Hello All. I have decided to try a "Coach's Blog" on my newly created web page to keep everyone updated on what is going on from the Coach's point of view. Here it goes...

Last week was the first week of the New Tennessee Diving Camp. Not only was it the first summer diving camp that UT has hosted in almost 9 years, but it began barely a month since we had moved to our brand new multimillion dollar home: The Alan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center. Despite the amazingness of being in such a state of the art facility, until all of the construction is complete (there are still MANY ongoing small projects) we are not able to use the full potential that is this facility. Not to mention that the transition has been like going from my favorite pair of hiking boots (old, worn in, comfortable: aka: Old pool) to a brand new expensive pair that at first make my feet hurt like none other (new, uncomfortable at first: aka: New Pool). In case I lost any of you, I am saying that until we've been in the new pool for long enough to get settled in, there will be many unforeseen obstacles that seem to come out from nowhere. All we can do is our best and trust that this pool will sooner than later become worn in.

With that said, in response to the first week of camp and how well it went: it had ups and downs. As I feared, it did not go quite as smoothly as we (coaches) had planned. But honestly, when do things go EXACTLY the way you plan? Overall, I would say the week was a success. The first day was CRAZY! The morning practice went fairly smooth; however we were not prepared for the afternoon. There were at least 30 divers on the boards and one of the coaches was unavailable to help out that afternoon. I would describe that practice as chaos; productive chaos, but chaos none the less. We (the coaches) got together after Monday's camp, and rearranged how the schedule would work for the rest of the week. The rest of the week went much smoother. On Wednesday, the USA National Training Team from Indianapolis came with nearly 10 Olympic hopefuls including 2004 Olympian Justin Wilcock who trained with the campers on Wednesday and during camp lunch break for the rest of the week. They were here training for the 2008 Olympic Selection Camp which will be hosted HERE! (See scheduled events for more info) This was a great opportunity for the campers to watch the pros do jumps and basic drill dives and see what it looks like when done right. For many divers (myself included) watching great diving is just as beneficial as doing many repetitions of a dive. 

On top of getting to both watch and dive with an Olympian and other Olympic hopefuls, many of the campers had the chance to get autographs of some of the great athletes of the time.

So despite a chaotic start to the week, this week of camp was definitely a success.

Week Two of camp has already begun and with all of the rearranging and the fact that we only have 2 campers this week, the first two days have gone quite smoothly.

This concludes my first Coach's Blog and I ask that you email me with your feedback on if this is something that is useful to you (parents and divers) so that you are more connected to the pool deck. If you have any suggestions on how I could better my site or blogs, you can either comment on the "contact" link OR you can email droolydiving@inbox.com.

-Sean (Drooly)