diving lessons and am i too old

Question
hi,
I have been in gymnastics for the past 10 years of my life. I just recently quit for a few different reasons. I am very interested in taking up diving but I was wondering if I am too old to start (15 almost 16) and also if you could tell me where the closest place would be to take diving lessons. I live in Oakland (near San Fransisco) but I go to school in SF so that would work also.
Thank you for your time,
Michal

Answer
Hi Michal -

I am originally from the S.F. Bay Area so I will fill you in on everything you need to know about diving in that area.

First, you are not too old to begin diving, especially someone with a gymnastic background. As an example, the last US male diver to win an Olympic Gold medal in diving was 1992's Mark Lenzi. He started diving when he was a freshman in college !

The bad news is that town you live in and where you go to school are not known for club diving. U.C. Berkeley has a diving team but I do not think they take non students. Check with Tom Davidson, Head Coach, at the Cal Bears athletic website. San Francisco is a totally non aquatic city. There are some good diving boards at Saint Ignatius H.S. but again, I do not know if non students can practice there.

The best team in the east bay is found at the Diablo Divers of Walnut Creek. They practice at Clarke Memorial Pool which is in Heather Farms Park. The Head Coach is a good friend of mine, Phil Tonne. He has the number one junior olympic male diver in the U.S. (and maybe the world), Kristen Ipsen, a sophomore at De La Salle H.S. He is absolutley one of the best young male divers ever in the U.S. If you practiced with him, you would pick up diving way faster than anywhere else. Go to the City of Walnut Creek's Park & Recreation website to find out how to contact them. If they do not respond right away it is because they are on a break.They will start again in September.

Other programs in the east bay are: Sherman Swim School in Lafayette. Contact Steve Sherman, Head Coach at www.shermanswim.com. Also there is a guy named Monte Young who runs All Valley Divers. I do not know which pool(s) he is using right now, but they are based out of the Hayward/Livermore area.

To find Monte's team and other Nor Cal diving programs go to:

www.usadiving.org. Click on "Divers" and then click on "Find A Club" enter your state and a large list of teams will come up. Look for ones in your area.

Another excellent program is at Stanford University. It may be too far to go but the Diablo Divers practice there a two times per week to train on platform (there are no platforms in the east bay - only springboards). You might want to consider taking a trip there on Labor Day Weekend to watch the Far Western Diving Championships. It will give you an idea about what divers your age are competing.They have what is considered to be one of the best and largest outdoor aquatic facilities in the world.

Other websites about diving include:

www.usadiver.com
www.flipnrip.com
www.aausports.org
www.divemeets.com
www.springboardsandmore.com
http://diving.about.com

Good luck with your pursuit of this great sport. Gymnasts learn way faster than kids without an acrobatic background!

Tom Trapp