It's hard to imagine the Woodbury and East Ridge football teams practicing together on the same field, at the same time, with the same coaches.
But that's exactly what the schools' diving programs do.
After East Ridge opened two years ago, the coaching staffs had a decision to make. Since the district has only one pool they can legally dive at, it was either split up and dive in shifts -- or continue working together. So the two Suburban East Conference rivals, which now include the top two divers in the state, are sharing the same board.
"All these girls came up through the Woodbury system," Woodbury coach Rick Light said. "We chose to keep the top girls diving together and the new girls diving together. It works out better, and then there are two coaches on deck at the same time."
It has formed a bond unique to most high school sports. The defending Class 2A, 1-meter diving champion, Jenna Karrow from East Ridge, competes with runner-up Emily Bonfig from Woodbury on a daily basis.
"I think that the rivalry Emily and I have is healthy because we support each other, and it motivates us to be better," said Karrow, a junior.
Both dived together as junior high students, but when East Ridge formed, Karrow didn't have a choice, she had to attend the new school because of where she lived. Students can now choose where they want to go, but Karrow said she feels fortunate she ended up at East Ridge. The feeling is mutual, as the Raptors didn't have much of an identity out of the gate. Karrow has given them a state champion, and that success, along with Bonfig's, has helped breed a diving hotbed in the eastern suburb.
"Every day is pressure going against the best in the state, so Jenna and Emily are constantly going against each other daily," Light said. "So when they go against other teams in competition, it's nothing. When we get to other meets, there's nowhere near the competition that there is in a daily practice."