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.
Standing Head-First Entry
From standing at the edge of the deep end, bend over and go in hands first with a straight body.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026
Set up
With your coach watching, stand at the edge of the deep end, toes curled over.
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 watching, stand at the edge of the deep end, toes curled over.
- Make your flat grab and bend forward at the hips.
- Lean until you fall in hands first, then push gently with your feet.
- Stay long until your feet are under; do 8.
Coaching point
Bend, lean, 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
Print it now, or save it free
Free for families and teams
Save this drill to your child or team, free
Sign up and the free diving week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.
14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free
Does your child's coach know about this?
An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.