FRESH from her trampolining success, 17-year-old Merici College student Rhiannon Davies is now making an impact in the diving pool.
After only three months she has already qualified for the State titles later this month and will compete in the nationals in Easter.
"I really wanted to do well in a short time, so I suppose I'm not really too surprised," Davies said.
After her first competition Rhiannon was only five points off national qualification.
Davies coach, Skye Cripps, wasn't surprised by her young student's rapid progress in her new sport.
"Her trampolining background really lends itself to diving and so it's quiet an easy change over you just have to remember to go head first," Cripps said.
This isn't to say that it has been an easy ride for Davies.
In her short time as a diver, she has picked up eight difficult dives that she needs for the one metre springboard.
Looking ahead, Davies is constantly raising the bar and looking for new challenges in her sport.
"I'm setting myself to learn harder dives before the nationals so there is alot of hard work to go," Davies said.
Learning new dives can be difficult, especially if you encounter any confidence problems.
"I had a pretty bad slap during training and then
I just had a mental block and didn't want to do it again," she said.
Then one of her coaching staff, Gary Odewahn, a former national level swimmer, helped Davies overcome her fears.
"He helped me visualize it and make sure the outcome was positive everytime and now I'm fine with the dive," she said.
Rhiannon support crew is very important to her and they keep her relaxed around competition time.
"They really help me, in my last comp I wasn't nervous and was very happy and managed to have fun," she said.
So what is the hardest thing about mixing trampoline with diving.
"Making sure that I don't land on my head when I'm on the trampoline," she joked.
However, there are several differences, as coach Cripps explains.
"In both sports Rhiannon has had to pick up alot of skills in a short period of time.
Mentally it hasn't bothered her until she stacks it and that's probably the hardest thing to deal with for her," Cripps said.
Davies has developed a simple and effective plan for dealing with stacks and that is to get the bad dive out of your head and get on with the next one.
So far Davies has qualified for the national one metre springboard, but also has her sights on the three and eventually five metre.
At the moment Davies completes three two hour diving sessions a week and two sessions of trampoline per week.
However, Davies and her team will take their time in developing their dives for those extra events.
By the end of the year Davies would like have a State title under her belt and her coach says that anything is posssible.
"Rhiannon is a very consistent diver and that is a big thing in the sport and she's improving with every training session and knowing her character and her determination she really wants to make a go of this, most people who come into the sport don't develop as quickly as Rhiannon has," Cripps said.
Davies is greatful to her support team that have helped her achieve so much in after only three months in the sport.
"I trust Skye, whatever she says I'll do, and my Mum is also a great help, we have to do alot of travelling in our competitions and she always lends a hand, and so without her I wouldn't be here," she said.
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