Gymnast/Beginning Diving

Question
My Dtr has just started diving she was a level 9 gymnast when she was injured a year ago.. She is having real problems with the standard back dives off the side as well as 1m.  She continues around so that her feet flip over her body.  She doesnt know how stop this action and is getting very depressed her team mates have moved on and she is still trying!

Answer
Denise -

I am sorry I have taken so long to answer your question. I have been away at our State High School Diving Champs and just got back.

The problem your daughter is having is something every ex-gymnast goes through. Her acrobatic background is one of "feet to feet" while in diving you have to know how to go backwards head first. This is most difficult thing for a gymnast to do because when she competed, the last thing she was going to do was go backwards head first!

Most of diving is girls and most of them are ex-gymnasts so it is very competitive to see who can get the right list of dives. When it comes to this dive, I would not be having her do it off the side. The reason is it is too low and also the wall could be hit underwater. Doing this skill from the one meter is the only place I would teach it. The problem she is having is that she is reaching her hands for a floor that is not there. When you reach back hard you will end of pushing off the board and that is what causes her feet to fly over her head resulting in an undesirable landing. Doing this mistake over and over again can lead to frustration.

Here is what I teach to solve this problem. If her team has a gymnastic folding mat (4 feet by 6 feet)take the mat and fold it up so it is now 4 feet long, 2 feet wide and about a foot high. Place the mat on the end of the board so the edge is about an inch past the tip. Now I have the diver lay on their back with their head hanging over the edge, arms over their head and hands grabbed together. The coach then lifts the mat from the back end to the point where the diver slides into the water. Make sure that the diver just looks at the water and dives through it without an arch in the back or the hands reaching back for the floor that is not there!! By using this method, the ex-gymnast cannot perform a back walk over or back handspring. It also helps them figure out how to enter the water backwards head first.

The next step after she is consistent with the sliding method is that you do it standing on the end of the board using this learning progression sequence:

Stand on the end with your arms over your head and hands grabbed together like the sliding method.

I am sure that if your diver was a level 9 gymnast, that she knows what "hollow" means. Stand in a hollow shape with stomach tight and back flat.

Raise all the way up on the tip toes and begin to slowly fall backward. The key word here is "fall". Do not spring at all. Keep the legs straight, no knee bend and no reaching for the floor that is not there.Hold the hollow shape as you look back and do not arch.

If the diver continues to over rotate, I go up on the board with them and "guide" them in. Since I am standing on the board, the diver cannot push it as much as my weight prevents that. I also stop their legs from over rotating. Using this method on a one meter platform instead of a springboard is also a great place to learn since there is no spring on a platform.

I do not know if she is on a club or high school team. She may benefit from some private lessons with a club coach experienced with ex-gymnasts. You can send me a follow up question with the area that you live and I will send you in the right direction with club coaches.

You can also go to this website to purchase books , dvds and videos on learning diving: www.usadiving.org. Click on "store" and then click on "educational materials".

Good luck with your transition to diving.

Tom Trapp