Team Type: Youth - Club

Gender: Coed

Affiliation: USA Diving (USD)

League: USD Junior Championships

Year Established: 2003

About the Coaches: Head Coach: Lori Rapp

As a co-founder of Tri State Diving, Lori’s objectives were to develop a competitive Junior Olympic diving program for the Northern Kentucky, greater Cincinnati and Indiana areas. Tri State Diving has its training based at Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, Kentucky and Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

Building upon a foundation of accomplished divers from the former Cincinnati Stingrays and area high school teams, Lori plans to build a team of highly committed divers who are interested in attaining success at a regional and national level. As a long time high school and youth coach and a lifelong diver, Lori brings a knowledge and understanding of the techniques and motivation necessary to learn and love the sport of diving.

Lori’s diving career found early success as a 13-year old Junior Olympic champion and a three-time high school state champion and a high school All-American. A twelve year member of the three time National Champion Cincinnati Stingrays/Red Roof Inn Divers, Lori was a first time participant of the Senior National Championships at the age of 14, and a team member at the age of 16 and for the next seven years. Lori was a participant in the 1988 Olympic trials in Indianapolis for the platform event and in the 1992 Olympic trials in 1992 for the platform and 3-meter springboard events. As a scholarship athlete in diving, Lori was named collegiate All-American.

Lori has coached high school and summer club for 14 years, currently as coach for the Mt. Notre Dame Academy in Cincinnati and Highlands High School in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky. Lori has coached intermediate and advanced competitive divers in the Dive Cincinnati program, a feeder program for the Junior Olympic program, for four years.

Head Coach: Paul Glassman

Paul brings 20 years of coaching elite level gymnastics and diving to Tri State Diving. His divers and gymnasts have gone on to become national champions and Olympic trials qualifiers. Paul's athletes are currently with Princeton, Cornell, Georgia and his senior prep divers are being recruited by USC, UCLA, Auburn, Florida and Purdue. 2004 saw Kathleen graduate from Yale where she finished top 10 in the Ivy League championships.

Paul was one of the first coaches in the USA (during the early 1980's) to recognize the value of dryland training along with the incorporation of gymnastics into diving. Some of the success of the Cincinnati Stingrays during the 1980's came from the cooperative efforts of "legendary" Charlie Casuto's world class diving knowledge and Paul's gymnastic expertise Tri State Diving's elite program is a demanding program designed for athletes who want to work hard and achieve their potential.

"The will to win is important, but the will to prepare to win, is vital."

Paul's long-standing coaching background has always subscribed to the theory of luck; or at least that, when one works hard, one creates his or her own luck, as evidenced by the following quote: "The harder I work, the luckier I get." Paul goes on to say..." Luck happens to those individuals who happen to be in the right place at the right time only after they have over-prepared, overworked, have not overlooked any possibilities and did not underestimate their opponents."

Paul's elite diving program is geared towards select, talented and accomplished athletes. Senior level diving is our long term goal along with preparation for collegiate diving. The practices are structured around repetitive skill-work, strength and conditioning, and utilization of high tech visual feedback during every practice session. Dryland takes place at the Dynamo Gym where the divers benefit thru the use of the trampoline, dryboard, tumbletrac, and $65,000 in high tech gymnastic equipment. The divers lift weights 3 days/week to develop the strength needed to accomplish more difficult dives, particularly on the 10 meter platform.

Eligibility (Who can join?): Visit website for http://www.tristatediving.org