A few of the things a parent wants for their child are peace, inclusion and something that brings their little one happiness.

It’s not the entirety of the list nor is it asking for the world.

However, not everyone’s world is the same.

The Sprintz family know this very well. 

There was a time the idea of her sons - Gage and Gavin – especially in the midst of one of Gavin’s breakdowns, finding those seemingly simple aspects in life was unfathomable, for Kori Sprintz.

Then the Campo Verde brothers found diving. 

Actually, it started with a trampoline, but gaining some peace, inclusion and happiness truly began with diving.

“I didn’t know what their future held,” their mom, Kori, said. “You worry as parents. It’s what we do, but when you have two autistic children, you have to wonder what life is going to be like.

“I never saw this coming, but it has been amazing to give them an outlet.” 

Their abilities, and their outlet, will be on full display at the state diving meet, which is held Nov. 5-7, at Phoenix Country Day. 

The brothers were diagnosed with autism at an early age at the same time. 

Gage, a sophomore is the Division II defending state champion and has reached a score of 564.90 this season, is able to assimilate into public situations easier and attends general education now after having to need a full-time aide through second grade and has been competing for a handful of years.

Gavin, a freshman who qualified with a score of 433.25, is non-verbal and is in a self-contained classroom. He is two years younger and only just started competing eight months ago.

The diagnosis has presented some challenges especially for Gavin, who can have loud outbursts when he grows frustrated, uncomfortable, and countless other reasons.

“He has very little speech at all,” Kori said. “He’s a little bit of a loose canyon. He screams a lot, and any little thing can set him off.”

Solutions can sometimes come by chance. And they needed one. It isn’t something a doctor suggested, or a counselor has seen work for others.  It started to change when the family noticed a natural ability in Gage.

He was really good on a trampoline. He had good body control and was able to flip and do other stunts with ease on the stretched rubber canvas. A suggestion came that it might translate to the diving board.

And did it ever.

First came club for Gage. Then came local meets. Followed by nationals. Even some gold medals at 12U nationals and three golds at the AAU championships over the summer of 2025.

“It was a little bit different, but flipping helped with diving along with being relatively athletic,” Gage said. “I started to get really good at it and I felt like it was something I could put my focus on.”

Then something happened with Gavin that occurs with a lot of younger siblings. He wanted to emulate his big brother. They don’t have the best relationship, but Kori could watch from the kitchen window while Gage coached Gavin off the backyard diving board.

Suddenly, there was a connection. A common ground. Communicating and understanding.

“Gage would get mad, but I told him to just let Gavin do it. He’s probably never going to compete anyway,” Kori said. “I think Gage did it reluctantly, but he did it. He coached him hard, but they’d be out there for a long time, doing their thing.”

If there is one common ground with people with autism, is they tend to master a singular skill. 

Drawing. Numbers. Medical terms. Dinosaur species.  

It can be just about anything, but once he or she locks in, mastery of it usually isn’t far behind. It can become an obsession and something to master.

For the Sprintz brothers, it certainly appears to be diving. Gage has no fear; Gavin is compliant. Both attributes lend a hand in the success they have in the sports.

Gage, 16, is the Division II defending state champion and the favorite to repeat. Not bad for a kid who used to just run off the board regardless of the dive in his first year of recreation team. 

Now, Gage has the ability to deliver dives with precision and it can most likely be connected to his autism. 

There’s natural athletic ability, but there is a singular focus that is known as monotropism. It often manifests as a hyperfixation on topics or skills that leads to a deep expertise and satisfaction for the individual. 

“I focus on myself, and if there is anything around me, I can block it,” Gage said. “Then I go into action.”

Campo Verde diving coach David Eppert said there is a lot that goes into Gage’s level of success.

“Gage has incredible kinesthetic awareness,” Eppert said. “He also has a sleek body frame which allows him to rip dives better than the average diver. He is driven to succeed and to be the best.”

Gavin watched him compete, saw him be successful and he found a light to expressing himself through action instead of words he cannot find.

He started emulating Gage. Began learning the nuances of the sport. The body control eventually locked in. Followed by understanding the numbers that pair with the dives.

Then a decision had to be made. 

Yes, he was learning the sport rapidly, but how would he do in competition? The first exposure in 2021 didn’t go well. 

Could he wait his turn? Be around peers. There are hundreds of variables – mostly negative -that can affect any athlete, so how will Gavin, someone who has significant struggles with emotional regulation, manage it? 

Gage was an example for Gavin, but Kori knew it wasn’t as easy as entering an event, waiting your turn, compete, get scores and feedback, adjust on the fly, and make it through long competitions.

