Dear Dan,
I am having a really hard time finding a diving coach for the upcoming girls season. I know nothing about diving to be honest. I’ve had the school post the position on the schools website, but have had zero inquiries about it over the last 6 months. What should I be doing to find diving coaches?
-Scoring a 0.0 on diving coaches
Great question! This is definitely and area you are not alone and I know outstate can be even a bigger challenge. Here’s some suggestions for you that will hopefully help you out
1. Reach out to every coach in your conference and section. Ask them if they have any leads.
2. Post your opening on the MSHSL website. It is a longshot but who knows.
3. If you have a college close by with a swimming team, reach out to them. Sometimes you can get a college student with a diving background who might take on the job. I would strongly consider a former high school swimmer who is willing to learn. I know of a number of very good diving coaches who were high school swimmers who have had great success as diving coaches. Diving coaches are all very willing to help young coaches out and anyone can learn the sport if they are willing to ask a lot of questions.
4. Some of the best diving coaches I have ever watched had no diving experience initially. I would reach out to gymnastics coaches, pole vault coaches and dance coaches. Inquire of your school’s softball and baseball pitching coaches and the like. You know those highly technical sports. I would even go so far as identifying the really good teachers in your school district. You know the smart ones who are great at the art of teaching. Diving can be learned and if a person has the interest and the “eye” for technique they may develop into a great diving coach. On a side note: Two of the best swim coaches I ever coached against had no swimming background at first. One was a cross country runner in college and the other was a wrestler. The sport can be learned!
5. Reach out to alumni from your program. They might have an interest or they might be connected to someone who would be interested.
6. If your team has a social media platform such as a facebook page or an X or instagram account, post it there. You might be casting a wide net.
7. Another option if you are in the metro area is sharing a dive coach with a nearby school. That could be a win-win for both you and them.
Good Luck!
Dan