Colten Young

The second episode of Earning Our Stripes features an interview with 2022 NCAA diving qualifier and Princeton Swim and Dive captain, Colten Young. As an athlete and human Colten is exemplary, and I am so excited for you to hear all about his time at Princeton which has not always been easy. We discuss Colten’s changing relationship with the sport of diving, and the ways in which coaching has influenced that relationship. I loved recording this episode and sincerely hope you enjoy listening to it!

What we Talked About and Why it Matters

For the majority of my interviewees this was their first time being interviewed in an actual recording booth. I later found it would be usual for my guest and I to have to take a moment to settle into the process of recording. Once Colten and I were settled in we spoke very frankly about the ups and downs of his student athlete career at Princeton (and his diving career in general) which for him is coming to a close at the end of this academic year. I wondered afterwards if our discussion had been cathartic for Colten. As he described and we together reflected on his time dealing with consistent coaching change ups that sometimes meant exceeding accepted training time, the new coaching emphasis on supporting mental health and wellness within his team, and his ideal reality that athletes are supported more academically at Princeton I personally got the sense that we had both had this conversation before. Even writing this now I am nervous about how much to reference about the ins and outs of how athletic practice is structured and comes to work in an exchange of time between athletic team/ institution and student athlete.

Colten’s interview highlights the resilience of student athletes. Even before stepping foot on a college campus as a student he was forced to decide whether diving was to be his entire future or not. This choice manifested when he was deciding between colleges, with his decision of Princeton representing an end of his Olympic dream. Having to make this decision at such a young age is demonstrative of the relationship sports provide the people that practice and play them. Professionalisation is not always the goal, however it is something that athletes who reach a level high enough to allow for recruitment in the NCAA can and sometimes must contend with given the demands their institutions might make of them outside of their sport.