While many athletes start their journey to a Division I sport early on in their life, dedicating hours upon hours for years on end to compete on the NCAA's biggest stage, one member of the Men's Swimming and Diving team has a different story to tell.
Logan Krabbe is currently a junior on the Men's Diving team, competing in his first season with the program but his third season as a Nittany Lion student-athlete. Although Krabbe was recruited as a member of the Men's Gymnastics team, he now finds his home on the pool deck at McCoy Natatorium.
As a four-time National Qualifier and two-time JE Qualifier, it's safe to say Krabbe was a highly-decorated and experienced high school gymnast with Fuzion Gymnastics club.
His freshman campaign with the Men's Gymnastics team was highlighted by a victorious season in which the 2018-19 team won the B1G Championship.
What he didn't know in the midst of his celebration was that he and the sport he's been dedicated to the majority of his life were about to part ways.
"I remember feeling pretty upset because obviously, I'd worked so hard to get here," Krabbe said. "I loved gymnastics and my team, so it was difficult at first, but I just shifted my focus onto figuring out my next step."
Instead of taking this experience as a defeat, he used it as fuel to find another outlet for his talents and decided to reach out to diving head coach Jeff DiNicola in an attempt to remain a Penn State athlete.
DiNicola agreed to let him train under his supervision for a few weeks to determine whether he had what it took to be the newest member of the exclusive group of male divers.
He quickly saw Krabbe was committed to this transition and took feedback well enough to be successful moving forward. Thus, in the fall of 2019, Krabbe was named the fourth member of the Penn State Men's Diving team.
"I was really excited that I had a chance to use my gymnastics skills and apply them to a sport I'd never done before. I'm happy he took a chance on me," Krabbe added.
Admittedly, the transition wasn't as smooth as Krabbe had intended, but he credits DiNicola and the rest of the coaching staff for taking him under their wing and giving him the confidence to embark on a new journey he never saw coming.
"They really helped me adjust my gymnastics technique and apply it to diving. I had the right idea,iIt was just a matter of learning to take what I learned on the floor and do them off the board," Krabbe said.
Although his gymnastics background provided him with the mechanics and skill it takes to be on a Division I diving team, going from solid ground to what seems like a canyon of water below came with its own set of challenges.
"I'll admit, at first, it was pretty terrifying looking off the board and knowing I had to just go for it, but over time it got a lot easier to trust myself and what I had been taught to do," Krabbe stated.
After months of training, he was finally able to put his teachings to the test and compete in a virtual meet this November against Arizona, a well-known and respected program around the country.
His consistency on the boards secured him third-place in the 3-meter with a score of 249.15 - an admirable number for a rookie.
In December, the team had their second meet against Big Ten opponent Nebraska. Krabbe's noticeable improvements earned him two impressive scores in the 1-meter (252.75) and 3-meter (274.65) dives.
He will have more chances this winter to compete and hone in on his talents to keep up with the best around the country. Although he's competing against divers who've trained their entire lives to be a part of their respective programs, he's shown that dedication and hard work are the main skills you need to succeed in any sport.
Krabbe has continued to refine his technique to get more and more comfortable on the boards each day. It just goes to show that diving headfirst into something new, no matter how terrifying it may be, can have an amazing outcome.