China Trip Day 1 -- San Francisco

Arrived in San Francisco this morning and was greeted at airport by representatives from Allied International Resources (the Duraflex Diving Equipment Dealer for China as well as Springboards and More's Rough-tex Dealer for Asia). Allied International is also our host for the China Diving Tour.

After a nice lunch at a local Chinese Buffet, we toured the warehouse where they store the diving boards, diving stands and Rough-tex in preparation for shipment to Asia. (See attached photo of Tony and Yilla (Allied International); Steve (Springboards and More) and Mike (Geodis Wilson Global Logistics).

Tony and Yilla then took Steve on a "quick" tour of San Francisco including the "Twin Peaks" (San Francisco Overlook); Golden Gate Park; Golden Gate Bridge; Fisherman's Wharf; Palace of the Arts (site of 1915 World Expo) and finally China Town where we enjoyed a great meal at a local Vietnamese restaurant. Here we learned that the more noise you make while eating your bowl of noodle soup -- the more you like it!! SLURP!!!

Now it is off to bed for a good night's sleep in preparation for a long flight to Beijing tomorrow.

DIVING GOODWILL CHINA TOUR!

Springboards and More along with some members of The Duraflex International Corporation; a former Olympic Gold Medalist and a Past President of USA Diving will spend nearly two weeks in China on a diving goodwill tour.

Their travels will take them to Beijing where they will see and tour the 2008 Olympic Venues including the "Water Cube" (pictured above). They will visit and tour the National Aquatic Training Center for Diving and watch some practices. They will also spend some time in Shanghai before heading to Guangzhou where they will get to watch some of the springboard competition at the 2010 Asian Games.

The hope and plan is to make daily blog posts about the trip right here so be sure to check back often!

What Happened to TEAM USA in Beijing?

I must confess that I had high hopes for TEAM USA in Beijing but I watched the 2008 Olympic Games with a heavy heart and a somewhat perplexed eye. After judging the Olympic Trials and witnessing some spectacular diving up close and personal throughout that entire event, I felt very confidant that the 2008 U.S. Olympic Diving Team would come away from Beijing with at least one medal if not a few. I looked very favorably upon the team that was selected to represent the United States at these Olympic Games. The divers looked to be in great shape; appeared to be injury-free and were diving very well both nationally and internationally. In addition, the coaches had worked so hard over these past four years getting their divers ready for "The Big Dance" and the administrative support that many felt was lacking in the past seemed to be in place. Based on all this and more, I really felt that USA Diving had turned a huge corner in their comeback from a very drastic free-fall in the world standing of the diving community.

Then Beijing -- no medals once again! Granted, our overall placing was much-improved from Athens but in the past THREE Olympic Games, the United States has won only ONE medal. To put that in perspective: Out of a possible 72 Olympic Diving Medals given during the last three Olympic Games (eight events x three medals per event x three Olympic Games), the US has a record of 1-72. OUCH!

What is the answer? Is it coaching? Is it lack of knowledge? Is it training (too much or not enough)? Is it lack of competitive fire? Is it facilities or lack thereof? Is it "delusions of grandeur" on the part of the athletes and / or the coaches? Are we missing "swagger"? Do we need to recruit and / or find better athletes? Is it experience or inexperience? Is it the age of our divers? Did the Chinese get over-scored at their home pool? Do our divers wilt under pressure at big meets? Were our divers simply tired from the travel and drastic time change? Did our divers peak too soon (i.e. Olympic Trials)? I do not know the answer but I look forward to talking with our Olympic Coaches as well as the athletes to get their take on what needs to be done.

I certainly am not giving up and I hope the coaches, divers and administrators are not giving up either. I think USA Diving has made HUGE strides in the past four years and I think we will continue to improve and continue to chip away and slowly but surely make our way back to the top. GO USA!

What We Can Learn From Mathew Mitcham

The diving world was shocked to see a non-Chinese diver standing atop the medal podium at the completion of the Men's 10 Meter Platform Event at the 2008 Olympic Games. Australian diver Mathew Mitcham put together the meet of his life in Beijing and will forever be known as "Olympic Champion."

What can we learn from this most unexpected result? Many things including:

1) NO DIVING EVENT IS OVER UNTIL THE LAST DIVER ENTERS THE WATER. Even with what seemed like an insurmountable lead going into the last round and the fact that Chinese diver and current leader Zhou Luxin had his usually very good 307C remaining for his final dive -- strange things can occur -- especially in the finals of the Olympic Games in front of your home crowd. Zhou inexplicably broke position on his kick out AND left his dive short -- scoring a meager 76 points and opening the door for Mitcham who needed a near perfect dive with high degree of difficulty in order to complete the upset. As most coaches know, getting 9.5's and 10's on a 3.8 DD dive does wonders for a diver's final score and that fact held true for Mitcham who earned over 112 points on his final dive to leap past Zhou and win the Gold Medal by four points.
2) LEARNING TO SPOT IS SO VERY IMPORTANT. Mitcham, a former World Champion on Double Mini-Tramp, is an excellent "spotter" (He uses visual references to see and know exactly where he is in the air at all times).
3) GOOD KICK OUTS, COME OUTS AND LINEUPS ARE EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT. It does not matter if you know how to "spot" as well as Matthew Mitcham does if you do not know how to properly kick out, come out and line up a dive. I loved watching the slow motion replays of Mitcham's dives where you could see him "spot" the dive, kick flat and tight, line-up and disappear when he hit the water.
4) GOOD FORM NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE. Mitcham has a great toe and foot point, long legs and excellent body lines. He used all of these elements to wow the judges and put together a most memorable list of dives on the world's biggest stage. CONGRATULATIONS, MATHEW!

