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What's this section for?
This section is built to provide guidance, ideas, and tools to help coaches at any level refine their approach. Whether you're looking for technical support, practice structure, or inspiration for how to teach and communicate more effectively, you'll find a collection of resources meant to spark growth.
Most important characteristic of a coach
One of the most important qualities in a coach is the ability to build a strong, genuine connection with athletes. A quality coach-athlete relationship is rooted in trust, support, and mutual respect. When athletes feel seen, valued, and understood, they are more likely to grow in their performance and as individuals.
Even the most talented athlete won’t reach their full potential if they feel disconnected, discouraged, or like the experience isn’t helping them develop as a person. Coaching is about more than teaching skills; it’s about creating an environment where athletes can thrive. That starts with being consistent, trustworthy, and fully invested in the athlete's well-being and progress.
QUALITIES OF A GREAT SPORTS COACH (from the IOC)
Complete article is from the International Olympic Committee and can be found here.
"A good coach is positive, enthusiastic, supportive, trusting, focused, goal-oriented, knowledgeable, observant, respectful, patient and a clear communicator.
10 Key Qualities:
Understands the Sport and Leads by Example.
Sponge for Knowledge / Profound Thinker / Visionary.
Shares the Knowledge / Educates Others.
Highly Energised and a Motivator.
Knows the Athlete, Values and Respects that Relationship.
Is an Effective Communicator & Teacher.
Is a Good Listener.
Is Disciplined, Strong in Character and Integrity .
Leads by Example with very High Attitude to Hard Work
Displays Commitment and Clear Passion for the Sport. "
Developing a Coaching Philosophy:
Having a coaching philosophy in place is vital for your development and success as a coach and a team. Want to learn more?
Effective Coaching and Mental Prep by Ron O'Brien
How to coach effectively:
Consistency:
Continue coaching the same points in a dive from one attempt to another, one day to another, and one week to another until the improvement happens. Work consistently until a correction is accomplished, otherwise athletes get confused what to focus on.
Get Involved:
Coaches should direct from different angles and move around the pool deck. This allows them to see other things, and also keeps it interesting. The coaches activity level and involvement in practice has a positive, energizing effect on their athletes.
Conciseness:
Keep comments to a minimum, avoid long/drawn out explanations or critiquing too many things at once. Only 1-2 things should be coached at a time, and not in the same parts of the dive.
Coach the Cause, not the result:
If a diver isn’t improving, it may be because the coach is addressing the symptom, not the cause. Effective coaching requires clear communication, accurate diagnosis, and the humility to adapt or seek outside input when needed.
Positive bookend critique:
Start with something positive, put correction in the middle, finish with a positive statement.
Final Picture:
Make sure the last statement made gives the right picture in the diver’s head. The last thing you say is what the diver will likely take with them for their next dive.
Types of Learning:
4 types, important for both diver and coach to understand them to ensure efficiency and effectiveness
Visual: mental pictures and images, videotape replays, watching others
Coaching Strategies: Show a video tape replay when possible.
Kinesthetic: feeling the movements they want to make.
Coaching Strategies: Go through correct movements for the diver to see, ideally allow them to go through movements either in increments, through modelling, or in dryland before attempting.
Cognitive: understanding the concept or principle and applying this knowledge to produce desired results
Coaching Strategies: Explain the reason the movement should be done a specific way.
Auditory: need to hear the information needed to perform the task.
Coaching Strategies: Verbally describe error and correction.
... and finally, involve the diver in the coaching process by having them ask questions, demonstrate what they feel, or by asking them questions about their dive.
Coaching Techniques
Coach-diver interaction: coach needs to be the leader and director, but there also needs to be a feeling of cooperation between the diver and coach, which can be achieved through constant open communication.
Learning Progressions
Beginner divers should spend more time out of the pool than in it, if possible. Here's the ideal learning process:
START with slow, simple movement patterns on the floor
THEN move on to gradually faster simple movement patterns on the floor
Gradually incorporate connected movement patterns
NEXT, move on to skill progressions on trampoline or spotting belt
AFTER THAT... Skill progressions in the pool
FINALLY, focus on improving diving performance.
