Leading with laughter: Pueblo Central diver leads Wildcats with fun, laid-back approach

Molly Charles is a bit of a jokester.

In fact, every morning at Pueblo Central High School, she tells a joke during morning announcements over the school’s intercom.

A recent favorite was: “Why are ornaments addicted to Christmas? Because they’re hooked on trees.”

Charles uses her sense of humor to help lead the Wildcats’ girls swim and dive team. She’s the squad’s top diver and one of its best swimmers as well.

Central coach Jeffrey Roth said her laid-back, easygoing demeanor helps her lead.

“She helps take the nervousness away," he said. "We have a lot of beginners and keeping it light helps them forget about the things they’re worried about. They can just go out and swim.”

As the team’s leader, Charles ensures the other girls on the team have as much fun as she does.

She said she often jokes during warmups and tries to get all her teammates involved. She said she’s “friends with everyone.”

“I always try to make sure everyone has a fun time,” she said. “I do it in a way so that it’s not pushy.”

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Charles began swimming as a freshman. Prior to getting into the pool, she was a gymnast. The skills she learned there have helped her become Pueblo Central’s top diver.

She also has excelled as a swimmer.

And, while she works hard to improve on the board and in the pool, her main goal is to have fun.

“I just have a lot of fun doing it,” she said. “I try not to be too hard on myself. It’s very fun and not too serious. I do the best I can, and that’s all that matters.”

Her best may lead her to the Class 3A state championship meet.

Charles was close to qualifying last school year but suffered a concussion late in the season, ending her chances. However, Charles said she believes she can get to the state meet this school year.

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Her coach believes it’s not a matter of if, but when.

“She’s going to state,” Roth said. “I think right after we get back from break, we’ll start hitting the 11-dive meets and that’s where she can qualify.

“We've just got to work on her higher-skill dives and get that degree of difficulty up. Once she has that, I know she’ll qualify.”

Charles said it would mean a lot to reach state.

“That’s my ultimate goal,” she said. “Everyone wants to go to state. It would be a cool, cool thing. We’ve had a lot of divers go to state from Central. So I’d like to represent.”

Luke Lyons is a freelance reporter. He can be reached via email at lukelyonsfreelance2023@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Central diver leads Wildcats with fun, laid-back approach