Woods made a splash as two-time state diving champ

<p>The high dive at the Kokomo Swim Club was almost always occupied by teenagers during its 1960s heyday.</p><p>Dee Woods was climbing the same stairs at a much younger age.</p><p>“I was always fearless and loved the water. When I was 3 years old, I would con my dad into going up to the high dive,” Woods said. “He would jump off first, and I would jump to him and he would help me swim to the side.”</p><p>No one watching the small bundle of energy known as Dee Boice jumping into her father’s arms could have possibly predicted a pair of state diving championships, though that’s what happened.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>The Boice family moved to Franklin in time for Dee to start her fourth-grade school year (1972-73). Five years later, she made the decision to compete for the Grizzly Cubs’ swimming and diving team and placed second at the Shelbyville Sectional as a freshman.</p><p>“My parents were at a party where the Franklin swim coach (Kurt Hass) was at, and my dad mentioned he had a daughter that might be interested in diving,” Woods said. “So now I’m going over to see if I have any talent. (Hass) spent an hour with me teaching me an approach and showing me a few new dives.”</p><p>Woods qualified for state as a sophomore, placing 11th at the Ball State University pool. She earned championship medals at the 1980 and 1981 state meets with respective one-meter scores of 430.85 and 467.55 points.</p><p>“The funny thing about my junior year is I knew who my competition was,” remembers Woods, 57. “She beat me during the regular season, but (Hass) had me doing mental visualization all the time.”</p><p>Woods nonetheless wasn’t in top form during Friday’s practice round. Hass asked her at a team dinner that evening if she wanted to return to the pool and practice some more. Custodians were preparing to close the pool until the following day, but they let coach and diver get in some last-minute preparation.</p><p>“We were pretty much the only people there,” Woods said. “The next day I put together 11 great dives and won.”</p><p>The Grizzly Cubs’ diving dominance continued the next two seasons. Dana Wiegand stood on the top of the awards podium at the 1982 and 1983 finals. Kelly Gallagher won state for Franklin in 1986, while Katie Cooper repeated the accomplishment in 1998.</p><p>Woods was the one to get the tradition started.</p><p>“Dee was one of the first real good girls I coached,” said Hass, 72, a 1966 Franklin graduate who was the swimming and diving coach for 33 seasons at his alma mater before stepping down after the 2005-06 season. “She was a hard worker and really a smart, driven girl.</p><p>“She really set a high bar. The scoring system has changed, but I’ll tell you, her diving would still be competitive.”</p><p>Woods, who says she stands 5 feet tall on a good day, continued diving at Miami of Ohio, winning the Mid-American Conference meet as a freshman with 412.20 points. Woods shared league diver of the year honors with teammate Kelly Kurz in 1982 and won the award outright a year later.</p><p>She currently resides in Franklin with her husband, Andrew; they have two children: Anna, 21, and Nicholas, 18. Woods, who majored in elementary education at Miami, worked for years as a teacher before opting to funnel her energies into becoming a yoga therapist.</p><p>Woods works three days a week at the Johnson County Juvenile Detention Center in Franklin.</p><p>“I work with clients one-on-one and in groups to help them find healthy ways to manage their stress and anxiety,” Woods said. “I also teach yoga twice a week at the Active Adult Center and teach a yoga class at Franklin College.”</p><p>Woods’ interests might have changed over the past four decades, though her level of determination hasn’t.</p><p>Now, like before, she dives right in.</p>