New diving boy

Question
Hey Tom,

I'm a 17 year old junior in highschool, that has like 2 weeks of diving experience right now. I dive in Mission Viejo, CA, traveling up there 2 days a week from 6-7:30pm. I have just recently quit gymnastics which I was a level 9 (16~18 age division) after 4 years. (I made it to Regionals last season, winning floor 1st place against all age divisons ^^)

Anyway I'm a guy new to diving turning 18 this friday. My coaches say for a new diver I have good control on my hurdles. Also that my legs are nice and strong.

For now, I have been working my front & back line up, front dive (tuck & pike), front & back flip, front 1 & 1/2 (tuck & pike)and the regular straight jumps etc. By the way I think this Diving league is AAU or AUU (Whatever it's called >_<)

So I've gotten pretty comfortable going head-first, diving off of 1 and 3m. We just got a new coach and she wants us to try out the platform; we have 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10m. I want to start working off the  platform as soon as I get the basics down. My teammates are all girls; HS- Novice, group 4. (While I'm the only guy..)

Well I'm was just wondering can I get a scholarship even if I started my Junior year and I'm practically 18 soon?

Answer
James-

After reading about you and considering your question, here is what I think you need to do to get the scholarship you are looking for:

1. Diving at Mission Viejo is going to be a key element to get college coaches to recognize you as someone they want to recruit. However, only diving 2 days per week will not be enough to learn the list you need to get a scholarship. If you can, consider diving there 3 to 5 days per week.

2. Turning 18 this year as a junior is not going to work against you. Your gymnastic background will help you figure out the sport regardless of age. Just concentrate on getting your list together so you can start diving in club meets. Make sure you go to the upcoming December meet at Mission Viejo even if you do not compete in it. You need to see what a club meet is about for boys 16-18 1 meter and 3 meter.

3.The kind of dives you use in meets and the type of meets you dive in between now and the end of the summer of 2010 will determine if you will be eligible for a scholarship. College coaches look at what you do the spring of your junior year and the summer right after it. This is because what you do as a senior (Sept '10 to June '11) is not as important as what you do as a junior. You will become a senior in a college coaches eyes on July 1 , 2010. This is the date that the recruiting process begins.

4. Between now and this July date, you have to compile an athlete bio that describes what you have done as a diver. You should also include what you did as a gymnast as it will not hurt to mention it. You will also need to have a dvd of your 1 meter and 3 meter lists. Platform is not as important since most of college diving is done on springboard. How well you can score team points for the swim team in these two events what is important to a college coach.Platform can help but only if you are of national level.Most important thing though is grades - you will need a good GPA and SAT score.

5. Consider going out for your high schools swim/dive team in the spring of next year if they have one. It will help your athlete bio if you can do well in dual %26 championship meets. Apply for All American if you have enough D.D. and make the required score. Your club coach can tell you more about this. At the end of this answer I will post a website that explains the high school all american process.

6. Go to www.diving.about.com. In the search box, enter "How to Get Recruited" and read articles about getting recruited for a scholarship. Other great articles about high school diving at this site.

7. Go to www.divemeets.com. Click on Past Meets/Results. Look up meets held in the summer of 2009 like Regional %26 Zone meets. Click on boys 16-18 events then click on anybody's score. Then look up the kind of list you will need to be doing next spring and summer. College coaches use this website to see how well divers your age are competing.Registration is free. Might as well sign up now because you will need to know how to use this website for the upcoming meets you need to be in.

8. www.ncsasports.org - articles here about college recruiting. Also go to www.diverstocollege.com. Site for divers/parents with methods to get noticed by college diving coaches. Large list of schools with diving teams by clicking on "Coaches".

9.www.ncaastudent.org You will need to go to this site to read about how to become eligible to be recruited for a scholarship. All athletes in all sports must go through the NCAA Clearinghouse to become eligible for a college sport.

10. www.niscaonline.org - High school swim/dive site that explains how to get All American.

Other diving websites:

www.flipnrip.com - Click on videos and then Diving Lessons. Great info here from a college coach. Registration is free.

www.usadiving.com - National Governing Body website. You will need to become a member to dive in USA Diving meets. Right now you are only eligible for AAU meets which is good but not as important as USA Diving events.

Hope all this helps. Good luck.