University of Tennessee Athletics
Helms Humble Amid Honors
November 05, 2009 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Nov. 5, 2009
BY CHRIS WHITE
UTSports.com
Tennessee diver Ryan Helms has compiled quite a list of accolades in his young career.
Last year, he was an honorable mention All-American and earned SEC freshman diver of the year honors.
He's also been named SEC diver of the week three times this so far season. And the Vols have only had three meets.
But he'd rather people not make such a fuss about it.
"Usually when I see those words, I smile but really I feel like people are bragging about me a little too much," Helms said. "I don't really like too much attention, don't really care for it."
That included as a high school diver growing up in Moultrie, Ga.
It's just the way he was raised.
Ask anyone around the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, and they'll tell you the same thing.
"He couldn't be more humble," UT diving coach Dave Parrington said. "He's a very well-adjusted young man. He works very hard, he's very strong in is faith, he really lives every day as it should be lived."
While Helms has obviously taken his success in stride, both he and Parrington know there's still a lot of work left to do to prepare for the SEC championship meet in February and NCAA championships in March.
For Helms a lot of that preparation is mental.
"You don't have to be in the best physical condition possible to be a great diver," Helms said. "When it comes down to getting on the board and doing your dive, it's more of a mental thing."
Helms' main goal in every meet is to be able to block out anything that could cause him to stumble. His father devised a way for him to be mentally focused when he dives, and Helms calls it one of greatest lessons he's learned as a diver.
"My dad is really interested in the mental side of the sport, and he always when I'm in competition tells me not to dive against other people but to dive against my own personal high score," Helms said.
By the time the NCAA meet rolls around in March, Helms feels confident that he will be able to place in the top 18 on platform dives, which would make him an All-American.
But should that happen, chances are Helms will simply smile, say thank you and shrug it all off.
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