Join US Diving? Why?
The land of the free and the home of the brave! (But not under US Diving.)
From the perspective of a grass root coach who would like to join a diving organization, he/she will not find what they are looking for in United States Diving Inc. This organization is focused on its training centers and divers who will have a chance to win a gold medal both Nationally and Internationally. They don't seem very concerned about anything else.
The leadership seems to be self-centered and egotistical in nature. The president appears only interested in being the president. This is evident by his appointees writing and ruling on items that will extend his term for two more years. How does all this effort get us closer to winning gold medals? If a petition wasn't filed, by one member, these questionable actions would continue and your input into the organization would be reduced even further. Just think back to the LRP. How much input did anyone have when that idea first surfaced? The recent increase in fees has occurred as the result of a "driving accident" and not a "diving accident". Yet the membership is told to "be careful out there". I don't teach/coach driving! I am a diving coach! I have my own auto insurance. Why am I paying twice for the same thing? Better yet, why am I paying for someone else's stupidity? Why isn't the organization shopping around for lower insurance rates?
In this land of the free, US Diving doesn't allow the coaches to choose what's best for their own program. They demand by mandating coaches to follow some nonsense requirements. Even the divers are not free to choose the dives they want to do. The rules and requirements for Junior competition are a good illustration. Novice and intermediate programs haven't increased performances or helped our world status. These kids can't do the dives until they learn certain skills first. Where's the fun? Where's the improvement? Where are the increased numbers that show the success of these ideas? If it was such a great idea, why aren't we winning more international medals? When will an American 11 year old diver be in a position to win an Olympic contest? Under the present system, the answer is never. Even the local pools that most of us run programs in are not their concern. We will still have to fight for pool time and improvements on our own. As long as the training centers exist they don't care about our local situations.
If you are brave enough to speak out against the organization, you may be classified as a rebel, verbally threatened, lose a position you may hold in the organization or told that you are the only one who has that opinion. Only a few have the opportunity to vote on important matters. Is that the way a democracy works? Why is there always this battle between coaches and the organization? The coaches want to make the sport better and protect their divers but the leadership wants full control of the organization, coaches and the divers. It's a power thing and it's killing the sport particularly at the entry level. Under US Diving, we have become a sport for the rich and the elite. Not many others can afford to continue under US Diving.
I have always wondered why there was so much emphasis on being certified and I may have found that answer. It appears that the few coaches who work consistently at the national and international levels have and use all of the equipment that is being certified. That may also account for the sequencing of some of those courses. Also, some of those coaches are being subsidized by US Diving and since they will be coaching at the national and international levels they must be certified as per the USOC anyhow. Why then does US Diving insist on certifying everyone equally when everyone's needs or qualifications are not the same? Many pool owner operators do not accept their basic certifications anyhow. I believe those hassles are intentional and were meant to weed out everyone who isn't a national or international level coach. Since the organization is solely focused on national and international medals, they already have those few coaches certified and in place. For the few coaches and divers that would represent us in those contests, only a couple of facilities are needed and they have them too.
Using the Indianapolis training site as an example may make this idea a little clearer. It is subsidized by US Diving. It was suppose to be a site any diver could go to and train. Since not many took advantage of that because of travel distances and certain questionable recruiting methods, the idea changed somewhat. It was then supposed to be a place where the high caliber divers would train together along with the development of new/better training methods and techniques. None of those divers wanted any part of that. It, again, has evolved into something a lot different. It has become a glorified grass root training facility that has put a few local coaches out of business and no one seems to care. That was accomplished by buying up all of the pool time in the Indianapolis area. It became a center for an age group program that has competed against the non-subsidized programs. It appears that the training sites will be the grass roots of US Diving. However, money is the big draw back. Originally these sites were supposed to be self-sufficient but they aren't. This may be another reason for the steadily increasing fees.
Why would one want to join this organization if it only caters to a very few coaches and divers? With the increase in fees that coaches like myself can't afford, it appears that there may be a mass exodus from US Diving in the future. Does the leadership care? Yes, but only about the potential revenue loss. Remember the Director of Education made it clear in a statement favoring "quality, not quantity". If this notion becomes reality, they will be forced to raise the fees even higher to compensate for that loss, spreading it amongst the people who are left. Are local programs and coaches necessary for the survival of US Diving? The answer to this question is yes. All of these programs are necessary to pay the bills for US Diving and that appears to be the only reason for our existence in that organization. They don't seem to be worried because they indicate that they are close to getting a sponsor. Where have we heard that before? They have always needed that little extra time to get the results promised but have yet to produce on many of those promises. They have been trying to get sponsors for a long time. The last one backed away from a proposed deal. Without a major sponsor, they will have to rely on the various funds they already have in order to keep operating. If and when they dip into the foundation money, it won't be long before US Diving goes broke.
I believe that most of the members of US Diving are coaches like myself. They are part time coaches under US Diving. That means they have a real job and coach on the side for the love of the sport. For these coaches giving back doesn't mean sacrificing their small income to US Diving. That income may not even cover the cost of gas to and from practices and/or meets for some. Many coaches may do this for a period of time until they realize "it's just not worth it".
Is US Diving concerned about the entire sport as its mission statement implies? Is it an enabling or a disabling organization? Do they assist coaches or just fleece them? Is there a future for the part timers in this organization? These are questions only you can answer for yourself.