How to Coach Diving

Coaching diving can be rewarding, exciting and fun. Coaches inspire athletes, provide them lessons on life and instill them with confidence. Training, an understanding of the basics of the sport and some practice in identifying the key components of dives will put a new coach in position to help divers hone their skills and become successful.

Things You'll Need

  • Diving coach literature
  • Swimming pool with a springboard
  • Television, digital video recorder and video camera (optional)
  • Athletes
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Instructions

  1. Preparation

    • 1
      Learning the basics of the sport is important.

      Study the basics of the sport. Coaches, at a minimum, should understand what the dives and positions are, how dives are completed and how dives are scored.

    • 2
      Springboards are set at different heights for different competitions.

      Find a pool for practice. Coaches need a pool with a springboard and/or a platform for diving, depending on what's required for their type of competition. According to USA Diving, springboards should be 1 or 3 meters in height from the water, depending on the type of competition. Platforms should be 10 meters in height for high platform diving and 5 to 7.5 meters for intermediate platform diving.

    • 3
      Water depth is important for safety.

      Make sure your pool is safe. To promote safety, USA Diving requires water depth of more than 11 feet for pools built since 1987, according to USA Diving. Although some older pools may be more shallow yet exempt from this regulation, coaches shouldn't have athletes dive in water that's too shallow for safety.

    • 4
      Video equipment is becoming popular in diving programs.

      Consider using video equipment. Many diving programs utilize a video playback system that gives divers immediate visual feedback on their dives. Often, a video camera is attached to a digital video recorder that is displayed through a television. The digital video recorder is set to delay playback of the video several seconds, allowing the diver to surface and watch his dive while a coach critiques it.

    Coaching

    • 5
      Don't be too rigid with feedback.

      Use creativity. It is one of a coach's best tools. Approach a common correction from a different angle, said Hobie Billingsley, a longtime diving coach at Indiana University. "If the coach can try to exercise his personality by inducing certain mannerisms at given times, he may receive better results from his divers."

    • 6
      Make sure your critique is brief and to the point.

      Be brief and clear. It can be powerful, Billingsley said. "I think that both diver and coach find this practice most desirable for it keeps the diver from getting cold or holding up the performance of the next diver who desires the attention of the coach."

    • 7
      You may play a key role in a young athlete's life.

      Be prepared to teach athletes about life. "Too often the coach finds himself substituting for the father, minister, doctor, counselor, psychologist, etc.," Billingsley said. "For he seems to be in the best position to recognize the youngster's fears and growing concerns. Thus the coach can be one of the most influential persons in a diver's life."

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