diving lessons/team

Question
Our 11 year old daughter, a former gymnast, is interested in learning to dive and/or joining a diving team in the Brooksville, FL area. She is homeschooled - 6th grade, not affiliated with any school system. We are located in Hernando County, near Pasco county; about 45 minutes north of Tampa. Do you have any suggestions for her?

Answer
Brenda -

I looked up your home town area on an internet map and noticed that you are pretty far away from any of the programs that I know of in Central FL. Here is how to find a place for her to dive:

www.mybsca.org - This is a website for the Brandon Aquatic Center, a private club in the Bradenton area of Tampa. It is the home of Jetstream Diving and run by coach Joe Greenwell. He would be a good starting point and he may know of a pool closer to you that offers diving lessons.

www.usadiving.org - Click on Clubs and then Find A Club. Enter FL and a list of teams will come up. Try contacting the ones in Largo and St. Pete and they may know of a program closer to you. There is a great program in Orlando but that may be too far to go.

www.divemeets.com - Click on List of Divers, Teams and Coaches. At that page click on teams. A huge list of teams is going to come up. Start by looking at the first list, AAU Diving. Scroll down to teams in FL and then click on any teams name for info. Also scroll down to FHSAA teams. These are high school teams in FL that may be close to you and have diving for kids your daughters age.

www.aaudiving.org - Another site that will have lists of teams in FL.

www.flipnrip.com - Site for divers and parents that will also have a list of teams in FL.

www.diving.about.com - Site that explains the sport.

If you are persistent in contacting coaches and teams, that will be the best way to find a pool that is reasonably close to you.

Good luck in your search.