I have argued that the certifications for coaches in US Diving are overkill on the issue of Safety. However, when you add the others including skill progressions and other endorsements, unforeseen consequences begin to occur.

The use of certifications, endorsements of skill progressions and course offerings/alignments may have just put Diving coaches on a legal hot seat. If you are a US Diving coach and don't follow the teaching progressions endorsed by the organization, you may find yourself in a position to be sued. I am by no means a legal expert but US Diving appears to have placed its coaches in a precarious legal position.

Many of the ideas being endorsed by US Diving were accumulated from its membership across the country. That in itself should demonstrate that there are many different ways to coach/teach diving effectively and safely. However someone made the decision that a few of those ideas were better than others and then shepherded them into the curriculum. Whether you agree with those chosen ideas or not, it appears that you had better follow them. This sequencing and endorsing didn't take into consideration that a lawyer might interpret those endorsed progressions as the way a reasonable person would coach in our sport. However you will not be considered a reasonable person in court. You are a USD diving coach and therefore will now be held to a higher standard based on those progressions/endorsements. The endorsed, recommended way of teaching/coaching will be interpreted as the legal rule of thumb. None of this emphasis has brought us any closer to winning gold medals, which was the reason for moving in this direction in the first place.

A suggestion to circumvent these problems would be to realign certifications and drop course sequencing. Furthermore it might be wise to stop endorsing certain learning progressions whether it be on trampoline, dry-land or any other pre-diving board related skills. Any apparent endorsement of certain skills or station progressions will have some legal ramification if an injury occurs. All of these aspects will have a bearing on the decisions coaches make whether or not to maintain membership. In any case it will have an impact on our sport and we don't need another handicap in our quest for world dominance.

By requesting and then endorsing certain progressions, the organization may have eliminated the ability of its coaches to create new and better teaching progressions. That's how we got to this point and in its infinite wisdom the organization has slammed the door on this aspect of its most important resource.

The following ideas were developed to fit the needs of coaches at all different levels. It seems to fill the need without unduly burdening coaches with the additional time and money it takes to fulfill the present requirements. It may also lower the standard for accountability, which appears to be very high at this moment.

Class A All current certification requirements should be achieved. This coach has the keys to the pool and is the only one on deck with the divers. Because he/she is alone, he/she should have lifeguard certification, CPR, First Aid and deepwater backboarding.

Class B Base certification only. This coach can not get into a pool without an on duty lifeguard present. All lifeguards in the facility are in serviced at least once a week and periodically audited by either the facilities risk management group or Ellis. [In service means reviewing and keeping skills up to date. Audits are scenarios set up by risk management or Ellis to verify the adequacies of these lifeguards.]

When a coach is able to use other equipment such as; trampolines, mats and overhead spotting rigs, dry land boards and spargers, he/she should have some training in the safety and use of that equipment. Course sequencing is ridiculous because all coaches do not have the availability of every piece of equipment that may be involved in that sequencing. Also coaches may not wish to be involved with certain spotting techniques. One example is hand spotting from the side of the pool. Because there is the possibility of errors with this type of spotting (miscommunication, hands slipping and etc), a coach may not be inclined to use this technique for fear of a lawsuit or injury. It would be a waste of time and effort for a coach to be certified for something that would not be used as well as for equipment that this coach may never have.

In conclusion, it appears to be wise to make things as simple as possible. The more detailed/complex the certifications/endorsements are, the larger the potential for opening a can of worms can be. Ellis trains its lifeguards and if they are brought into court, Ellis is there defending them. If the status quo continues in US Diving, then maybe all its coaches should expect the organization to defend them in court when/if a lawsuit arises. Finally, how can one focus on coaching when the fear of a lawsuit interferes with that focus? It's time to reassess this mess.

Back To Current Topics