What We Can Learn From Michael Phelps

The world has watched with great interest and enthusiasm the exploits of Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In his quest to tie and break Mark Spitz' record of SEVEN Gold Medals in one Olympic Games, we have witnessed some incredible athletic achievement as well as a little bit of luck. The outcome of the 400 Medley Relay looked in question until Phelps' teammate Jason Lezak turned on the after-burners to narrowly beat the big-mouthed Frenchman. Then again in the 100 Meter Butterfly -- Phelps appeared to have lost the race but miraculously, he touched the wall ahead of the the 2nd place finisher by the slimmest of margins -- 1/100ths of a second.

How can one guy have so much luck? Well consider the old saying "The harder I work, the luckier I get." Nobody works harder than Phelps does inside or outside of the pool. His "will to win" is legendary and he is a vicious competitor. He makes his own breaks and he reaps the benefits. Along the way, he has had great coaching, great support from family and friends and has been pushed to the max by great teammates.

All divers and coaches should take a few notes from Michael Phelps. Work really, really hard and surround yourself with a great supporting cast and you too can enjoy some successes on the boards and eventually outside of the pool when your career is over.

GO USA!

Living The Dream!

"The Position of 'Diving Coach' is an Honorable One." These are the words of Dr. Rick Schavone PhD -- the highly respected and very accomplished diving coach at Stanford University. His words should resonate to all diving coaches at all levels of our sport.

Diving coaches are TEACHERS to many kids. Diving Coaches are "Father-Figures" or "Mother-Figures" to many divers. Diving Coaches hold much influence over impressionable youths. Diving Coaches are MENTORS. Diving Coaches are HEROES. Diving Coaches instill HARD WORK and DISCIPLINE in their athletes. Diving Coaches form lasting bonds with their divers and their families. Diving Coaches are INSPIRATIONS to many kids as well as POSITIVE ROLE MODELS and LEADERS. These things should not be taken for granted.

Diving Coaches also have the opportunity to travel to all corners of our great country and sometimes the world. Diving Coaches have the opportunity to watch first-hand (and in some cases coach) divers who have reached the pinnacle of our sport -- that of Olympian.

The diving community around the world is small and close knit. Diving Coaches -- especially those who have reached the international scene have formed friendships with other coaches and divers from around the world. Many coaches have formed life-long friendships with their peers around the country. There are not many other career paths that can claim all these perks.

Of course, there are downsides to coaching diving. They include long hours, very hard work, the sometimes difficult family and limited social life -- but in the grand scheme of things, if you choose to make your vocation that of "Professional Diving Coach" -- know that you are embracing a lifestyle that is the envy of many. Know that to many people. you are "LIVING THE DREAM"!

Olympic Trials Begin Today!

The road to Beijing and the 2008 Summer Olympics begins today for the top springboard and platform divers in the United States. The Olympic Diving Trials begin today at the I.U.P.U.I. Natatorium in Indianapolis, IN.

For more information about the Olympic Diving Trials, check these websites:
www.usadiving.com
www.diving.about.com
www.indianasportscorp.com

Be sure to check back here for behind the scenes stories, happenings and tidbits live from the Trials.

LET'S DIVE!

2008 FINA Grand Prix Meet!

If you are in the Fort Lauderdale, FL area this week, be sure to stop by the Hall of Fame Aquatic Center located at the International Swimming Hall of Fame and Hall for the 2008 AT&T USA DIVING F.I.N.A. Grand Prix. This international diving competition will feature the best divers in the world in one of the last major competitions before the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Click here for a schedule of events.

While there, be sure to stop by the Springboards and More Booth (located on the 3M side of the pool) where you will find all kinds of diving related equipment, supplies and novelty items sure to please any diving enthusiast in your family.

The Springboards and More Booth will be open Wednesday May 7 - Saturday May 10 from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. We hope to see you there!!

Former PDCA President Keith Russell Named U.S. Olympic Diving Judge

Keith Russell, Diving Coach at Brigham Young University and former President of the United States Professional Diving Coaches Association, Inc. has been named Olympic Diving Judge for the United States. Springboards and More congratulates Keith and we know he will represent the United States and the Sport of Diving in a very positive light.

• Keith Russell Bio - Click Here

Congratulations to Team USA

Members of USA Diving competed in the FINA World Cup and their success assured the U.S. of maximum participation at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The U.S earned six Olympic spots at the 2007 World Championships but needed to qualify for six more at the world cup held in Beijing. Congratulations and get ready for Beijing!