Tyler Pramer's swimming days have come to an end. Now, he'll focus exclusively on diving as he prepares to enter Yale University.
Norwalk resident Pramer, a senior at Fairfield Prep, took second on the 1-meter and 3-meter dives at the YMCA Nationals meet last month in the 16-21 division. Pramer will continue his diving career at Yale with coach Ryan Moehnke, who is also his coach at the Norwalk-based Next Generation diving team. Next Gen's divers train at the Norwalk YMCA and Yale.
The interesting thing about Pramer is that he's not just a diver. Pramer helped Prep win the 400 freestyle relay at the State Open in March, and also swam a leg on the 200 free relay team. It finished third. He was sixth in the 100 butterfly. Oh, and he was fourth in diving. It's unusual for divers to swim for their team. It's really unusual for them to be successful. "I knew the team would need my points in those events,'' Pramer said. "We wanted to try to win the team championship."
The Jesuits finished third, but Pramer was just beginning. At the YMCA meet, he took second despite having limited practice time on the 3-meter board. Pramer was disappointed to finish second, however, because the winner automatically qualifies for the Speedo Junior National Championships in July. "They take the top 30 divers in the country,'' Tyler says. "I'd like to try to get there."
Pramer's diving career has blossomed in the past few years. He started at Shorehaven when he was eight years old he won the Fairfield County Swim League diving title as a 9-year-old -- and then joined Moehnke as one of Next Gen's first divers five years ago. His father, David, helped plant the diving bug. Tyler's dad holds the record for most points in an 11-dive sequence at Norwalk High and set it in 1976. "Eventually, I figured I'd be a diver,'' says Tyler, who also played soccer and tennis as a youngster. Tyler also competed for the Norwalk Zeus swim team that trains out of the Norwalk YMCA.
Now, however, he can focus exclusively on diving. He's looking forward to Yale and working under the tutelage of Moehnke, a highly-regarded coach on the national scene. "I know what to expect at Yale,'' Pramer says. "I don't have to worry about coaches and all that stuff. I know I'll get a lot better. It was a perfect fit and it had everything I needed."
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