MILLBURY – Confidence.
It is a noun in the English language, and is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as "a feeling
or consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstances."
Many athletes will acknowledge the fact that confidence is a large reason for their success.
But not all athletes have the much-desired quality of confidence.
Some athletes are naturally confident in their abilities and others just pretend to be confident.
Some athletes are never confident in their abilities. And some become more and more confident as their
success grows, as is the case with Lake High School diver Samantha TenEyck.
TenEyck is slated to compete in the Division II state diving competition, held in Canton, for the second
consecutive year on Wednesday.
After placing 11th at the competition a year ago, her goal is to finish in the top eight this time
around.
"I can’t let my nerves get to me," TenEyck said. "I have to stay focused and be mentally
prepared. (Diving) is very mental. I can’t just stress on the diving."
In order to relieve the stresses of competing at a high level, she often listens to her Ipod to stay
relaxed. She also watches videos on Youtube of Olympic divers because it "makes me want to dive
better," she said.
TenEyck, who has been diving since about age six, is easily having the best year of her diving career.

Last season, she didn’t win a single competition, but this year she has won about 50 percent of the
competitions she has entered, according to her father and coach, Scott TenEyck.
In addition to the wins, Scott TenEyck said that Samantha’s scores are averaging 30-40 points higher this
year, compared to last year.
"Her confidence has grown," Scott TenEyck said. "We’ve dove bigger meets this year to
prepare her to go to state."
Last year at the Little Giant Invitational at Fremont Ross High School, Samantha placed seventh. But this
year, with her confidence rising, she claimed the top spot at the competition.
In fact, her performance this year was good enough to break the six-dive meet record.
Samantha’s success comes just a few years after her older sister Brittany TenEyck won back-to-back state
diving competitions.
Samantha’s drive and determination to dive resembles that of her sister, according to Scott TenEyck.
Brittany, now a senior diver at the University of Cincinnati, was a four-time state qualifier in her prep
career in addition to being a two-time state champion.
"Sammy looks up to Brittany a lot," Scott TenEyck said. "(Samantha) was scared to be
compared to (Brittany) last year, but now she’s her own diver this year."
Brittany has played a big role in Samantha’s diving career according to both Scott and Samantha.
"She’s always there for me," Samantha said. "We talk before every meet, and she gives me a
pep talk."
Though she would be happy to achieve what her older sister did, Samantha said that she doesn’t feel
pressure to be as good as her sister when all is said and done.
"I can push myself hard enough to be as good as her someday," Samantha said. "But if I’m
not, I’m still happy."
In addition to having the determination and the loads of confidence, Samantha says one of her biggest
strengths is being a positive person.
"I’m always positive about everything," Samantha said. "I push myself as hard as I can and
I always try to be happy with how I did."
Even with all of her good qualities, Samantha and her father agree she still has room left for
improvement.
"She’s got the basics covered," Scott TenEyck said. "She just needs to fine-tune."

And if all goes as planned, Scott TenEyck believes that by the end of next season, Samantha will be ready
to compete at the collegiate level.
He said that Samantha would be a fine Mid-American Conference diver, and that after seeing Big East
diving meets, he thinks she would fit in there as well.
While no decisions have been made about where Samantha may continue her diving career, Scott TenEyck,
like most fathers would, hopes that she will go somewhere where he can still watch her dive.
As for Wednesday, Samantha will see some of the best competition that she has seen this year, making her
goal of placing in the top eight, tough, yet very achievable.
"Realistically, she needs to be real solid in the execution of all of her dives," Scott TenEyck
said. "She just needs to relax and enjoy the competition."