HOW far would you go to ensure your child achieved their sporting dream?

One Shoebury family is going the extra mile, or the extra 500 miles a week if you are Tyler Humphreys' parents, to ensure their son maximises his diving potential.

What was once a five-minute drive is now a two-hour trip and a 100-mile round trip for mum and dad Donna and James, but 11-year-old Tyler is improving with every journey.

He has already broken the nine-year record, previously held by Tom Daley, in the three-metre springboard event at the national age group championships and is performing dives beyond his years.

“I am up at 5.30am on Saturday’s to take Tyler to Crystal Palace,” says mum Donna, 32. “I drive him there and I have to get home by 7am to take my other son Regan to boxing, at the Southend Combat Academy.

“Tyler has Saturday sessions between 7am and 2pm and it will be me or (husband) James that drops him off or goes to get him.”

Tyler recently moved to Shoebury High School and Donna said the school has been very understanding.

“He is allowed to leave early on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so he can get to Crystal Palace. We have got him a laptop so he spends a lot of the time in the car catching up on school work.

“A few people have recognised him as well from the newspaper. The thing is no-one has any idea how good he really is. He likes to keep a low profile though.”

And Donna says it is hard at times, with son Regan and 20-month old daughter Willow, also keeping her and James busy.

“It is a lot for us but we don’t mind at all,” she said. “We are able to share the load so it doesn’t have too big an impact on us. We have two other children and we don’t favour one over the other so we are able to split our time between Regan and Willow.

“He is funny because he will say to us in the mornings, ‘who have I got today? Mum or Dad?’.”

Tyler has been at Crystal Palace Diving for a year now, having left Southend Diving because he said he ‘felt like a change’ and Donna says the family has adapted to the new lifestyle.

“It has actually gone quite quickly,” she said. “We have adapted as a family as we know how important it is to him and he loves it there which is what matters.

“He knows it is a lot of extra travelling but he doesn’t moan about it and he knows he can return to Southend if he wants but he enjoys his sessions so much with Chen Wen (his coach).

“He is in his own little bubble,” said Donna. “He wants to be as good as he can be. He doesn’t want to be the next anyone else, he wants to be the next Tyler Humphreys.”

Next up for Tyler is the Luton Challenge in November, although Donna said he will need a rest before then – and with only one day off a week from diving, these days are cherished by Tyler.

“On Sundays we just give him a bit of break and let him rest. It is his day off after all!” she said.