Diving in Montgomery County or NW DC
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Anonymous
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DC is 9 and currently in Dive 1 through Montgomery County but after diving this summer, DC is more advanced than the other divers in the class (most of them seem to be 5 and 6 year olds) and the instruction isn’t great so the class isn’t a great use of time. DC doesn’t quite have all the dives to move to Dive 2 and if the level of instruction is the same, it wouldn’t be safe to even try. DC is really interested in improving and diving more than 1x a week (no dreams of the Olympics or anything). I tried to talk to the instructor of the class but couldn’t get much information or clarity. Are there any other programs or even private coaches we should be looking at? Should we just wait until summer again? I don’t think travel to VA is in the cards, but MD or NW DC could work.
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Anonymous
| Bump! |
Anonymous
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You can look into the Montgomery Dive Club. I am not sure if they offer classes/lessons apart from the team but you could contact them and see.
https://mcdiving.org/ |
Anonymous
I think the link is for a summer swim club league that also has diving? The old MDC seems to have "died" and come back via Mongtomery County Rec, but it seems like there is no real website or contact info. I'm not sure why it's so confusing, but I feel like I'm missing something and I have a kid that just really wants to dive :/. |
Anonymous
Oh hmm. My kid does Alexandria Dive Club and I know I see a lot of kids with Montgomery Dive Club shirts on, but I am not sure what the deal is. In my experience all the dive coaches seem to know each other and what is going on. I know that the coach that teachers dive through Arlington parks and rec also offers lessons at the University of MD in College Park not sure if that is close to you. Maybe reach out to him? I also think the Alexandria Dive Club coach does some training in MD too, so you could reach out to him as well and see what he recommends. We are just starting this journey so I don't know much but it seems like a small community (my kid took a parks and rec class in summer and fell in love). |
Anonymous
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Dive parent in another region. The above PP has good advice- you just need to hunt down one active diver or coach and you’ll find your way in. Teams near us still use Facebook for their teams like it’s 2010.
Dive teams are small and mostly interconnected and in my experience they are all wildly disorganized. I’ve made peace with it because I’d rather my kid be coached by someone who focuses on technique vs. email and communication. Follow up again with the Dive 1 coach and if by “summer”, you mean a separate summer team, talk to your summer coach. Most of our summer league coaches are connected to the local clubs. Also in most cases there isn’t a lot of progression between intro classes and team workouts; it’s worth giving Dive 1 another try in case it attracts a different group. Mixed ability and age groups are the norm through all levels of diving. Sometimes my DD ends up in a practice group with really tiny beginners and it does slow things down for a bit but if you want to stay in diving this happens and you have to be patient. When my DD is in one of those groups, she had to be proactive and tell the coach what she wants to work on or else the default becomes tidying her dives while the beginners brave the basics. |
Anonymous
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The person who runs (the new) MDC also runs ADC. Historical ADC kids often train at both ADC and KSAC for convenience, particular coach, etc.
The person who coaches the kid classes (non-team) at ADC is almost always Tommy. He’s amazing. The classes are a mix of kid levels (slightly less regimented than MDC) and Tommy is great at managing all the kids at the level that each kid is at. ADC is a haul if you are in Mont Co. I would definitely try the classes again. If your kid is currently in session, I’d recommend going a few minutes early and try to talk to the coach on deck and you can ask if there is a schedule of who teaches each class. Then you can ask around about coaches and style. One thing about diving. It may look like kids are doing basics, but if the basics aren’t solid (and I can say this from experience), then you have to go back to square 1 when your kid gets to the harder dives. For example, if your back press is poor, you might be able to get away with an inward or a back dive but it will be an extremely hard to be able to complete an inward 1.5 off a 1M. Imagine 2 heads down the road and your diver is going back to basics to correct a back press. Better to get it right at 9-10. I know a handful of the team teachers also coach the regular classes. The coaches are all good, but my team kid has a preference for one particular coach. It’s a matter of style not skill. My kid simply relates better than one coach. If you want to branch out beyond MDC, then I have heard the new complex in Arlington by Memorial Bridge has diving. I don’t know anything about it. The other dive club in the area is Dominion Dive Club. My kid took a trial class at Dominion and didn’t like it. The instructor was fine, but it was a style. My kid loves to dove and will tell you it’s all about finding your fit. |
Anonymous
| Oops Pp here. Should say two years down the road. Not two heads. Ha. |
Anonymous
Who is the person who coaches at UMD? |
Anonymous
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OP here-MoCo registration is next week for the next session of diving classes, but the current session doesn't end for 2 more weeks and we've been given no information about whether DC can move to from Dive 1 to Dive 2.
I see no indication that anything they are learning in Dive 1 will prepare DC for the dives required (according to the website) to move to Dive 2. All they have done in Dive 1 is jumping off the board, a front dive (and 1 or 2 times back dives). I understand these are the building blocks, but DC already knew these dives and isn't working on any new skills. The website says they need a front dive tuck, back dive tuck and front flip tuck to move to Dive 2 and none of the kids I've seen in any of the Dive 1 classes (before DC's class or after) are working on those. Am I missing something? Do we need to wait until DC goes back to the summer league for DC to learn these dives? Has anyone just put their child in Dive 2 despite what the website says--perhaps Dive 2 in actuality doesn't require those dives? I haven't been able to get the attention of the coaches to get any information out of them. |
Anonymous
| Bump! |
Anonymous
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There are kids in the "learn to dive" that are learning front dive tuck. Throughout the (many) days that my DD is at club practice, we see quite a few of the learn to dive classes (or she does), and she said that there is a wide variation among the classes and sometimes within the class. When the coaches think your kid is ready, they'll move onto the next thing. In order to do a front dive tuck or a flip, the child needs a solid tight tuck jump. It's not uncommon for kids to learn the flip before the front dive tuck. The answer also may depend on your kid's age. There can be some flexibility if you are close. We've been a dive family for many years, both in DC and out West, and I can say that the current level of coaches at MDC are strong across the board and very approachable. I would just ask one of them.
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Anonymous
When my kid did MDC, under the old staff, it really didn’t matter what class I registered her for. If she needed to move to a different class, the coaches moved her. If the time of the different class didn’t work, the coaches just worked with her at her skill level within her current class. |