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How to use this page
This page was put together with athletes in mind, by someone who gets what it’s like to train, overthink, struggle, and grow in this sport. It’s a space to help you figure things out when you’re stuck or just want to get better at managing your headspace, seeing things clearly in the air, or responding to feedback in a way that actually helps.
You’ll find thoughts on modeling and visualizing, how to work through fear, and how to recognize the mental habits or biases that might be getting in your way. This page is here to give you tools you can actually use when things feel off or you want to level up how you think, not just how you dive.
Recieving Feedback from a Coach
From Coach Jeff Huber
Even the best feedback only works if the athlete is open to receiving it. Divers should learn to treat feedback as a tool for improvement, not personal criticism. The coach is just the messenger!
To make feedback stick, athletes can:
Rehearse: repeat it verbally and physically
Elaborate: ask questions to make it more meaningful
Organize: mentally group or connect it to similar skills (e.g., relate reverses to backs)
Learning to receive, process, and apply feedback is a key part of becoming a smarter, more self-aware athlete.
Click on the images for tips!
Define Learning as change!
To improve, you have to change things about your diving. Accepting external feedback is the engine that drives this change process. What’s the point of receiving feedback if you don’t use it to make changes?
Retain Information
Rehearse
Elaborate
Organize
Arrive in the right Headspace
Arriving in the right headspace sets the tone for your entire practice or meet. If your mind is scattered, rushed, or negative, it’s harder to focus, stay present, and perform your best. Take a few minutes before getting on deck to breathe, clear distractions, and mentally shift into training mode. Whether it’s listening to music, running through your goals, or just taking a quiet moment to reset, showing up mentally ready makes every dive more intentional and more effective.
RIPS
R: review coaches corrections and apply them to your next drill or dive
I: immediately look at and listen to coach after performing dive or drill.
P: Pose questions if you don’t know what the coach means.
S: strategize by having a process (like the one just given to you) to process and remember corrections effectively.
M.U.R.D.E.R
M: set your MOOD before practice
U: UNDERSTAND what you want to accomplish during practice
R: RECALL what you learned last time
D: DIGEST your coaches comments
E: EXPAND the information
R: REVIEW your mistakes.
Interpretting Internal Feeback
What is it?
Sensory info received by the athlete both inside and outside of the body. AKA when you feel something in a dive.
Should I trust it?
Can be highly informative, can also be highly misleading.
Exercise to try:
try to touch your index fingers together in front of your face while your eyes are closed. You have to slightly adjust a couple of times to get there, because we think our index fingers should be together in a certain location, but when they aren’t, we revise mentally and bring them closer together. This is minimizing the difference between the feedback and the reference of correctness.
The lesson: If an athlete has established an imperfect perceptual trace, this means their bodies are telling them that the movements are correct even though their coaches are telling them otherwise. This causes the diver to repeat the same mistakes.
The Importance of SEEING while you're diving
Being able to see the water or reference your body in space helps divers know when to kick out, how to adjust mid-air, and where they are in rotation. Without solid spotting, even technically strong dives can fall apart due to mistimed movements or poor entries. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing, and that awareness is what separates good dives from great ones.
How to Spot in diving
Spotting in diving means visually identifying specific reference points over the course of a dive in order to gauge rotation and timing. It is effective because it is a more accurate way for divers to determine where they are in the air and allows them greater precision while controlling their movements, improving performance accuracy.
1. Head Positioning
Maintaining a neutral head position through the duration of a dive is crucial. According to Jeff Huber's Springboard and Platform Diving, keeping the head in this position aids spatial orientation and allows divers to pick up visual cues during rotation.
2. Visual Reference Points
Divers should identify specific visual markers, like the end of the board or the surface of the water, to monitor their rotation and prepare for entry. This practice helps in timing the dive's phases accurately.
3. Progressive Training
Start with simpler dives and gradually increase complexity, when learning visual spotting skills. Utilizing dryland drills and trampoline exercises can further reinforce these techniques in a controlled environment.
Why are modelling and visualization important?
Modeling and visualization are powerful tools for building better divers. Modeling, through demonstrations, video, or mental imagery, gives athletes a clear, consistent picture of what ideal technique looks like. Visualization helps divers mentally rehearse dives before they ever leave the board, reinforcing muscle memory, timing, and confidence.
When used together, these tools bridge the gap between knowing what to do and being able to do it. They sharpen focus, reduce hesitation, and improve performance, especially under pressure. The mind learns the movement before the body ever hits the air.
What if I can't seem to focus/visualize my dives?
If you're struggling to visualize your dives, you're not alone. Visualization takes time to develop. Just like physical strength, your mental focus and ability to picture movements clearly are skills that need practice and repetition.
Start small by focusing on just one section of the dive, such as the takeoff or the kickout, instead of trying to picture the entire thing. Keep distractions to a minimum and practice in short, focused sessions. Watching a video or demonstration before visualizing can also help you create a clearer mental image.
Modeling and visualization are powerful tools that help divers improve. Modeling provides a consistent example of ideal technique through demonstrations or video. Visualization allows you to mentally rehearse a dive before you ever leave the board, helping reinforce timing, confidence, and muscle memory.
When used together, these tools build sharper focus, reduce hesitation, and improve consistency in the air and on entry. If visualization doesn’t come easily right away, be patient. It’s a skill that improves with time and practice.
I always visualize myself smacking on my dives
Slow it down: go into slow-mo mode and visualize/correct the mental picture until you get it right. Keep doing this until it becomes the thing your brain sees every time.
