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General Discussion
Tom Papp
Advanced Diver
Topic Author
9 posts since
Apr 07, 2010
Apr 09, 2010
hey
i'm always looking for better ways to help divers. i'm hoping that your experiences, and how you solved them, can help others in the future.
any issues, big or small, have likely been had by others before you. they'll likely also come up again with others. anything you'd like to share would be greatly appreciated and will probably make life much easier for many divers and future divers.
what kind of problem did you come up against?
what steps did you, your coach, your parents, friends, team mates, etc. take in order for you to overcome this particular problem?
knowing what you do now about getting the problem solved, what do you think might have been done that would have solved it earlier?
what may have been done BEFORE it became a problem that might have prevented it from becoming a problem in the first place?
don't be shy!
tom
Patti Z
60 posts since
Aug 11, 2009
#1 response to:How'd you do it?
Apr 12, 2010
I had a problem with balking in practice. I was the diver who whenever my hurdle didn't feel perfect in practice, I would balk and start over. This happenend especially on 305c... where I had some obvious fear hurdles to jump. I remember thinking that I would never balk in competition...
I can still remember the meet at Industry Hills in So. Cal where I balked on a 301 A on 1-meter no less. I couldn't believe I did it. I remember standing on the tip of the board and looking over at the judges and feeling stunned and embarrassed.
For me, it all came down to practice and confidence. I had to concentrate (especially on reverse dives) to go on my first hurdle - no matter how my hurdle felt. It was not easy - and I think my coach was very frustrated with me. I had developed a habit, without ever realizing how quickly a habit can build. Balk boxes, sit-up/push-up consequences helped, but really it came down to me deciding I wanted to solve this problem.
It took a while and that meet really startled me into working on it. Dryland exercises helped, focusing on boardwork -- lots of hurdles with jumps and reverse dives helped build my confidence and really - just going and trying the dives and trusting myself and my coach. I soon discovered that my coach was right all along - I was ready for the dive and could do it no matter if my hurdle "felt right" or not.
If I could advise divers... I would strongly urge them to be leary of balking in practice. It can develop into a habit, much quicker than you think.
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