MHDC offers training for all levels of athlete and for a wide range of commitment options. For all of our practices we utilize two vital concepts in our training methodology; Dryland and Skill Level Training. These training methods are designed to provide a strong foundation for the sport of diving, while teaching athletes correct fundamental technique to maximize long-term training potential and to avoid injury.
Dryland Training
What is dryland training? This is a good question. It is usual for individuals to wonder what training in a gym has to do with diving into the water. The answer lies in the fundamental nature of the sport of diving. Diving is primarily an aerial, not aquatic, sport. This means that the vast majority of our training is centered on effectively and efficiently getting into the air and then exercising control while occupying that medium. Dryland training takes advantage of this fundamental, but often overlooked, truth about the sport.
The benefits of dryland training are immense. On average, athletes can enjoy a five fold training efficiency when in a dryland environment over what they will experience when they are in the water. There are two primary reasons for this. First, the time it takes to repeat a skill on dryland equipment is much smaller than it is in a pool. For example, using a 1-meter diving board an athlete can effectively complete one skill every minute if they are moving at a rapid pace. If they are using a 3-meter diving board, this drops to approximately one skill every two minutes. On a dryland diving board, a diver can easily finish four skills every minute, or one every 15 seconds. In many cases the actual training on a dryboard is even more efficient, with athletes completing a skill as often as every ten seconds.
Apart from increased repetitions, dryland training also gives us the advantage of being able to teach very complicated skills in very small pieces. When in the water there are really only two options when completing a skill that will result and a happy athlete. They either land on their hands or on their feet, anything else is no fun at all. When in the dryland environment training can be conducted in much smaller increments, teaching athletes how to land on their feet, back, seat, stomach, and hands and knees. They even do quite a bit of work on their hands. As you can imagine, it is much easier to learn a skill in small pieces than in large ones. Additionally, dryland training offers a safer training environment allowing for more refinement by allowing the athletes to perfect each small piece of a total skill before having to attempt the entire skill in the water.
Dryland Training Equipment
Spotting Rigs: These rope and belt setups are used over the floor, diving board and trampoline. The use of the spotting rig gives the coach almost complete control over the diver, allowing the athlete to complete very difficult skills in a very controlled environment.
Dryboard: The dryboard is a conventional diving board set up to land on a large mat (port-o-pit) instead of the water. These allow the athlete to complete many skills in a very short period of time and allows dives to be taught in smaller pieces.
Trampoline: One of the best ways to increase aerial awareness, form, and explosive strength is on the trampoline. Divers utilize this piece of equipment to improve overall acrobatic ability, athleticism, and to improve specific technical points for diving such as initiation skills, visual awareness (spotting), and come-out skills.
Dry-platform: Similar to the dryboard, this equipment allows divers to learn and refine many skills to be transferred to the water.
Springfloor: The spring floor is used to teach tumbling skills, which are great for building explosive force and improving body tension. It is also used heavily for stretching, conditioning, and dryland form drills. The athletes typically prefer this to the common surface for these exercises, the pool deck.
Tivo: The Tivo is an instant replay machine allowing athletes to take advantage of visual learning techniques along with the more commonly used kinesthetic and audio methods.