Calm Confidence - Diver Spotlight on Caesar Garcia

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You could call Texas a second home for Caesar Garcia. Dallas, Austin, The Woodlands - it doesn't matter. The mechanical engineering major from Auburn University finds a way to make each dive well his own, and he brings his family along for the ride.

With six siblings ages 5 to 23, parents willing to make road trips (they live in Baton Rouge, La.) and additional family members in Texas, Garcia has a self-made fan club. Never was that more evident than at the 2003 NCAA Division I Championships in Austin.

"I had a very large fan club at NCAA's. My whole family was there. It was the first time my grandparents saw me dive," Garcia said. "During practice, all of the other divers would comment on my cheering section. They asked if my family charged to cheer for other divers."

Given the results of the platform competition, one would assume the Garcia cheers are priceless.

After finishing ninth on the board one year earlier, Caesar was crowned co-champion along with Jason Coben of the University of Michigan. The victory on 10-meter was the first by an Auburn diver.

"I was winning going into the finals and Jeff (Shaffer) told me to have fun like he always does," Garcia said. "I didn't feel too much pressure. I was nervous like I am before any competition."

"I had a strong year, and I wanted to keep the good things rolling."

As Garcia rolled to victory, Auburn won the national title.

"Through the year, our goal was to win the national championship. It was a big goal, but the season wouldn't have been complete if we fell short of that goal," Caesar said.

"The competition was tough, but I think we were underestimated a bit. We felt like we had something to prove."

Garcia has been proving his talents since he landed on the junior scene. His first nationals were in 1996 in Moultrie, and he's "been trying to get to the top since then."

The elder Caesar was a gymnast at Louisiana State University, and he coached his son in the sport from his first steps. Although the younger Caesar was a country club diver, he wasn't serious about the sport until Mike Lyden, a former LSU coach, saw him at a local meet. A tryout led to a spot on the Bengal Tiger Aquatics team.

"My dad was my coach. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps," Garcia said. "But he was understanding of the switch. He knew I could go further in diving."

While Garcia dove for Bengal Tiger, the club made several trips to The Woodlands for invitational meets. That familiar feeling came in handy when Caesar competed in the 2003 Speedo FINA Diving Grand Prix at The Woodlands Athletic Complex.

"Growing up, it felt like I was at The Woodlands almost every weekend," Garcia said.

"I'm excited for the Grand Prix. There's going to be some great diving there, and I'm excited to put my name in the hat," he added prior to the competition.

Caesar did more than put his name in the hat. He put his name in the finals. The field started with 27 divers. It was whittled to 12. Six remained on the final day of the Grand Prix.

Although Garcia placed sixth, he kept the pressure on during the entire event, hitting his second dive, an armstand forward 2 somersaults, 1 twist, pike, for 75.48 points, and his last dive, a back 2 ½ somersaults, 1 ½ twists, pike, for 80.58 points.

"Every meet I'm becoming stronger mentally and physically," Caesar said. "My competition skills have improved.

"Seeing how Mark (Ruiz) and Justin (Dumais) come back and fight is reassuring to know we have that competitiveness. I'm working hard to be with them."

Arguably, Garcia is among the top in men's diving. Narrowly missing a spot on the World Championship Team, he placed third on platform and second on synchronized 3-meter at the Trials in Athens, Ga. The top two individuals on 10-meter and first place synchronized team were named to the World roster.

He did secure a spot on the national team at the 2002 Speedo National Diving Championships in Dallas, his second appearance.

"This past year has been my biggest improvement in diving," Caesar said. "I've always been around. A lot of coaches can verify that."

Caesar credits some of his improvement to being a member of the USD Board of Directors.

"I see the hard work of others trying to make the organization better, and it makes me want to dive better to get U.S. Diving where it should be," Garcia said. "I'm starting to believe in myself and have the confidence to go to the next level."

The next level includes success in the synchronized events. In 2002, Garcia teamed up with Matt Bricker, also an Auburn diver. The duo placed third on 3-meter and second on 10-meter at Senior Nationals. Their placings were reversed at the 2003 World Championship Trials.

"I knew we would dive together when he came to Auburn," Caesar said. "When Jeff started coaching us, I knew we could be one of the top teams.

"We always dive better synchro, because we don't want to let the other down. But, it's also fun, because we take the pressure off each other."

With differing personalities - Bricker appears more outgoing to Garcia's reserved demeanor - one has to question how to the two balance their approach to the sport.

"We are understanding of each other," Caesar said. "He knows I like the calm approach. I'm laid back and he gets hyped up, sometimes a little too hyped up. But, he'll back off and bounce off the walls with someone else.

"I need his extra energy, and he needs my calm confidence."

It's a formula that works.