TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

UB is hosting the NCAA Zone Diving Meet from March 13th-15th. Who will be participating in that event?
During the regular season, there is a qualifying standard that divers must reach in order to qualify for the Zone Meet. If a diver reaches that standard during any dual meet, they become eligible. Usually, there will be about 40 divers at the meet that are qualified to dive at the one and three-meter levels, as well as from the platform. The event will consist of both men and women’s divers.

How does the competition at the Zone Meet work?
From the Zone Meet, the divers qualify for the NCAA Championships. The number of qualifiers from each zone for the national competition is based on the previous year’s results. We will probably have somewhere around five slots to advance to the NCAAs this year, where as some other zones will have more or less. Primarily, our zone consists of teams from the Northeast.

What kind of work goes into hosting an event of that nature?
I’ve worked a lot with Associate Athletic Director Nan Harvey and Event Operations Coordinator Eric Cudeck. For the event itself, we will also bring in someone to handle the computer end of things. The NCAA dictates some of the preparation to us, but we handle the rest.

How different are the three levels of diving – the one-meter springboard, the three-meter springboard and the platform?
On the three-meter board as compared to the one-meter, there is room to perform more difficult dives. But there are a lot of similarities between the one and three-meter dives. Platform dives however, take a completely different person. When you are at 10 meters, you first have to overcome a major fear factor of height. It requires a totally different technique as well, in comparison to springboard diving.

How does the dual-meet scoring for a diving event work in regards to team points?
Diving scoring can be paralleled to a regular swimming event. For example, the top finisher in the one-meter competition earns as many team points as does the winner of the 100-freestyle event. So, a diver can earn points for the one and three-meter springboard – there is no platform competition yet in the Mid-American Conference. There is a proposal to include it in scoring, but we are awaiting that decision.

Talk a little bit about the Bulls’ divers this season.
There are three really good divers here. We have two sophomores – Tracy Hoover and Kimberly LaHaye – and one freshman – Ashlee Burton. They are all very talented and solid divers. Unfortunately, we are going through a bout of injuries right now.

What did it mean to earn 2002 MAC Diving Coach of the Year honors? How much of a change has there been in your three seasons in Buffalo?
The turnaround for us has been night and day. This conference is rapidly improving in both swimming and diving. We’ve had really strong divers the last couple of years here. Winning the award was a shock, but also very exciting. We need to continue to build the program to where we can be dominant in the MAC.

You are involved in United States Diving. What does that organization do?
US Diving is an age-group, club-oriented program. I coach kids ages four to 17 in a program that is called Wings Diving. There are about 50 kids in the program, 10 of which are on our Junior Olympic Team. That squad travels throughout the United States to participate in various competitions. We use the Alumni Arena facilities and the kids train five-to-six days per week.

Another organization that you are a part of is the Professional Diving Coaches Association. What tasks does that group perform and what does your role as the Junior Olympic Vice President entail?
The PDCA tries to look out for the good of all the coaches. Everything we do comes from a coach’s perspective and what the coaches would like to see happen with US Diving. Right now, the goal is to get our Olympic-level athletes back on top of the world stage, once again. The PDCA also gives out information on items such as coaching techniques.

How significant is it for divers to begin at a young age?
It is very important to start young in all sports, but specifically diving. For one, it is an individual sport. It is so finite, particular, and requires perfection. If you get athletes to participate when they are young, you can more easily get them to overcome their fears. It’s also easier when you have more time to develop someone into a collegiate-level diver.

-The ‘10 Questions with…’ feature is compiled by Geoff Nason.