Where Are We Going?
The following was mentioned in passing a few years ago but I would like to delve a little deeper into it this time. I've been pondering this situation for some time now and haven't found a suitable answer yet. Maybe the intellectuals and Utopians can come up with one for me.
The purpose of a National Governing Body is to perpetuate and develop interest in that sport. The underlying reason for having a Governing Body is to set standards for and rules regulating the competition in the sport with which they are charged. Standards refer to the appropriate equipment used for competition and sportsmanship. The rules are designed to spell out the requirements for the various levels of diving. They also give some insight into judging criteria. Rules are enforced to prevent what has been called "an unfair advantage" during competition.
As I look at rulebooks for diving, I can not find anything that regulates what a coach must do. This includes US Diving. If that is the case, then how did we get to the point of requiring coaches to become certified? Something is not right. NCAA, High School Federation and YMCA's don't require certifications. Why does US Diving feel the need to certify? Statistically we are almost as safe as playing checkers or chess. We were that way since the sport was introduced over 90 years ago. How can you improve on "no catastrophic injuries in over 90 years"? Why would you even try? What benefit is this certification anyhow? The whole idea seems pointless since many administrators aren't accepting the certifications coaches now have.
US Diving can hold coaches accountable for anything they wish when they begin paying all coaches a stipend like the Training site people. That pay should include covering membership dues, Red Cross fees and their own certification fees plus the lost time to fulfill these obligations. If they don't pay me something, they can't hold me accountable for anything. My accountability and loyalty will be and has always been to the people that do pay me.
By all standards I would be classified as a volunteer. I have a full time job and coach after I have fulfilled those responsibilities. I coach for the enjoyment of finding and seeing kids learn and improve their diving. I secure a pool for workouts/meets. I haggle for practice times. I argue to get that facility updated. I deal with the local administrators. I find the kids and develop the interest locally. I may even get the kids to sign up with US Diving. What does US Diving do to help me during all of this? NOTHING!! Why then would I feel any responsibility to them? Maybe that's the reason my Association has lost more than 50% of its divers and dropped from 25 or 30 clubs to seven. My kids and I have saved money and time by not affiliating. This should demonstrate that it's my program and not US Diving's. I bring divers to them. They don't bring divers to me. Why should I follow the so-called experts in that organization? Most things they want me to do have a negative impact on my program. Also I don't agree with many things those experts want me to do. Most of them haven't coached at my level in years. What makes them the experts at my level? My kids can still improve their diving and compete without ever being involved with US Diving. It will save them $50 or more and me even more than that. It will be a long time before any of them are in a position to make an Olympic Team. When they are ready for that, they can join US Diving if they like.
I believe that it's time for coaches to begin holding the elected and paid officers of US Diving accountable for the progress or lack of progress facing the sport. The membership does pay some of these people's salaries, expenses and trips. By accepting these positions, they have a responsibility to the membership. Instead of demonstrating that responsibility, they have become arrogant and aloof. Money is a guiding principle that permeates our society. As long as they have control of it, they apparently feel that they can do whatever they want.
After reading a recent article it seems that world wide, diving is growing in interest. Countries that didn't have diving now have coaches that will be developing their programs. The article stated that the number of divers has grown in the Olympics and the quality has gotten better both with degree of difficulty and scores. My interpretation of this article is that the rest of the world not only is catching up fast but will surpass us in the near future. The reason is very simple. The answers that our experts (Utopians) endorse don't address issues like this. An analogy comes to mind that I feel demonstrates my interpretation. You take your car in for repair because the engine misfires. The reason for the misfire is a bad spark plug. The mechanic changes the oil filter, replaces the distributor cap and tightens up the license plates. You pay for the unnecessary new parts and service but the problem is still there.
In the next Olympics we may see Junior divers out-performing the Seniors. Obviously that will never occur in our country because our Juniors will be involved with learning skills and not dives. Our senior divers had a lack luster performance in the last Olympics. I never saw so many high caliber divers make so many junior mistakes. They couldn't walk straight down the board. Many of their dives finished to the side of the boards and with a little twist at entry. These were our divers not another country's. Except for our Gold Medallist, our divers were blown away. Training sites will not correct those problems and neither will the "Plan" or any certifications. None of these are directed toward the coaching aspect. At the top levels of US Diving, our coaching performance has become questionable. Do I have an answer for that? No, but Hobie does.
To the US Diving administrators and those who have been running the show behind the scenes, I would suggest making some drastic changes before the next Olympics. The Olympic medal problem should be addressed at that level of coaching. Making a blanket policy doesn't make sense in light of the recent loss of divers, programs and coaches. In its infinite wisdom, US Diving has justified this coaching dilemma with certifications for everyone. Certifications do not address the coaching issue. In order for US Diving to lead us toward world dominance, they must get people to want to join rather than making it prohibitive for them to join. The more divers, coaches and programs we lose, the further our quality drops. By comparing the Louganis/Lenzi eras to the present, that quality has dropped substantially and likewise so has the quantity. Apparently that's what the organization wants. In order to make the training sites work, coaches must buy into the idea. Thus far they haven't. We had one site for years but divers and coaches weren't breaking down the doors to utilize them. Now we have two sites with a third coming. If the expertise and the facility weren't being fully used with one site, why would anyone support the idea of 2 more? It seems like a waste of money which can only mean that membership costs will rise. Someone has to pay for that so get your wallet ready. US Diving hasn't confronted the realization that what they are doing isn't working the way they had hoped it would. Until they do confront that issue, I believe that the answer to the question in the title of this article is …NOWHERE!