The first meet in 2021 “was a disaster” before working his way back to attempting to compete again in March.

“For Gavin, I just wanted for him to wait in line, be appropriate with his peers and be included,” Kori said. “I wasn’t expecting him to be a superstar.”

They moved clubs in January to the East Valley Dive Club, and he just took off. It’s an example of what can happen when the coaches also embrace someone who just wants to be included.

“For the first time, he was attentive to his coaches,” Kori said. “In his previous club, no one was trying to coach him. They just didn’t want him to have an outburst. He was just there. But this was different, and I put him in his first meet in March.”

By the third meet, he understood the scoring and what all the dive numbers that give difficulty level, and the moves involved. He was flourishing, and there was a bit of peace that came with it. He was so good that he qualified for nationals in both U.S. Diving and the AAU. 

They decided to go to the AAU national in July as it is a little less stressful at the Riverside, Calif., meet. Gavin won three medals – two golds, and a bronze – and clearly found the skills he was attempting to master.

The Sprintz brothers - Gage (left) and Gavin (right) - are thriving in the diving world as they've won gold medals nationally. (Photo courtesy of the Sprintz family)

The brothers also competed in 3-meter synchronized diving at the AAU nationals and finished fourth.

“It was more than we could hope for,” said Kori, who receives a credential in order be inside the ropes with Gavin in case he becomes frustrated. “We didn’t know what would happen or might happen going forward, but this shows how you can’t put these kids in a box.”

Seeing them compete nationally, especially when it was suggested they should try Special Olympics by many, together was one of the moments she’ll never forget.

It’s a huge turnabout considering there was time when all she wanted for them was a way to feel like they belonged.

“Back in the beginning, I didn’t know what they would be able to do, want to do or even compete in any sports,” Kori said. “I didn’t know how they were going to function in life. So, to see them compete at this level, receive recognition, is really hard to put into the right words. 

“They are competing and winning on the national level. It’s… I mean just a year ago, just the thought of being in front of this huge crowd at nationals - Gavin would have lost his mind.”

Instead, there is a calmness. A steadiness that isn’t always there for the Sprintz brothers. But put them on a diving board or platform and everything slows down. 

The focus becomes very singular. The creativity meets the body control. Their struggles are paused.  

Soon after the body hits the water and the scores go up. Good or bad. The results are important in the name of competition. Everyone wants to perform well, but there are other aspects in life that are visible when the Sprintz brothers are competing.

Peace, inclusion, and happiness.

 

 

Top times boys

Division I 

50 free: Cole Faut Millennium 0:20.80

100 fly: Cole Faut Millennium :49.48

100 backstroke: Aydan Prassas Liberty 0:51.18

100 breaststroke: Grayson Pudleiner Dobson 0:58.57

100 free: Grant Kellis Higley 0:45.16

200 free: Grant Kellis Higley 1:38.44

500 free: Grant Kellis Higley 4:29.56

200 medley: Mark Heffen Brophy 1:52.17

200 medley relay: Brophy 1:38.18

200 free relay: Mesa 1:27.33

400 free: Millennium 3:09.74

Division II

50 free: Connor Daggett Catalina Foothills 0:21.95

100 free: Emmett Jones Campo Verde :48.02

100 fly: Porter Ellsworth Campo Verde 0:52.73

100 backstroke: Emmett Jones Campo Verde 51:26

100 breaststroke: Roman Malcolm Desert Mountain 1:00.77

200 free: Porter Ellsworth Campo Verde 1:41.70

200 medley: Porter Ellsworth Campo Verde 1:57.05

500 free: Porter Ellsworth Campo Verde 4:35.83

200 medley relay: Catalina Foothills 1:39.89

200 free relay: Salpointe Catholic 1:29.43

400 free relay: Canyon del Oro 3:18.07

Division III

50 free: Alexander Alexanderovich Trivium Prep 0:21.69

100 free: Alexander Alexanderovich Trivium Prep 0:47.15

100 fly: Zachary Duerkop Tanque Verde 0:53.01

100 breaststroke: Alexander Alexanderovich Trivium Prep 0:58.18

100 backstroke: Alexander Minarich Notre Dame Prep 0:53.64

200 free: Alexander Alexanderovich Trivium Prep 1:43.59

200 medley: Wade Olsson Tanque Verde 2:00.20

500 free: Kyler Tolson Gilbert Christian 4:51.35

200 free relay:  Tanque Verde 1:31.81

200 medley relay: Tanque Verde 1:41.80

400 free relay: Trivium Prep 3:19.75