Game version
Quiet-entry game: a partner watches from the side and gives a thumbs-up for a straight line and a small splash. Swap. Only dives your coach has cleared.
Sitting Head-First Entry
Start low at the edge of the deep end and roll in hands first through your flat grab, with your coach.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026
Set up
With your coach beside you, sit on the edge of the deep end with feet on the wall.
Core: A dive you know. Beat your own quietest entry.
- Ages
- 11 and up
- Time
- 12 min
- Space
- Pool
- Bring
- Deep water, diving coach
- Level · skill
- Developing · Entry
The steps
How it works
- With your coach beside you, sit on the edge of the deep end with feet on the wall.
- Make your flat grab, arms squeezing your ears, chin tucked a little.
- Lean forward and push off gently so your hands go in first.
- Stay straight until your feet are under; do 8.
Coaching point
Hands first, stay long.
Safety: Only with a diving coach watching, in water your coach has checked meets the diving depth standard (about 12 feet under a 1 yard (1 m) board). Never at a home or hotel pool, never in shallow water, never alone.
Make it fun
Play it, don't drill it
Challenge
Pick a level: Less (feet-first from the deck), Core (a dive you know), More (the same dive from higher, with your coach’s OK). Beat your own quietest entry.
Story
You are a needle slipping into the water without a ripple.
My best
Beat your own count
Beat your own quietest entry. Only your own number counts: today against last time.
Practice makes progress
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