|Nick's diving straight to the top!|
|Around the Academy:
Hi, I'm the current European Junior silver medallist and ranked 4th in the world in the 14/15yr age group.
I began diving at the age of seven. I saw other people doing it and it looked fun, so I asked my mum if I could have a go.
She took me to a few lessons and needless to say I loved it. It's been a big part of my life ever since.
One of the things I remember most from those early days is my first big dive off the 10 metre board.
I was nine at the time and my nerves almost got the better of me.
I just wanted to go walk down the steps and go home. I knew I was doing something quite dangerous and that I could get hurt if it went wrong.
My coach assured me that if I remembered what I'd been taught I would be fine. He was right, of course and eventually I plucked up the courage to dive.
I'm coached by Alex Bagiou, a former Romanian Olympian who competed at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
We get on really well, but if a problem does arise we'll sit down and talk it over.
We chat about loads of other things apart from diving. In fact, on the day of a tournament we'll talk about anything but diving!
It helps me relax if I think about other things on the day of a tournament.
And just before I'm about to dive I'll get focused again and Alex will tell me what I need to do.