where do i go to learn to dive

Question
I am very interested in diving. I was a ballet dancer for 14 years and this is the beginning of my second year of not dancing. I have always wanted to learn how to dive. I am going to be a sophomore at radford university this year. I'm 19. is that to old to start? is there anywhere around the radford area where i could learn to dive? also is there anywhere in the Virginia beach area that i could learn at? thank you.

-Kate

Answer
Kate -

I do not think you are too old to learn to dive. I do not know if it will evolve into a competitive level but you never know. People with your background can pick up this sport quicker than non athletic people. Having a dance background is to your advantage when pursuing diving.

It just so happens that my very good coaching friends work at Radford and Virginia Tech!! Ron & Tina Piemonte run the New River Divers out of Radford. Tina is the varsity coach at Radford and Ron is the head coach at Virginia Tech. Contact them and ask if you can watch a practice and try diving. Mention my name and I know that they will take a look at you. You could join their club team and see if turns into something you can do for the college team. The college team at Radford is very low key and they do not have many highly experienced divers so if you take to diving quickly enough you could be on the varsity team this season. Their e-mail is [email protected]. Also - their daughter Rachel, a freshman at Virginia Tech, is a ballet dancer - they love ballet!

As far as Virginia Beach goes I do not know if there is a pool in that town or not. To find out I am going to list diving websites you can go to and do a search:

www.usadiving.org - Click on "Clubs" and then click on "Find A Club". Enter your state and see what comes up. You should also enter surrounding states.You can also click on "Store" and "Educational Materials" where you can obtain reasonably priced books, dvd's and cd roms about diving.

www.aaudiving.org - Click on "Diving Sport Contacts" and then click on your geographical area.Contact this person to find teams in your area.

www.usadiver.com - Articles about diving.

www.flipnrip.com - Site for divers & parents.

ww.mastersdiving.com - Site for adult divers.

www.laurawilkinson.com - Site by our #1 USA female diver who is at the Olympics. She has a great DVD about diving.

www.divemeets.com- Site about diving meets.

www.diving.about.com - Site that explains the sport.

Good luck with your pursuit of this great sport.

Tom Trapp