Competitive diving

Question
My 11 year old was a gymnast and I would like to get her into diving but don't want to waste my time on a weak program.  Where should I look around eastside of metro Detroit?
Jill Mattes

Answer
Jill -

I am not that familiar with diving teams in your city so I am going to refer you to someone who is.Don Mason, who lives in Bloomfield Hills, is the National Chairman of the High School
All American Diving Committee. Even though you daughter is not a high school student, Don has done club coaching in your area for many years and works with kids her age.He is going to able to send you in the right direction. I will leave his contact info at the end of my answer.

You may have to be prepared to drive out of your area to get the kind of program you want. Your metro area, to my knowledge, does not have the type of aquatic centers that would attract an elite coach. Coaches rely on schools, cities and counties to rent pools that have advanced diving equipment. I just do not think there is one in Detroit.

While you wait to hear back from Don, here are some websites to check out:

www.usadiving.org - Click on Join USA Diving an then Find A Club. Enter MI and a list of teams will come up. The closest to you is in Bloomfield Hills. The best diving pool is found in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan. I think Don is affiliated with the program there.

www.aaudiving.org - Another site to find a team. Just follow the instructions on the home page.
You may have to have her join this group to be able to take lessons.

www.divemeets.com - Click on Find and then Teams. A huge list will come up. Look under AAU and scroll down looking in the third column that is by state and then look for teams in MI. Click on the team name for contact info. Also scroll down to the bottom of the page and look for teams under USA Diving. Also under Find you can click on Pools and Coaches.

www.diving.about.com - Site that explains the sport. Enter lessons in the search box and have your daughter read about learn to dive programs so she knows what to expect.

Don's e-mail is: [email protected] I referred you to him and I know he will reply.

I am sure you will find a team she likes. You just have to be prepared to do some driving to get there. Good luck in your search.