Diving program of one hires consultant
For three seasons the Chargers have only had one diver. Coach Kurt Kirner looks to the future of the diving program and hires a consultant-coach.
James Gensterblum
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: Sports
Senior Charlotte Wolfe spends hours on a diving board alone. She tucks, twists, flips, spashes and occasionally smacks. She is always ready to show off her latest bruise. Yet she feels the pain, endurance and personal success alone.
She is the sole diver on the Charger swim and dive team.
"Certainly you'd love to have someone who can train alongside you, someone who can push you to be a better diver by competing against you every day," Wolfe said. "You want to have that challenge and that personal bond with someone on your team. But we have a good situation here and they do a lot to make me feel like a part of the team even though I'm in a different event."
Though alone on the boards, head coach Kurt Kirner helps her practice, though his expertise is not diving.
"I'm able to give a lot of help to Charlotte in season and I've learned a lot about how to coach diving over the last few years," Kirner said. "But you can't replace the technical expertise and the years of experience that a top-notch diving coach has."
And even with the lack of a coach specific to diving at Hillsdale, the senior diver has had her fair share of successes during the last three years.
Now, with the addition of longtime, high school diving coach Todd Bates to the Chargers' staff as a coach-consultant, Wolfe said she expects even greater success.
"I get instruction over the summer from a coach back home in North Carolina, so it's been difficult to not have that advice for an entire season," Wolfe, Hillsdale's lone diver, said.
Wolfe pinpointed two areas in which she felt the new coach - who was contracted this month - would help her.
"Sometimes your form starts to break down and you're not really sure where you're making mistakes, and in that instance having a knowledgeable person helps," she said. "Also, if I want to add new dives to my routine midseason, I really need an expert opinion to make sure I'm making the right decision on what to take out or put in."
She is the sole diver on the Charger swim and dive team.
"Certainly you'd love to have someone who can train alongside you, someone who can push you to be a better diver by competing against you every day," Wolfe said. "You want to have that challenge and that personal bond with someone on your team. But we have a good situation here and they do a lot to make me feel like a part of the team even though I'm in a different event."
Though alone on the boards, head coach Kurt Kirner helps her practice, though his expertise is not diving.
"I'm able to give a lot of help to Charlotte in season and I've learned a lot about how to coach diving over the last few years," Kirner said. "But you can't replace the technical expertise and the years of experience that a top-notch diving coach has."
And even with the lack of a coach specific to diving at Hillsdale, the senior diver has had her fair share of successes during the last three years.
Now, with the addition of longtime, high school diving coach Todd Bates to the Chargers' staff as a coach-consultant, Wolfe said she expects even greater success.
"I get instruction over the summer from a coach back home in North Carolina, so it's been difficult to not have that advice for an entire season," Wolfe, Hillsdale's lone diver, said.
Wolfe pinpointed two areas in which she felt the new coach - who was contracted this month - would help her.
"Sometimes your form starts to break down and you're not really sure where you're making mistakes, and in that instance having a knowledgeable person helps," she said. "Also, if I want to add new dives to my routine midseason, I really need an expert opinion to make sure I'm making the right decision on what to take out or put in."
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