Springboard Diving for Beginners
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    Pool Side Dives
By

What do you need to know to begin diving?

(High School Coaches, Water Safety Instructors, and Divers)
You need to be able to swim --

 1.  the width of the swimming pool.

 2.  underwater (12 ft. would be nice).

 3.  underwater in the shallow and deep end of the pool.

 4.  and do three basic dives from the side of the pool.

All these basic requirements help to build the confidence needed to start springboard diving for all ages. I have seen many beginning divers who are afraid of deep water and this alone makes them afraid to dive.  How deep is the ocean or too deep for you?  A 12 ft. deep pool is not that deep and, with a little instruction, your fears can be overcome.

Part of a good beginning diving class is to review your abilities and help you with anything you might be afraid to do. This includes divers who feel they must hold their nose while diving in a swimming pool. Article #1 "Pool Side Dives" is free  -- keep reading.

How do divers feel about diving?

A. "I love diving" - Olympic diver Rob Cragg and the rest of us too.
B. "I feel like it's the closest thing to flying" - Sky divers might disagree.
C. "Falling with style" - Description from the movie "Toy Story".
D. "A leap of faith" - Trying to hurdle (can you remember this "Raiders Movie ?").
E. "A missile to splash down" - Olympic Diver Mark Ruiz doing a forward 4 1/2.
F. "Enjoy the ride up" - Something you should do after the hurdle.
G. "Divers are swimmers with their brain knocked out ..." (Clown Diving)
H. All of the above (This is the correct answer - there may be others).


ADULT SUPERVISION REQUIRED FOR DIVING ACTIVITIES!



What are the three basic dive positions from the side of the pool and how are they done?

     Each basic dive from the side of the pool is done from three different positions.  You first start from a kneeling position (tuck position) and fall in the pool. The next dive is done by bending at the waist (pike position) and falling in the pool. The last basic dive position is done from a standing position, pushing up from the edge of the pool, bending at the waist in the air, and falling in the water headfirst. The best place to practice these dives is the deep end of the pool corner in the direction of the ladder to step out of the pool. Do not aim for the ladder. You may hit your head. Aim for an area three feet or more away from the ladder.

     For the first basic dive, I would like you to think of a rolling soccer ball. Start in a kneeling position with your left knee up and right knee on the pool deck. Roll forward and fall into the swimming pool. When trying this dive, do not lift your head or you will look like a football. You must keep your fingers pointed down in front and remain in a tight as a ball position when you fall (roll) in the water. Only when your fingers touch the water can you push your fingers in the up position, just like a submarine might do to resurface. After you enter the water you can straighten to the prone floating position and arch your back. You might find you can glide back to the surface!

      The next dive is done pretty much the same as your first basic dive. The difference is you bend at the waist. You still roll in as if you were a soccer ball. The legs do not bend at the knees and your legs must remain straight. A variation of this dive is done by standing on your left leg and raising your right leg up to help you to fall in the pool. Do not lift up your head or shoulders as you fall into the swimming pool. You might land on your belly. Stay in a tight pike position (bent at the waist) and fall in the water. Touch the water and the diving planes go up (point fingers up) and resurface.  It is very important to roll in and touch the water first before trying the swim back up to the surface.
 The wrong way --

No, you can not try this off the lifeguard stand!
 Your knees are bent. Straighten your legs.
 Put your head down between your arms.
 Put your hands together and point your fingers.
 Bend at the waist a lot more till you fall in like a   rolling soccer ball.
 If you lift your chin, you will look like a football and may smash on top of the water.

  The lifeguards you get these days. Will they ever learn?

     The last basic dive is done from a standing position at the edge of the pool at the deep end of the swimming pool. Please note the edge of the pool before diving. Some pools have a very curved shape edge and some are flat. The curved edged pools make it harder to dive from since the diver has to lean forward into the dive.  This is hard for me to tell you to do because it causes future bad diving habits. Leaning forward when diving off of the springboard is very very bad. Some rules have to be broken at the side of the pool for your safety and this is one of them.
     This last dive is done by bending the knees, pushing up in the air, rolling the head down, bending hard and fast (pike position) off of the edge of pool. Think of a soccer ball springing in the air and then rolling forward into the water. Remember not to stick the head up like a football but let it roll down followed the hips and the feet. For those of you how have trouble leaving “Mother Earth”, I suggest getting something to dive over. A rolled up towel or foam tube would do the trick. Keep practicing till you can go up in the air a foot or more.

