Doug Beavers was always a reluctant swimmer. Doing laps for swim team as a kid was boring, and toiling away in the cold water first thing in the morning made his heart sink. He often found himself staring longingly at the dive team on the other side of the pool.
“What they were doing looked way more fun,” said Mr. Beavers, now a dive coach at George Mason University. There was the childlike joy of bouncing on the board, the thrill of flying through the air and the goofiness of a dive that didn’t land quite right. Plus, hitting one well was sublimely satisfying.
Leaping carefree into the water isn’t just for kids — grown-ups can play, too. Recreational diving isn’t about getting a workout. The appeal lies more in the challenge — and pure joy of it. But executing a proper dive can be tricky, and most adults have never been taught proper form. So how do you get started?
Learning to dive is like building a Lego set, Mr. Beavers said. You learn one skill, then add pieces, then build on it. “If you skip anything, the dive is always going to be a little wobbly.”
Anyone at any ability level can dive, as long as you can swim in deep water. It just takes practice and a willingness to belly flop on occasion.
Scott Donie, the head diving coach at Columbia University, insists his athletes cheer when a diver has a “bad smack” on the water. “They went for it, they pushed their boundaries,” he said. “We want to encourage that.”
Diving can be addictive precisely because it’s a little scary, he added, whether it’s your first headfirst dive or your hundredth triple twister. (That’s one and a half somersaults and three twists, which Mr. Donie does every year on his birthday.)
But the payoff of getting it right is worth it, Mr. Beavers said. “And on a hot summer day, there’s nothing better.”
How to dive off the diving board
Below are four dives that start simple and gradually become more difficult.
First, be sure to check the depth of the water before doing any kind of dive. The pool should be at least 12 feet deep for springboard diving and nine feet deep for diving off the side of the pool.
Pencil jump (inline jump)
A pencil jump is a feet-first leap into the water. While it may seem simple, it’s an important first step. “You’re learning how the board bends and moves and how to push off of it,” Mr. Beavers said. Even high-level divers often return to this jump to master their balance and form.
Walk to the very edge of the board and stop. Reach your arms above your head with your palms together. Next, bounce, or “prime” the board three times. On the third bounce, rise up on your toes, bend your knees and jump. Keep your body tight and straight, arms vertical over your head and toes pointed down. Your body should enter the water perfectly rigid and straight, like a pencil.
Next, try a couple walking steps before jumping. The tip of the board is the part that bends best; the closer you are to it, the more power it will deliver, Mr. Beavers said.
Beginner dive
Once you can do the pencil jump three times in a row with priming, you’re ready to go in headfirst.
If you’ve never done a dive, start at the edge of the pool, where it’s less intimidating than a diving board. Bend at your hips so your body is at a 90-degree angle, and reach your arms straight out over your ears.
The way you hold your hands is important, to protect your head. Many people think that your fingertips should hit the water first but for practiced divers, it’s your palms. This protects your head and allows for a “rip entry,” with barely a splash. Clasp your hands by grabbing all the forefingers of one hand with the other, palms facing the water.
Keep your eyes open, fall forward into the pool and let your feet follow you in. As you enter the water, straighten out your body and point your toes — this will be your position for more advanced dives.
When you’re ready, do the same thing from the diving board, without jumping. Try to straighten your body before you hit the water and engage your core. Keep your legs together and your toes pointed.
If you’re nervous about going headfirst find a distraction, Mr. Donie said. Play upbeat music, or have a friend create ripples in the water and dive through them, he said.
Rainbow dive
The next step is to jump into the dive and create an arc. “Start small with the jumps and then go for bigger bounces as you gain confidence,” Mr. Donie said.
Begin at the edge of the board, with your arms above your head. Rise up on your toes and then bend your knees, as with the pencil jump. Push off as you jump. As you leave the board, look out across the pool, and once you reach the highest point of the dive, shift your vision to where you want to land in the water. Your body generally follows where you look, so the more you look up when you leave the board, the higher you will go, Mr. Donie said.
Aim to hit the water with your body in a rigid, straight line, facing straight down — legs straight, toes pointed, feet together. “Every part of your body should be tight and tense,” Mr. Beavers said. “It’s like you’re an arrow passing through a target.”
Front dive tuck
If you’ve mastered the rainbow dive and you’re looking for a greater challenge, try adding a tuck. This dive takes a lot more practice, but it lays the foundation for more advanced pikes and somersaults.
Stand on the end of the board and prime it. Jump in the air as if you’re doing a rainbow dive. Your head should stay still as you jump, eyes ahead. Near the top of the arc, curl into a compact tuck position, pulling your legs up under you and your chest down. Touch your shins as you do this, while shifting your eyes down to the pool.
You’ll feel yourself tipping forward into the dive as your vision shifts. Then kick your toes up to the sky, extending your body straight to pierce the water. As you do this, stretch your arms toward the pool and clasp your hands. Again, the goal is to enter the water with your body tight, legs together and toes pointed.
“Think of yourself as a spring,” Mr. Donie said. “The tighter you coil in, the easier it is to spring out. Make sure when you spring, you stay tight in your middle.”
If this move feels like a lot, it’s because it is. You have to tuck on the way up and extend on the way down, which can be counterintuitive, Mr. Beavers said. But as with any dive, don’t be afraid to get it wrong. After all, is there a better way to spend a hot summer afternoon?
On-set trainer: George McGann.
Jenny Marder is an editor, science writer for NASA and freelance journalist.
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