From Somersaults to Cold Plunges: Kaleb Cave

Have you seen this story? It piqued my curiosity.

Image from Baltimore Sun social media 

A gymnast with more than 156,000 followers on Instagram, Columbia native and UMBC freshman Kaleb Cave is making waves in a new sport: diving.

First impressions: diving is a new sport? Or perhaps diving is a new sport at UMBC? That doesn’t seem right. I had to know. It is a local story, after all.

And, for the first time ever, I was able to access something I was looking for through the Howard County Library website using Proquest. It’s a miracle, I tell you.

His new platform: Star gymnast is making a lot of waves for UMBC in a different sport: diving, Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun

And here’s the answer. Diving isn’t new, it’s new to him. Cave, a Hammond High School* graduate, has been training and competing in gymnastics since his elementary school years. How’s this for an origin story? 

Cave was introduced to gymnastics when he was 7 years old by his uncle, DeAndre Cave, who taught him how to complete a backflip. After Cave somersaulted off the family sofa and cracked his head open on the corner of the coffee table, his mother Oslyn Cummings-Cave demanded her son sign up for gymnastics classes.

Holy cow. My mother either would have demanded: that my uncle never be welcome at our house again, or that I promise never to try a stunt like that again. I think it’s an essential piece of this story that Ms. Cummings-Cave did something else entirely. She facilitated her son’s natural interest but made sure he would learn to do it safely.

Desire and natural talent are powerful motivators. Having mentors and role models who encourage and challenge you to do the work necessary to meet your goals is equally important. As you read the article you see how important this has been for Cave both as a gymnast and in his transition to diving. The fact that he was willing to plunge into competitive diving (sorry) at UMBC - - with only the most basic swimming skills - -  feels a lot like somersaulting off of the sofa. 

I should be able to do this - - why not?

I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced that kind of confidence in my life. What makes Cave successful is that he follows that exuberance with hours and hours of practice. While enrolled at UMBC to study Mechanical Engineering, his schedule looks jam-packed with multiple commitments.

Cave said he works on diving for two hours per day for six days a week and tumbling for three hours per day for two days. He admitted he isn't quite as prolific sharing content on social media while juggling training, classes and a job as an instructor at a gymnastics training center in Elkridge.

(True confession: on my first read-though I came away thinking he was a competitive juggler, too. My mistake.)

If you’re interested in the social media aspect, check out: 

lub._lub for gymnastics 

lub._dive for diving 

I’m imagining how much energy and enthusiasm one must have to be Kaleb Cave and I’m thinking I’ll just have another cup of coffee and stick to blogging

Village Green/Town² Comments

*He also ran Track for two years in high school. !!!