dive list

Question
QUESTION: My daughter was training level 9 gymnastics and had an injury and has switched to diving- she is in 10th grade- and needs to play catchup fast- I am trying to find out what a realistic dive list college coaches will be looking for - thanks

ANSWER: Hi Laura -

You are on the right track finding our now what it takes to dive in college. Many families wait until the divers' senior year in high school to find out about collegiate diving when it is basically too late.

As a coach I have trained many ex-gymnasts into divers who have gone on to collegiate teams. Most of this sport is girls and most of them are ex-gymnasts. All the best national level females have a gymnastic background. I am going to give you a primer on what she needs to do to get noticed:

1. If you are not part of a U.S. Diving or AAU club team, you need to get on one as soon as you can because most NCAA Division I coaches will pay no attention to a diver who only competes at the high school level. (High school is only the one meter event).  At the end of this message are some websites you can go to to find a club near you.

2. There are NCAA Division II & III coaches who will take on any experienced high school diver but they have very few, if any, scholarships.

3. The difference between age group or high school diving and college is that before you go to college, the list of dives consists of 5 fundamental dives(called voluntary
dives) and up to 6 optional (harder) dives. College is only 6 all optional dives on both the one meter and three meter springboards. I will get to platform diving later.

4. Here is a list of dives that divers your daughters age are doing to get ready for college at the Division I level:

One meter:

Front 2 somersaults tuck or pike
Front 2 & 1/2 somersaults tuck or pike
Back 1 & 1/2 somersaults tuck or pike
Reverse 1 & 1/2 somersaults tuck or pike
Inward 1 & 1/2 somersaults tuck or pike
Front 1 & 1/2 somersaults with 1 twist
Front 1 somersault with 2 twists
Front 1 & 1/2 somersaults with 2 twists
Back 1 somersault with 1 & 1/2 twists
Back 1 somersault with 2 & 1/2 twists
Back 1 & 1/2 somersault with a 1/2 twist
Back 1 & 1/2 somersault with 1 & 1/2 twists

Divers pick 6 of these dives, 1 from each group with one repeated group.

Three meter:

Front 2 & 1/2 somersaults tuck or pike
Back 1 & 1/2 somersaults straight
Back 2 & 1/2 somersaults tuck or pike
Reverse 1 & 1/2 somersaults pike
Reverse 2 & 1/2 somersaults tuck or pike
Inward 1 & 1/2 somersaults pike
Inward 2 somersaults tuck
Inward 2 & 1/2 somersaults tuck or pike
Front 1 & 1/2 somersaults with 1 twist
Front 1 & 1/2 somersaults with 2 twists
Back 1 & 1/2 somersaults with 1 & 1/2 twists
Back 1 & 1/2 somersaults with 2 & 1/2 twists
Reverse 1 & 1/2 somersaults with 1 & 1/2 twists

Same as one meter, divers pick 6 of these dives, one from each group with one repeated group

5. While platform diving is not that contested in college it does help if you have a platform list if you want to go to a school with platforms. There are many excellent diving colleges without platforms. Many divers will learn platform in college because they did not have access to them pre-college.

The most important season for her is the summer following her junior year. This is the competitive season college coaches will look at the most to see how well she does in club meets.

You might also consider having her go to a diving camp this summer of '08 held at a major university. College coaches will also look at her camp experience. If you want some recommendations on them, send me another question.

Go to these websites to find a club team near you:

www.usadiving.org. Navigate to 'Find a Club'

www.aausports.org. Same navigation as usadiving.org only you need to pick 'aquatics' to find a team.

Good luck with her diving and don't hesitate to ask another question about college diving.

Tom Trapp

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you!  You gave me exactly what I was looking for-- and relieved to see she has until summer after this to accomplish this change over!  Her goal IS to dive in college in place of the college gymnastics- we are currently affiliated with West Fla Lightning diving out of Tampa and Largo- she can get platform experience there also- I am interested in knowing what summer camp would be the best training for her - and I truly mean training- not fun camp-  We are finding this a very easy transition so far- and want to make the most of it as quickly as possible.  Thank you again for the wonderful information-

Answer
Laura - The two best summer camps at major universities are found at the University of Texas Austin and at Indiana University in Bloomington. They are both run by Olympic coaches and have been very successful at helping divers such as your daughter attain a higher level of diving.

The coach at University of Texas is Matt Scoggin. He was a member of the 1992 Men's Olympic Platform Team and a two time Olympic coach. He has the number one male diver in the country training with him. He runs an excellent camp every summer that frequently sells out. Contact him right away to get on his mailing list:

[email protected]

The coach at Indiana is Jeff Huber. He is also an Olympic coach and considered one of the best in the country.He has one of the best female divers in the U.S. His camp is also very popular so contact him today at:

[email protected]

The other place you should consider taking your daughter is to drive up the road to Team Orlando run by Olympic coach Jay Lerew. Jay is a master at turning gymnasts into divers. They have a great pool at the YMCA on International
Drive in the heart of the tourist district. In the late 1990's I worked for Jay with his Junior Olympic Team. This could be a place to go on the weekends for some private lessons. I do not know if he will have a camp next summer. It would be worth taking a 2 hour trip there to see what the possibilities are of  practicing there from time to time. I do not have his e-mail but his phone # is 407-354-3665.

Remember that next summer these coaches will be training their elite divers for the Olympic Trials and the Olympic Team Selection Camp. Make sure you pick a week when they are going to be at the camp. Sometimes they have their assistants run the camps while they are away. You can go to the USA Diving .org website to find out the dates of these two important events. I would pick a week or two when they are going to be there.

I am familiar with the pool your at in Largo as I was there several years ago for Junior Nationals. Is Tony still the coach there?

Hope things work out well for you.

Tom Trapp