     Some beginning divers bend their knees, fall way forward and then push much like a swimmer's racing dive. This kind  of a dive stays low to the water and is intended to shoot out as far as possible. In a springboard diving competition this is a bad thing. Please go up in the air and not as far out as you can.
 The wrong way again ---

That's a racing dive. Your shooting out as far as you can go. You must go up not out.
The red cape (towel) did not help you go up in the air.

 It will not even help you swim faster  when it gets wet. Put your hands together --- praying may help!

     Adult supervision and help is a must for learning diving. Before moving to practice on the springboard. The real help is needed for raising the bar, foam tube, or pole you need to dive over. In my classes, I use the end of a long shepherd rescue hook for beginners to dive over. The pole end is first placed at ankle height, then knee, and finally close to waist height. As the diver goes up in the air the pole is dropped into the water. This practice is an absolute must to get divers pushing with their toes to go up in the air, bending at the waist, and diving straight down. I can not find another way to keep beginning divers from shooting out over the water.

     These basic dives are repeated from the 1-meter springboard, which is sometimes called the low board (lowest to the ground). This springboard should be level at the end of the board that hangs over the swimming pool water. Some home swimming pools have springboards that do not meet this requirement. Those that actually tip up in the air at the end of the board could be dangerous. They cause the diver to be thrown back toward the pool area instead of out over the water. I hope most of you are diving off of springboards that are properly constructed.

How do you adjust the diving board (those that can be adjusted)?

     Springboards are made basically out of three types of material. They are made out of wood, fiberglass, and aluminum. I will be talking about those that have an adjustment wheel called a fulcrum. The stiffest of the three diving boards is made out of wood with fiberglass and aluminum being the most flexible.

  Now how do you adjust the spring for each of these boards? It is unfortunate, that at most public pools, the rule is to put the wheel in the middle or center of adjustment. No consideration is made for the flexibility or material make-up of the springboard. The board may be too flexible for a 300-pound man and too stiff for the beginner diver weighing less than 100 pounds. If the board is made out of wood it will probably be to stiff for everybody.

     My answer to the best way to adjust the wheel (fulcrum) can be found in a book called “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”. Where she bounces on papa bear's bed to find a very hard spring in the mattress. Think of how this would feel without actually going into a bedroom and trying it your self ( I Do Not want to get in trouble). It would be hard to get up in the air because the bedsprings are hard and would not push up very far. On the springboard, it is more like jumping down to the floor for a very stiff springboard.

     On a mattress that has a weak spring, you will sink down and keep sinking so far you start to lose your balance. This is what happens on a springboard. The board bends easy  and stays at the bottom too long. It's like jumping on a large wet soft sponge. You sink down but you can't come up. At the bottom, it causes you to lean forward off balance and be thrown out over the water (normally you like this to happen). The springboard just moves too slow and is just too springy.

Problems happen when you  bend your knees back (fall in place) or bend back to the deck area as you go up in the air. Some beginning divers hit flat footed (toe and heel close to the board) and this causes the center of balance backward. The back motion of your body makes it hard to go up properly and may cause you to hit the board. To correct the problem always press with your ankles and toes reaching for high above your head with your arms.

     You will have to adjust the fulcrum or wheel to find the perfect place that gives you the most height. This is between the stiff and too soft springboard. A beginning diver who weighs less than 100 pounds will roll the fulcrum back more to the deck area. The action at the end of the springboard should be a smooth ride down (smooth bending of the board) and a smooth ride up as if you were jumping up and down on a perfect spring. The goal is to set the fulcrum to where you can go up as high as possible. In no way is it a run for the end of the board to stomp or kick down at the end of the springboard. You ride the springboard down with your toes and ride the springboard up in the air stretching for as much height as you can obtain. If you can do the pool side dives, It's about time to step on the board and start Springboard Diving. Yes, you are now ready to order DIVING ARTICLES #2 , #3, and #4. Article #2: Forward Dives, Article #3: Back  Dives includes Diving Water Aerobics, and Article #4: Inward, Reverse, Twist Dives and More.


If she can do it, you can too!!