A while back I wrote an article about coaches that wanted US Diving's help convincing a facility owner to install an over-head spotting rig for their diving practices. As mentioned in that article, the help they received came in the form of a letter, which ended up being useless.

In a relentless pursuit of this learning aid, these coaches finally got the approval to have this equipment installed. In an effort to become certified for this equipment, they contacted the Education Director of USD. It seemed like a simple logical request. Much to their dismay, Janet informed them that there were 2 or 3 other classes they had to take before they could be certified with the spotting rig they had installed. There was spotting for trampoline and tower. I can't recall the third but it probably had to do with dry land spotting on mats.

This is just another example of how progressively complicated and idiotic the process has gotten in US Diving. The above coaches have the rig suspended over one diving board. They asked to be taught how to use it, nothing more. Why would they have to take these other classes that are related to things they "don't have" and/or "will never use"? The Education Director informed them that if the course was taken out of sequence that someone could get hurt. You could hurt the diver by just starting out spotting over the water until you know how to spot on all 3 of the other stations. That rationale makes no sense to me. Maybe it's because I don't have a Phd and sit in an office all day.

In any event another call to the President of USD didn't clear up the matter either. In fact he was not aware of that sequence and suggested contacting Camilla McClain who is in charge of member services. Frustration in this process stopped the phone calls. This is an example of what you have to go through to get an answer to your questions in US Diving. This coach was rewarded with a long distance phone bill but never found the answer being sought. People of average intelligence might call it "getting the run around". I still wonder if they had contacted the director of member services, who they would have been referred to next.

In commercials about creativity, they talk about thinking outside the box. For US Diving there is no "outside the box" because they keep moving the sides so that anything you do as a coach will need to be certified by them. Why? The answer appears to be that they want to emphasize the importance of their classes and have you pay the fees for those classes which continues to consume more of your time and money. Someone once mentioned that we should consider US Diving fees as the start up costs for a business. That person didn't understand that the start up costs for a business is a one time … not an annual expenditure!

Aside from the cost, has anyone figured out how many hours a coach must spend to get all of these certifications? These are the hours spent by you getting to and from the sites plus the hours being in those classes. It appears that one should be married to US Diving with the amount of time spent coaching, going to meets and being certified. Fortunately, I am a part timer with a wife and a life outside the sport.

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