Transfer of Training
Indirect and direct transfer training: taking skills learned through dryland to the pool.
Indirect: practicing multiple reps of several different dives or parts of dives on the trampoline or dryboard, then going to the pool where the diver practices the dives.
Direct: one particular dive at a time- multiple reps of the dives or parts of the dive on tramp or dryboard, then moves to the pool and performs the dive.
The best training programs should incorporate both.
Coaching Methods
INCORRECT/CORRECT: pinpointing the incorrect technique(s) being done, then describing the correct movements to be substituted (most common technique)
OVERCORRECTION: instructing diver to make a correction that is an error opposite to the one currently being made. (ie if the diver’s arms are overhead but the should be at shoulder level, tell them to keep their arms by their hips, and chances are the performance will be somewhere in the middle and closer to the correct position.)
ANALOGY: desired movement is related to something the diver can visualize or feel or has done before. (ie hold your arms like you’re wrapping them around a giant beach ball.)
EXTREMISM: if nothing else is working, especially if a dive if unsafe, a coach may need to suggest an extreme change or even use a visual such as a target to encourage the exaggerated change to be made. (ie if a diver is close to the board on a reverse, a coach may suggest that the diver move extremely far from the board. After they are successful in this, the dive can gradually be moved a bit closer)
COACHING EFFECTIVELY: efficient and effective, what and how the coach says things, variation so divers and coaches don’t get bored, analyze your own coaching habits, work with your divers preferences/what they like and don’t like about specific dives.
Guidelines for Coaches:
First and foremost... lead by example. Most teams and athletes take on the characteristics of the coach.
Be early to practice
Do your best never to miss practice, even if you aren’t feeling well.
Work harder than your divers by putting in whatever time it takes to attend to every detail of preparation and planning
Be prepared with specific daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal training plans. As much as possible, let your divers know what they’ll be doing ahead of time so they have time to prepare
Get adequate rest so you’re sharp for the details
Stay in good physical shape so you can work more efficiently, demonstrate, and demand a high level of fitness from your divers.
Dress well/professionally
Stay calm and clearheaded in the face of stressful situations, because your athletes are looking to you as their example.
Educate yourself out of the pool- you need to continue to improve just as your athletes do.
Be flexible with plans, and adapt as circumstances warrant.
Pay strict attention to what’s happening in practice and control the pace so you can give adequate time to each diver.
Eliminate distractions during practice (don’t engage in phone calls or unnecessary conversations with parents).
Listen carefully to your divers’ feedback on dives. Match up what you see with what they feel in order to give worthwhile directions.
Address and resolve problems with divers right away, don’t let it have a negative impact on the other athletes
Help divers deal with frustration or challenges- observe and analyze their frame of mind.
Help divers deal with failures by answering questions and posing a positive spin/setting new goals
Creating a Competitive Advantage
It's 90% in your head
The ability to perform at the highest level is based in confidence, which comes from feeling completely prepared. This comes from knowing you did everything possible in training.
Relaxation, visualization, goal setting, anxiety control, and predive routines ideally should be taught by a professional and should definitely be part of the training process.
Coaches, listen up...
The coach and diver should discuss all aspects of the season training plan, and diver’s input should have weight.
Coaches play a valuable roll in instilling confidence in their divers and helping them to believe that their training will leave them prepared for meets
Before you leave to attend a meet...
Plan your work and work your plan. Divers with a plan for the meet will usually perform better.
Prior to departure:
Goals: create an extreme feeling of confidence in performance, prepare mentally for any situation that may occur in competition, and stay relaxed.
Coach: build diver’s confidence through planning and positive input, make a day-to-day training plan for the meet and go over it with the diver.
For Divers:
Create a best-ever videotape where you include the best of each dive you’ve ever done. Watch it to instill confidence and improve visualization
Visualize being at the competition site, doing the dives the way you did on your best-ever video, and achieving your goals
Think about every possible negative or stressful outcome, both in and out of the pool. Play out each scenario and the response/outcome to each.
Put the competition into perspective: it’s not life or death, it’s an opportunity to be successful.
Jeff Huber's Take...
