Athletic Spending Threatening College Sports
What's Wrong With This Picture?
Well, for starters the boards aren't on the stands. But that is not the real issue. It has to do with taking care of your expensive springboards!
Kenny Armstrong Named Texas A&M Diving Coach
Three-time Olympian and U.S. Olympic Diving Team Coach Kenny Armstrong has been named the interim diving coach at Texas A&M. Armstrong currently oversees the Woodlands Diving Academy in The Woodlands, Texas, but will travel the 90 miles to College Station to coach the Aggies.
Armstrong comes to a program with that appears to be loaded. With three returning divers who were 2009 NCAA qualifiers, each of whom achieved All American in at least one event, Texas A&M should continue the success that has placed them as one of the elite schools for diving in division I. He replaces Kevin Wright who was "who was relieved of his duties on Oct. 2." I'm sure there is an interesting story there but as to what it is, who knows?
Six Tips For Balance and Height During a Hurdle
Photo: Sean Garnsworthy /Allsport
Track Your Progress as a Diver
All the hard work you put in during practice should pay off with a big win at the end of the year, right? Well of course it does, but during the year how do you know if you are progressing toward your goals? Here is one way to track your progress.
Increase in High School Athletic Participation
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NHFS), participation in high school athletics increased 0.4% in 2008-2009, marking the 20th straight year that an increase has occurred. On further examination, the NHFS found that the sport with the biggest increase was swimming and diving, adding an additional 29,967 competitors over the past year. Of concern for diving coaches, athletes and enthusiasts, is what part of that increase (if any) can be attributed to diving?
The unfortunate aspect of this statistic is that swimming and diving are not separated. But when concerned about the health and growth of the sport, what would be an interesting stat is if high school diving participation increased/decreased, and in what states? You would have to assume there is a strong correlation with participation rates and the availability of facilities. Hmmm....do you think that this kind of information would be of interest to the AAU or USA Diving? It should be.
Dumais Named Diver of the Year
Troy Dumais was deservingly named USA Diving's Diver of the Year for the third time in his career this past weekend at the United States Aquatic Sports Convention in Chicago. The award, sponsored by the USA Diving Board of Directors, is given to the outstanding diving athlete of the year who has demonstrated excellence in their performances in national and international diving competition.
Dumais finished the 2009 diving season by earning world championship silver medals in three-meter springboard, and synchronized springboard (with teammate Kristian Ipsen), as well as adding three national titles and two golds at the FINA AT&T USA Diving Grand Prix. The 29 year-old member of three Olympic teams previously received the award in 1997 and 2006.
Photo: Nick Laham/Getty Images
Presentations from the USAS Convention
I sat though two excellent presentations today at the United States Aquatic Convention today. The first was an overview of USA Diving's High Performance Plan for 2010-2013 by Steve Foley, USA Diving's High Performance Director. Foley essentially laid out a game plan for the U.S. that will ultimately lead to success at the Olympic Games in London and beyond.
The second presentation was a question and answer session with 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Laura Wilkinson and two-time Olympic Silver Medalist Alexandre Despatie of Canada. Wilkinson and Despatie discussed topics that ranged from daily training and motivation, to personal goals and dealing with outside expectations. For anyone that was in attendance, the two divers imparted valuable lessons they have learned dealing with what it takes to become a successful diver not only on an Olympic level, but at any level of diving.
Training and Conditioning for Junior Divers
I just attended an excellent presentation by 2008 Olympic Coach John Wingfield on Dryland/Conditioning Training and Skill Progressions for Junior Divers at the USAS Convention. It must have been good because not once did I look at my watch to see what time it was!
An important theme of this presentation was that coaching, and running a training session, is no different from, and should be treated the same as any teaching environment. Be prepared, have a lesson plan, and maximize the time spent either in a dryland or water environment. Here are some additional tidbits from the coach and director of USA Diving's National Training Center.
USAS Convention Starts Today in Chicago
For those of you who don't know, the USAS is an acronym for United States Aquatic Sports. The USAS is the entity that represents the national governing bodies (NGB) for diving, swimming, water polo and synchronized swimming to FINA, the international governing body for aquatic sports. As for USA Diving, the convention represents a gathering of the leadership and membership of diving's NGB to discuss the direction and governance of the sport. The convention culminates with a banquet at which awards such as Diver of Year are presented.
This year’s convention is in Chicago, and offers opportunities to hear presentations and forums by coaches and divers. Featured speakers this year include John Wingfield - Director/Head Coach of the National Training Center, Jeni McNeal - Strength and Conditioning Consultant for USA Diving, Steve McFarland - FINA Technical Diving Committee, Alexandre Despatie - Canadian Olympic Silver Medalist, Laura Wilkinson - U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist, Steve Foley - USA Diving High Performance Director, and Megan Neyer - Sports Psychologist and 1982 World Champion.