Diving approach

Question
My daughter is on a dive team at our pool coached by a well-respected high-school dive coach.  He has recently taught all the kids a new approach - two steps, then a little jump to a split-step (right foot forward,) then single step (left foot, with right leg going up into a 90 degree angle) and then two-foot jump off the end.  It does seem to give everyone more height.  My question is, which  foot should do the second to last step.  The coach has taught everyone to do this second-to-last-step with the left foot (and the right leg rising) and I'm wondering if your dominant foot should take the step with the other leg rising (for my daughter that would be her right foot with the left leg rising.)  I've done several searches on diving and haven't come up with an answer.  I feel like a lot of the kids are off balance on their wrong foot.  Please help.

Answer
The front approach that you are referring to can be very effective if taught and done the right way. It can be a disaster if done the wrong way,which is usually what beginners to diving will have with it. I do not know what level your daughter has attained in diving but if she is new to diving, this approach is very difficult to master. I have seen highly advanced divers fail dives in meets using it.

In answer to your question, the foot that should do the second to last step is the one the diver has the most strength and balance with. The dominant leg is usually the one to use in this case but not always. When I get a new diver I experiment with which one to use by teaching a traditional front approach and not the one you describe. I only have a diver use this advanced approach after several years of diving and then I teach it on a trampoline where it is easier to figure out. If the diver cannot figure it out on a tramp they will not figure it out on a board. If they do figure it out on a tramp, I then have them do it on a dry board and do hundreds of jumps until they master it. Then I take it to the one meter board and do easy dives before trying the harder optional dives.

In all my years of coaching, I have never had an entire group of divers use the same hurdle leg or have everyone do the exact same approach. I do what I know will work for each individual diver.I think that the coach having everyone hurdle with the same leg will find that only some will be good at it.

Here are some websites where you can gather more information on the front approach:

www.diving.about.com/od/forbeginners/qt/hurdleKnee/htm
Click on "Which Knee to Use..." and there will be an article about what you are looking for.There is also other excellent articles about learning diving at this site.

www.usadiving.org - Click on Store and then Educational Materials. There are lots of dvd's, cd roms and literature that may help.

www.flipnrip.com - Click on Videos and the look for lessons. The coach at the University of Indiana has an excellent series on diving.

www.springboardsandmore.com - Look at the "Carpet Board" and read about how it can help divers figure out the front approach. Also at this site is an excellent book on all aspects of competitive diving by Hobie Billingsley.

Hope all this helps. Remember that the front approach takes many years to figure out and you have to have a lot patience with it.The best divers in the world know that it is an ongoing challenge to master it.