(Based on notes taken from his book, Springboard and Platform Diving.)
Feedback:
The best time to provide feedback is when it’s asked for, according to studies of sports performance. Sometimes providing feedback less often can be more effective.
Allow athletes several attempts before providing feedback, and then provide a feedback summary of those attempts collectively.
Summary feedback as a strategy itself can be more effective than individual feedback, according to a study by Lavery in 1962.
It was generally found that 5 attempts is optimal before providing feedback.
The hypothesis on why this is more effective is because athletes become less dependent on external feedback and rely more on internal feedback and information-processing activities. Athletes according to Lavery’s studies prefer the cognitively easy option (immediate feedback from coaches after every attempt), but benefit more from using their own cognitive abilities.
Delay feedback when possible (several seconds or more after performance.)
Again, this allows for better learning for athletes, possibly because it allows them to shift mentally from dive performance to dive analysis and feedback.
External
Motivating feedback focuses on a diver’s progress toward their goals, and it should be delivered quickly and consistently. It energizes effort, boosts confidence, and keeps athletes engaged, especially when results aren't immediate. Research, including a study by the USOC, shows that this type of feedback leads to greater enjoyment, effort, and practice duration, while also reinforcing a positive emotional connection to the sport. Even small reminders of improvement can make a big difference.
Informational
Informational feedback gives athletes specific error correction, either by describing what went wrong or prescribing how to fix it. The key is to choose the most relevant correction, phrase it clearly and concisely, and deliver it promptly. High-level athletes often find this type of feedback highly motivating, especially when it’s framed in a way that feels actionable.
Non-example: “The dive was slow and too far out.”
Example: “Your dive is slow because your arms are 20° short of vertical at the bottom of your press, and it needs to move 2 feet closer to the board.”
Knowledge of Results
Knowledge of Results is external feedback (usually verbal) that tells an athlete how successful their action was in relation to a specific goal. While it’s often redundant, especially when the athlete already senses what happened. It becomes valuable when their internal perception is off (like thinking a dive went over when it was actually vertical).
Knowledge of results also applies in objective cases like scores, and can help reinforce accuracy, correct misjudgment, and keep training aligned with actual performance.
Knowledge of performance
Knowledge of Performance is feedback about the quality of the movement itself. Things like speed, alignment, timing, and coordination. Unlike results-based feedback, knowledge of performance focuses on how the skill was performed. For example: “Your arm swing was slow, speed it up, turn your palms at the top of the press, and let them swing just behind your hips.”
Use KP to reinforce effective movement patterns with external cues. When a skill looks right, reinforce it with positive feedback to help athletes lock in what good movement feels like.
How can I become a better coach?
To improve, focus on truly understanding the “why” behind each skill, learn to spot root causes instead of just symptoms, and tailor your feedback to how each athlete learns best. Stay curious, seek feedback from other coaches, and be open to evolving your methods. The best coaches are always learning, because better coaches build better athletes.
How can I help my athletes build confidence or overcome fear?
Help athletes build confidence by breaking skills into manageable steps and giving them clear, honest feedback they can act on. Fear usually comes from uncertainty or past mistakes, so talk through it, don’t brush it off. Focus on what they can control, reinforce progress, and build trust by staying consistent in your approach. Confidence isn’t about hyping them up, it’s about helping them feel prepared, capable, and supported.
What dives should my athlete add to increase DD or score?
When looking to increase degree of difficulty (DD) or improve scores, it’s not just about choosing harder dives, it’s about choosing the right dives at the right time. Athletes should only add a new dive if they can consistently perform the lead-up with at least 85% proficiency, meaning clean mechanics and safe execution. Consider whether the athlete is physically and mentally ready, not just whether the dive is legal.
It’s also important to weigh short-term gains against long-term development. A higher DD might boost a score now, but if the diver isn’t ready, it can lead to bad habits or injury. Sometimes it's smarter to perfect a slightly easier dive for consistent execution and cleaner scores, while gradually building toward higher-difficulty options in training. Always build with purpose, not pressure.
How can I push athlete growth without causing burnout?
