Courtesy of Chris Metcalf,
Livingston County News
Churchville-Chili diving coach Ricky Krebs has been around the York diving board more than anyone.
Krebs grew up watching standout divers doing their thing on the springboard back when Jayson Gambino broke both the school and pool record in 1999.
Ricky’s mother, Spring Morrow, was the York coach for years up until he graduated in 2007. At that time, Ricky held the No. 2 spot on York’s all-time leading divers.
Krebs looked on January 23 as one of his divers, senior Jake Calus, broke Gambino’s 22-year record for the six-dive event during a meet at York that day.
That moment when the points board lit up, and Calus broke Gambino’s record was something Krebs probably won’t ever forget.
After all, Krebs grew up on that same board.
“I spent every day after school on York’s pool deck watching my mom coach Jayson and a slew of other athletes for years,” Krebs said.
York’s pool has a wooden record board which lists the top five athletes in each event. When Krebs graduated, his diving record was in the spot just below Gambino’s.
“Having watched him for years, I was rather proud of that,” Krebs said.
Krebs is also no stranger to coaching at York, where he took over the diving program until 2015 when he started at Churchville.
During his time at York, a few of his divers made their way into the top five board.
“Currently, the entirety of those top five records are comprised of my mom’s and my athletes,” Krebs said.
In 2017, Coach Morrow returned to the diving board to coach a state-level diver at Rush Henrietta, who at the time did not have a coach.
It was that year that Krebs planned several joint practices for his divers, which was Calus’s freshman year.
Currently a senior, Calus has broken both Churchville-Chili’s school and pool records several times. He qualified for the state meet three years in a row, finishing ninth last year.
Coach Morrow, one of the area’s most gifted dive coaches, passed away in 2018 due to complications from surgery after a battle with cancer.
“Jake was one of the last athletes she ever worked with,” Krebs said.
In an effort to keep Coach Morrow’s legacy alive, a special award was created in her honor, which is handed out at sectional championships each year. This year it was made permanent and merged with the traditional sportsmanship award and will be called “The Spring Morrow Sportsmanship Award.”
“Her and I used to talk about Jake’s potential, and she thought Jake might be the one to finally break Jayson’s pool record,” Krebs said. “On January 23, that became a reality.”
While Krebs continues to implement many of the fundamentals that his mother taught him and all of her divers during his tenure, he will never forget the passion and drive his mom brought to the board on a daily basis.
“Her passion and the way she connected with her athletes, I still have not seen matched,” Krebs said. “My mom was an outgoing, fun-loving, and caring person, but when she was coaching, she really came alive. Her drive as a coach and a person left an impact on anyone that knew her, which prompted the creation of ‘The Spring Morrow Memorial Award’ now, which is given out to one athlete from each team at sectional finals. My goal as a coach is to pass my love and knowledge of the sport onto the next generation. Just as my mom passed hers onto me.”
Calus finished second in the recent Class A sectionals and also broke his own 11-dive school record with a score of 586.25.
For Coach Krebs, he admits, diving is in his blood.
“Diving is an incredibly unique sport in that it requires tremendous control and power while still expecting an athlete to appear graceful,” he said. “It is based in physics and requires an extraordinary level of not only physical but mental toughness.”
