it is actually very different. The technique used in diving is different than gymnastics so, like many divers who had previous gymnastics experience, I had to take the time to relearn the correct technique. Gymnastics did help to build up my strength as well as increase my bodily awareness while flipping in the air, but it was definitely strange to enter the water headfirst for the first time.

PP: What is the most difficult aspect of diving? How long does it take to get over the fear of hurting yourself?

MS: The most difficult part of diving is definitely the mental aspect of the sport. Most of the time I am physically capable of completing a dive, all that is left is getting over the fear of executing it.

PP: What teacher and/or coach at Pali High will you miss the most and why?

MS: My diving coach at Pali, Tom Davidson, was also one of the coaches of my club team at Los Angeles Dive Club. He taught me all of my first dives and gave me a good foundation.

PP: Have you met the UCLA coaches or any of the divers on the team? Will you live on campus or commute to school?

MS: Because of the changes that were caused by the coronavirus, my current coach is primarily the coach at UCLA. Yes, I have met the divers on the team—either in person or over Zoom and one of the recruits for next year is a club teammate of mine. I live very close to the campus so I will probably commute to school but I will hopefully be able to spend at least one year in the dormitories.

PP: Do you dream of diving in the Olympics one day? How far do you want to take this sport?

MS: My goal is to qualify and compete in the NCAA Championships.