Diving (not scuba, off a high board) lessons/private diving coach in DMV?
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Anonymous
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My 8-year-old is VERY interested in learning how to dive off a high board (not scuba diving). I'm having a hard time finding either group lessons or a private coach. We're in DC and VA diving lessons fill up before we can get to them. Montgomery County is too far. As far as I can tell, there are no diving lessons listed at DCPR pools. Anything in DC or VA?
Any one knows a private coach? Any suggestions? Thanks! |
Anonymous
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There are a few clubs year round:
Dominion Dive Club Alexandria Dive Club which is also affiliated with Metro Diving Club which operates out of Montgomery county |
Anonymous
| Not scuba, I'm dying at the clarification lol |
Anonymous
| Haha, well, I posted this elsewhere, and the only suggestion that came in was for a scuba diving place... |
Anonymous
THANK YOU!!! Any idea how to get a private coach? Just get to know people? |
Anonymous
Private coaches are unlikely because of how board time is allocated at pools and how insurance requirements work. You might find someone who will work 1:1 with your kid at a summer swim club that has a board, but the pool will likely have restrictions on what can happen off the board outside of an insured dive practice (ours does- front dives/flips only, nothing backwards, no inwards, no reverses). Intro lessons are indeed hard to access, but it helps to know someone on the team who can bring your kid for a trial lesson or a “bring a friend” day that they sometimes have. Keep trying to get a spot and in the meantime, put your kid in gymnastics and find a summer club with a dive team. Make sure they are comfortable jumping off the board and diving off the side. We see so many kids try a practice but are afraid to do anything off the board and scared to dive. Go to open swims with deep ends that allow diving and practice dives off of the wall over and over until they’re easy and fun. Few intro practices will have the coaching bandwidth to teach a child a dive from zero. My kid’s path was summer dive + competitive gymnastics for a few years, got known in the summer dive world= got invited by a coach to try year-round club practice. We didn’t have to deal with signups or a wait list, and I think this is common. The coach had heard about her from an older teammate who helped coach summer dive. DD is still a gymnast and it helps her diving a lot but she has gym friends who have tried dive and couldn’t figure it out, so it’s not a guarantee that it will translate. |
Anonymous
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11:47 PP and I forgot to add: if you do find a club to join, be warned that most coaches start kids slowly so they have the shapes and details right from day 1. There are beginners who joined my DD’s program who are still working in their approach, their hurdle, and doing very basic front dive lineups and front and back jumps off of the board after 6 months.
A lot of kids come in starry eyed imagining swan dives off the 3m on day 1 and quit when they see how dull the first lessons are. It gets more fun. Be patient! |
Anonymous
| Thank you, thank you! Valuable responses. |
Anonymous
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Ditto the above. This summer we wanted private dive to supplement current team and although we found coaches interested in working with our child we ran into problems with pool/board access.
Another option is Nova Meteors out of GMU. Fall schedule not yet posted. https://www.nova-meteors.com |
Anonymous
| Arlington County Public Schools offers springboard diving classes for kids. Not sure if they are open to non-residents. They used to be but I know some policies have changed. |
Anonymous
Fairfax county parks and rec does as well, but I'm not sure their age range. |
Anonymous
| Do you have a summer pool? Our summer coach is hosting two one-week dive camps. There might be coaches at the summer pool willing to give private lessons. |
Anonymous
My kid took an intro diving class at a Fairfax County parks pool when he was 7. It was good for getting the basics. Then a year or two later he joined a summer team that had both swim and dive, and learned a little more there. I know Fairfax County allows non residents, I think the fee is a little higher, but it's still a pretty good deal. |
Anonymous
| Thank you for all the helpful advice! |
Anonymous
The private coaches have limited spots. My kid dives for his HS team and started practicing with a private coach after it was recommended by his summer team. He was practicing with Dominion at the time but no longer does. Our experience was that kids already diving for established teams (summer, club, HS) got priority with private coaches. If you have a summer pool, that's a great way to start with dive. Rec center classes are good as well. Oakmont in Fairfax has a fantastic dive well that's used by Dominion. |