Pushing growth is about challenge, not overload. To keep athletes progressing without burning out, focus on quality over quantity, and adjust intensity based on how they’re responding mentally and physically. Keep communication open, check in often about how they’re feeling, not just how they’re performing.
Progress should feel purposeful, not punishing. Mix in variety, celebrate small wins, and allow space for recovery and fun. Athletes grow most when they feel supported, and when the drive to improve comes from both sides.
How to maximize athlete improvement with limitted resources or pool time?
When time or resources are tight, focus on intentional training. Prioritize high-impact skills, give specific and actionable feedback, and make every rep count. Use dryland to build strength, flexibility, and dive mechanics; it's one of the most effective ways to reinforce technique without water.
Video review, mental reps, and visualization can also fill the gaps when pool time is limited. Structure practices with clear goals, and make sure athletes understand the why behind each drill.
How to work with athletes who are physically strong but have mental blocks?
When an athlete has the physical ability but holds back mentally, the issue usually isn’t strength, it’s trust. Start by identifying the root of the fear: is it past injury, perfectionism, fear of failure, or lack of understanding? Talk through it without judgment, and give them tools to rebuild confidence, like breaking skills into smaller progressions, visualization, or using consistent, calm cueing.
Avoid pushing through fear with force. Instead, focus on repeatable success and emotional safety. When an athlete feels heard, supported, and in control, their mental blocks start to loosen and their full potential starts to show.
Working with former gymnasts who are new to diving?
Former gymnasts bring great body awareness, air sense, and discipline, but have a lot of skills and habits that don't apply to diving. Help them adjust by focusing on board timing, takeoff mechanics, and water awareness, which are very different from gymnastics technique.
They may try to rely on muscle memory, so be ready to retrain habits, especially how they set, block, and finish rotations. Prioritize learning lineups, proper entries, and board rhythm, and don’t skip the basics just because they can already twist and flip.
How to run efficient practices with limited board time and multiple skill levels?
Start by planning ahead: group athletes by skill level or focus area and rotate stations (e.g., dryland, lineups, entry drills) so everyone stays engaged while waiting for the board. Use dryland and visualization to reinforce key skills without overloading board time.
Each diver should have a clear goal for every rep. Give quick, focused corrections instead of long debriefs, and encourage peer feedback when appropriate.
How can I teach younger divers to handle corrections without becoming discouraged?
Start by normalizing corrections as a positive part of learning, not a sign of failure. Use language that’s encouraging and specific, focusing on what to try next rather than what went wrong. Keep feedback short, clear, and age-appropriate, and always pair it with something they’re doing well.
Build their confidence by celebrating effort and progress, not just perfection. When mistakes happen, stay calm and positive: your tone sets the emotional tone for them too. Over time, they'll learn that corrections aren’t criticism, they’re just part of getting better.
What tools (video analysis, spotting belts, equipment, are most important to invest in?)
When resources are limited, prioritize tools that give the most feedback and reps with the least risk. Video analysis is one of the most valuable, as it allows coaches to slow down and review dives helps athletes see what they can’t feel in real time. Spotting belts and foam pits are essential for safely learning new skills and building confidence, especially on dryland.
Dryboards, trampolines, and line-up mats help reinforce mechanics, while mirrors and resistance bands can support strength and form work. The best tools are the ones that maximize safe repetition, build awareness, and make coaching more effective, even outside the water.
Tips for beginner coaches?
Start with the basics: Don’t rush difficulty. Solid fundamentals are the foundation for everything in diving.
Watch more than you talk: Observe before correcting. Look for root causes, not just surface mistakes.
Ask questions: Talk to experienced coaches, and don’t be afraid to admit when you don’t know something. That’s how you grow.
Be clear and consistent: Give simple, actionable cues and stick with them. Too many words confuse more than they help.
Build trust first: Athletes improve most when they feel supported and safe to make mistakes.
Use video often: It’s one of the fastest ways to improve your own eye and help divers understand what you’re seeing.
Keep learning: Good coaching is a skill, not a title. Stay curious, and always look for ways to sharpen your approach.
Shopping Spree...?
Check out https://springboardsandmore.com/ to find any diving equipment you need! They also sell used diving equipment for a cheaper price :)
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