Overcoming Fear... According to Redbull
Red Bull Sports is known for pushing the limits of human performance. From the highest cliffs to the fastest tracks, Red Bull partners with athletes who thrive in some of the most extreme and high-pressure environments in the world. Here's what they have to say about overcoming fear:
"Is there a particular trick you're too scared to try or maybe a trail that looks too technical for you? What about that dirt jump that seems to tower above the rest, haunting your dreams at night? That's what we call fear.
But what exactly is fear? According to performance mentor, Gary Grinham, who works with top tier extreme sports athletes, fear is just a label we were given for a distinct set of feelings, and when we attach a different label to the same feelings we get a different result. Read Gary's five top tips for fighting fear.
Picture and accept the worst possible outcome
The most important thing that you must do is reconcile and accept the worst possible outcome. If you can't, then you shouldn't proceed. Once this is done, it will allow you to perform free and without worry. You will never perform to your best if, while you're competing, you're thinking about getting hurt. You should be thinking about, and visualising, the positive outcome at all times.
Visualise a successful outcome
Communicate with your unconscious mind (UCM), as it is the job of your UCM to get you what you want. Visualise a successful conclusion, and your UCM will deliver. If you only imagine a negative outcome, then the UCM will become confused and think that this is the outcome that you want, because it's the one that you keep showing it. Always focus on what you want to happen, not what you don't want to happen.
Bin the idea of failure
The most common reason for fear is the possibility of failure. Failure isn't real, it doesn't exist. Man, at some point, invented the concept of failure. When primitive man was trying to light his first fire, do you think he thought 'I keep failing' or did he think after the 100th attempt, 'I'm 100 steps closer to being warm'. Failure and success are two different ways of looking at the same thing. There is no such thing as failure, just information on how to improve.
Face your fears
Once you hold the belief that there's no such thing as failure, it's just feedback. It's time to sit down with a pen and paper, write down a list of your fears, and then face them one-by-one. Again, once your mind expands, it cannot go back. You will also desensitise yourself to the concept and reality of fear.
Embrace the challenge and results will come.
Embrace the physiological changes and enjoy them – welcome them with open arms. Tell yourself that these are the feelings of a winner, these are the feelings that allow you to focus and maximise your potential by turning the thousands of hours of training into results. These are the feelings that you only get when it matters."
See the full article here.
More on Overcoming Fear in Diving
Overcoming fear in diving takes time, strategy, and support. Mental blocks often happen when a diver’s body is ready for a skill, but the mind isn’t convinced yet. That fear can be tied to past mistakes, pressure to perform, or simply the unknown.
The key to moving through it is consistent training. Repeating safe, manageable progressions builds trust in both technique and self. Pre-performance routines (PPRs) can help anchor the diver mentally. Small habits like deep breaths, cue words, or a set countdown create focus and calm.
Confidence grows through repetition and small wins. By staying patient, using structure, and addressing fear rather than avoiding it, divers can gradually break through mental blocks and take back control of their performance.
Action steps:
1. Gradual Exposure and Progression
Starting with lower heights and simpler dives can help desensitize fear. Progressing incrementally allows divers to build trust in their abilities. For instance, Australian Olympic diver Cassiel Rousseau, despite a fear of heights, overcame his apprehension by gradually moving from 1m to 10m platforms, emphasizing the importance of taking that first dive to build muscle memory and confidence. heraldsun.com.au
2. Mental Conditioning and Visualization
Mental rehearsal and positive self-talk are crucial. BYU diver Brooklyn Larson overcame her fear by visualizing successful dives and affirming her capabilities, highlighting the power of mindset in diving. universe.byu.edu
3. Breathing Techniques and Relaxation
Controlled breathing can mitigate anxiety. Practicing deep, diaphragmatic breaths helps calm the nervous system, making it easier to approach challenging dives with composure.
4. Supportive Coaching and Spotting
Having a coach or experienced diver provide guidance and physical spotting can instill a sense of safety. This support is especially beneficial when attempting new or intimidating dives.
5. Peer Support and Shared Experiences
Engaging with fellow divers who have faced similar fears can be encouraging. Online forums and communities, such as Reddit's r/springboarddiving, offer firsthand accounts and advice on overcoming specific fears like reverse dives. reddit.com.
You can even engage with other divers the The Dive Source's online forums! Check out our discussion forum page!
6. Professional Resources and Workshops
Utilizing resources from organizations like USA Diving or attending clinics focused on mental training can provide structured approaches to managing fear.
"Whether you think you can or you think you can't... you're right."
-Henry Ford
Thinking Biases In Diving
Article from Swimming.org.
"What is a cognitive bias?
It has been proven that we tend to make ‘mental mistakes’ also known as cognitive biases, and this can have an impact on both our thinking and our actions. A cognitive bias is an error in thinking that happens when we are processing and interpreting information. It can often occur when your brain tries to simplify information.
Below are some cognitive biases and how they relate to the world of diving.
Confirmation Bias
Focusing on details that confirm your existing beliefs and ignoring details that contradict it. For example, still believing you can’t do reverse when you only got one of five attempts wrong.
Recency Effect
The tendency to weigh the latest information more heavily than older information. For example, only remembering your last coaching comment.
Conformity
Adjusting our behaviour to match those around, for better or worse. For example, arriving to training ten minutes early or being five minutes late because ‘everyone is’.
Minimising and maximising
The importance of significant events, such as doing a great dive, are minimised while mistakes are maximised and focused on.
Optimism Bias
The tendency to overestimate your chances of success in comparison to others. This may then reduce your work ethic and concentration.
Goal Gradient Effect
Working harder to achieve your goals only when they are in sight, which explains the common ‘pre-season slump’ when competitions seem so far away.
Laura [Sports Psychologist], has produced a range of resources including tips to help divers stay motivated and how to control the controllables."
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