Coming out of the water after his final dive, Reid Buer, senior, thought his last dive was not great.
He looked for his name on the scoreboard, however, and realized he had scored 384.75 points, earning first-team All-State by half a point securing him in 8th place.
He ended his final season with a victory on Saturday, Nov. 15.
“I was very relieved because it felt like a full circle moment because I also got 8th my sophomore year,” Buer said.
During the 2024 season Buer said he suffered a major spinal injury that cut his season short, preventing him from going to State. During a warm-up dive at Districts Buer said he wasn’t in the correct position before he hit the water.
“When you’re in the water, you’re supposed to snap out of what you do. You tighten your whole core, squeeze everything, which I did not do,” Buer said.
Buer said he was nervous coming into State finals. He wanted to redeem himself.
“It was definitely a little nerve-wracking knowing that I was there and I had something to prove,” Buer said.
Besides winning for himself, Buer was determined because of Sydney Tolbert, Buer’s previous swim coach.. Buer said he knew Tolbert was excited to see him make it to State his junior year, so after getting injured, he was motivated to come back strong to prove himself to her.
“I was like, ‘maybe next year’, but I think what made it feel worse was finding out that she wasn’t coming back this year, and I wanted to turn myself around,” Buer said.
Buer said Tolbert not only advised him in diving, but also in school.
“I was talking to her about dropping a class, and she gave me pointers on how to get past that,” Buer said.
Tolbert said she was so proud to hear about Buer’s win, considering his last season. She said working with Buer was a privilege.
“He was the kind of athlete that every coach wishes they had. He was a natural leader from the beginning. He always showed up to practice with a smile on his face ready to work hard,” Tolbert said. “He was definitely someone the younger swimmers and divers looked up to.”
Tolbert said she is an advocate for positivity in life and in coaching.
“Reid is an extremely talented diver. I made sure to remind him of that whenever I thought maybe he was doubting his talent,” Tolbert said.
Buer’s positive mindset did not go unnoticed at the pool. Joseph Schoedel, swim coach, said Buer’s mindset made a big impact on his talent as a diver.
“He’s always been a hard worker and doesn’t like to make excuses, but he’s also awesome because diving is such a unique sport where it’s very mental,” Schoedel said. “If he has off dives or off days, he does a great job of putting it behind him.”
Schoedel said diving is a tricky sport and while he guided Buer through this last season, he grew all the more prideful to see him go out on top.
“Those skills will take him far in life, far beyond just diving,” Schoedel said.
