problem with twisting

Question
QUESTION: Transition from gymnast to diver has been fairly easy for my daughter except for twisting.  What is the best way to work on this ? She has been diving for a year. Thanks

ANSWER: Julie -

You have asked too general of a question for me to give you an accurate answer. If you can give me the following info, I can help her better:

1. What exactly is the problem that she has with twisting group dives?

2. Which dive or dives is it?

3. Does she have a hard time twisting forward or backward?

4. What board height is she trying to do it from? 1 meter or 3 meter?

5. Is she twisting to a feet first entry or head first?

6. Does she twist to the left or to the right?

7. What age group is she diving in and at what level?

The more info you give me the more I can help since it is not possible for me to view this problem. In the meantime, try these websites:

www.usadiving.org - Click on Store and then Educational Materials.Lots of instructional material here.

www.springboardsandmore.com - Search for a book by Hobie Billingsley called Competitive Diving.

www.flipnrip.com - Click on Videos and then diving lessons. Good advice from a college coach.

www.diving.about.com - Enter twisting dives in the search box.

www.amazon.com - Look for a book/video by Ron O'Brien called Diving For Gold and Diving My Way.

I look forward to your follow up question.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: She is currently diving DIII in college. She is a left twister and she dives both boards. She started diving october 2008, was level 8/9 gymnast. Prior to college she did 4 USAD meets and 4 high school meets including sectionals. For 1 M, her dives are 5221D ( average 17.50 without factoring in DD), 5223 (15.00) and 5122 (12.00). For 3 M her dives are 5231 (12.5) 5132 (10). I believe her back twister is better than her front twister.  She recently learned a reverse twist and fail it at a meet.  She often does better at warm ups as a diver which is opposite of what she did as a gymnast; her warm up was horrific. She only dove in two region meets.  She was always decent at pre-region but had difficulties at region with the same dives. Hope this is better. Sorry my original question was poorly asked. I am wondering if she would benefit from a camp which she has never done one to work on her problematic skills this summer

ANSWER: Jule -
Now that I have more info, I hope I can help you further. Since I am unable to see these dives, I can only tell you from past coaching experiences what the problems might be:

It could be that she twists like a gymnast and not like a diver. The way a diver twists and a gymnast twists have some similarities but if she has not switched to how a diver traditionally twists, this may be a source of difficulty in doing these dives successfully. If she twists to the left, she should initiate the twist with her right arm across the chest and the left arm pulled back with the shoulder and the left hand behind the base of her head.

Another problem could be that she is either bent at the waist or at her side which causes a twist to wobble. The body line needs to be straight and solid. Is she able to do a full twisting jump on the deck without falling down? If she can't do this fundamental skill, she will have a hard time doing it over the water.

On twisters that go head first, maybe she is coming out of the twist too early. Divers need to come out with their arms extended out to the sides at exactly the number of twists to be done before bending over to dive head first.

If she is having a hard time with a 5231 on 3 meter, then I do not think she should be using a reverse twister yet in a meet. Maybe this is why she failed it. Reverse twisters are very difficult to master if you do not have good back twisters first.

A good summer camp suggestion is to look into the ones offered at the University of Texas or at Indiana University. These camps are conducted by Olympic level coaches and are very helpful. At these camps, she can learn to fix her twisters by doing them in a twisting belt over a trampoline or dry board. You can find more info on these camps by going to the athletic departments website for each school.

Other sources of info on how to correct dives are found at:

www.usadiving.org - Click on 'Store' and then 'Educational Materials' look for cd roms and dvds that go over optional dives and twisters.

www.flipnrip.com - Click on Videos at the top of the home page. Scroll down to diving lessons. Have her look at these. They are narrated by the coach from Indiana University that conducts the summer camp I suggested.Registration to view videos is free.

www.diving.about.com - In the search box, enter twisting dives and a list of articles about these dives will come up for her to read.

www.springboardsandmore.com. Look for a book on competitive diving by Hobie Billingsley.

www.amazon.com - Search for a book by Ron O'Brien entitled 'Diving For Gold'. There is also a video 'Diving My Way' that goes along with it.

Hope this helps. Good luck with her season.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you again. I will send her the advice. It was my mistake no she is not doing any reverse twisting yet.  As far as doing well at warm ups and not performing during meet, is that just nerves ? is there any trick to be more consistent other than just numbers at practices and at meets.  As a recent divers, she does not have too many meets under her belt.  We will check into Texas and Indiana.  Do you know of any in California ?

Answer
Since I do not know your daughter I can only give you some advice based on past coaching experiences. Some athletes are "meet" divers and do not practice that well while it seems your diver is the opposite. This could be that she is trying too hard in meets. Some divers try to do the best dive they have ever done instead of just doing the dive the right way like they do in practice or a warm-up. She may also be trying to make a correction on a dive in the meet instead of in practice. I always used the expression "What you do right in practice, do right in meets".
Success is a journey, not a destination. In meets, she could be thinking about the outcome(winning the event) instead of the process (doing the dive right like practice). I would have her think about one dive at a time and if she misses a dive in the meet, to forget about it and think about the next dive. She may also be focusing on how other divers are doing instead of just concentrating on her own dives. I teach kids to focus on what they can control (their dives) and not what they cannot control (other divers and the judges).

Try this website for sports psychology advice: www.peaksports.com. Dr. Cohn has great free advice for athletes in all sports (especially individual ones)as well as for parents. Look up his series called "The Confident Athlete".Sign up for a free newsletter. Her school might also have a sports psychologist that can help. Most of diving is mental so it can help to consult a professional without embarrassment. This problem in sports is widespread and common. Even the best athletes can "choke" once in a while. It is not a weakness to seek advice - it is actually a strength to develop.

For California camps, try the Mission Viejo Nadadores (www.mvndive.com) they have camps in the summer as well as one next month conducted by Dick Kimball a world class Olympic level coach. If there is anyone in the US who knows twisters, it is him. You should also inquire about the summer programs offered at UCLA and USC. They may not have camps, but she could join their summer program and practice with Division I divers. This will help her for next season.The more you practice with divers who are better than you, they more you will learn about how to compete.