summer break/diving camps

Question
My daughter will be a junior in high school.  She has been diving for 2.5 years.  She does both 1m and 3m and aspires to dive in college.  What are your thoughts on divers taking a break during the month of August?  Does this time off seem to make them better or do you think the time could be spent training?  Also, do you know of any diving camps held during the month of August?  Thank you for your help.

Answer
Kim -

I have been pondering how to answer your question for a few days and am sorry I have not answered sooner. Based on the information you have provided, here is my opinion on when to take time off from training:

First of all, about summer camps, they are conducted primarily by college coaches and in the months of May and June. There may be some in early July but I have never heard of any being offered in August. The reason is due to the competitive diving schedule for age group divers who are the primary people who go these camps. Once the major part of the season hits in July and continues through the first half of August, divers are competing and college coaches are at these meets recruiting divers or coaching there own athletes in senior meets.

In all the years of coaching,August was the time that my divers took a break. They did so for two reasons: 1) they competed as far as they could go and if their season ended at the end of July because they did not make nationals, they then took a break and started up again in September.2) If a diver did make nationals, that meant their season was going to go the middle of August. After nationals, they then took about four weeks off and started up again in the middle of September.

Taking a break from diving is a good thing to do because your body needs to rest and mentally it is good to get away for a while so you do not burn out. My divers knew if they trained hard during the spring and summer, that they would get to take a break sometime in August. Parents were also grateful for this so they could take a vacation.The other reason many divers do not train in August is that a lot of pools close at that time of year for maintenance. I live in the Seattle area and the primary diving facility here always closes for the month of August as that is when all aquatic sports teams are away at meets.

Because I do not know you daughters training schedule and what competitive level she has attained, this is the best answer I can give you. If she is competing in USA Diving meets like Regional and Zone Championships, then a break in August is common. If she is not competing at this level and wants to dive in college, then next spring and summer are the most important for juniors as that is what college coaches will base their selections on. If you are unfamiliar with USA Diving, go to www.usadiving.org for more info.

Other diving websites are:

www.aaudiving.org
www.flipnrip.com
www.usadiver.com
www.diving.about.com
www.divemeets.com
www.diverstocollege.com

Feel free to ask a follow up question with more info about your daughters competitive background and I am happy to help.