Coaching 1 meter springboard diving

Question
Where is the best clinics for dive coaches in the SF Bay Area?

My background is Physical Education(kinesiology) with an emphasis in Dance.  I have a strong background in gymnastics, so so in synchronized swimming and even weaker in competitive swimming.  I transferred my experience into HS diving and in a medium league  had very good success 8 years ago. I'm in a position where I will be dive coach again and need to look at films, books, and attend clinics to put me up to speed.  Can you help me?

Thank you,
Mariko

Answer
Mariko -

I am very familiar with the S.F. Bay Area as that is where I grew up diving and coaching for many years. I do not know of any clinics there this summer. That is because the type of coaches that offer clinics are busy with their competitive season through the end of August. I do have some suggestions as to what I think will help you.

Go to www.usadiving.org and there you will find some educational materials to buy.Click on Store and then educational materials. Then click on Books or DVD/CD/VHS. If you are not yet a USA Diving Safety certified coach, you should look into taking their course which involves pool rescue skills and also an on line test. Click on Resources and then For Coaches.

You should try and become familiar with some of the better diving clubs in the Bay Area. The best ones are in Santa Clara and Stanford. At the USA Diving website, click on Join USA Diving and then Find a Club. Enter Calif and a list of teams will come up. Look for their contact info for these two clubs and find out if you can attend some practice sessions and observe national level coaches working with age group and college divers.

Here are some other websites to become familiar with:

www.springboardsandmore.com - Click on Diver Training and then Books and Videos.

www.divemeets.com - If you are going to be involved in meets, this is the #1 website in the country. You will need to become familiar with it and join (free of charge). Look for meets in the Bay Area and plan on attending them to see what is going on where you live.There is a big high school championship this weekend in Santa Clara you should try and go to.

On Face Book, in the search box enter 'A Page for Diving' and also 'Flip N Rip' for the latest info on diving.

There is a new website called thedivingnetwork.com. They have instructional videos that will help you.

aaudiving.com - Another national governing body you may have to join if you want to enter divers in their meets.

Finally, if you can afford it, there are two excellent summer camps that offer instruction for coaches. They are both in Indiana. One is ripfest.net and the other is trisynerg.com. These are run by the last two USA Diving Olympic Team head coaches and they offer very valuable advice to coaches for one week throughout the summer.

Good luck with your coaching endeavors.