Diving, as with all sports, uses a series of direct communication with the individual diver, upon completion of a task, either in Dryland Warm-up Drills, Conditioning, Belt Training, Pool Side Work, Board/Platform Drills, or actual dives.  Because diving is such a detail oriented sport, corrections are given often.  

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Corrections can be made before, during, or after a dive. Corrections can be made in a variety of ways, such as eye communication, a simple comment, hand signals, lengthy explanations, or a variety of other methods.

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Most coaches in Diving see a problem with a diver, and try to “fix” the problem.  Bravo.

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This is called a Correction, and the challenge for a Coach is to ascertain which part of the “problem” to fix first, (giving 8 things to try to fix at one time has a low chance of success.

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Divers often have technical problems that they repeat in practice, thus ingraining the problem, creating a BAD HABIT which is very difficult to overcome.

A common problem for Divers is the head down (prematurely) on take-off.  Some common coach corrections for this problem are:

1. Stand Tall on take-off

2. Neutral Head

3. Shoulders Up

4. Watch your toes

However, this correction may not be sufficient, and a cue might be used instead, to break the cycle of faulty technique.  This “cue” is a re-direction as imperative to improvement.

A Cue for the Head down problem might be:

1. Look at the ceiling or sky on take-off

2. Spot a door, the Lifeguard chair, or other recognizable item until toe extension.

3. Have diver revert to remedial standing position on board and leave board with hands above head, extending & watching hands on take-off. Start with a jump, then-progressions. 

The point is to shake-up and re-energize to reach improved results.

In this example, 95% of the time, eye position is the culprit,

so unless a specific cue it engaged, or, a start-over of progressions, progress will be stunted.  

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A “cue”, therefore, is NOT a correction, but, rather, a customized key instruction intended to address a core cause of a diver problem, THAT THE DIVER CAN UNDERSTAND.

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Facts are facts.

A Diver who does not understand, or is not willing to take a correction will not improve significantly.

A Coach who does communicate effectively with a diver through corrections AND cues, will find progress plateau their reward.

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