Student, Teacher - Diver Spotlight on Tom Davidson

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Tom Davidson is a scholar of diving. The 23-year-old from Ambler, Penn. has been active in the sport for 18 years, but it wasn't until his final season at Indiana University that he learned the most valuable lesson.

"I began concentrating more on my dives and finding the things that were wrong with what I was doing," Davidson said. "I became more of a student of my diving."

"I started working outside of the pool on my diving and talking to and asking Jeff (Huber) and Jim (Pyrch) more questions. I wanted to fix mistakes at meets more on my own."

Davidson's hard-working demeanor has led him to the midst of one of his most successful diving campaigns. In 2001, the defending Big Ten Conference 1-meter champion picked up another title, finished third at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Championships and earned his first U.S. Diving national title - all on the board he does not consider his favorite.

"1-meter is not my fun event. I've been doing the same dives for five to seven years, because once you get to a certain level you can't add anything new," Davidson said. "Top divers like Mark (Ruiz) and Troy (Dumais) make it look easy. Some days are rough, and I train on 1-meter the least."

"I won the 1-meter at a dual meet without much training and couldn't do anything on 3-meter. At (Indoor) Nationals, I wanted to dive better on 3-meter than 1-meter. It just happened I had a really good 1-meter day and a good 3-meter day." (Davidson finished second on 3-meter at Indoor Nationals).

Davidson has had more good 1-meter and 3-meter days than the clinic he put on in Midland, Texas.

A perennial standout in the collegiate ranks, Davidson was the 1997 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The same year he was the conference 3-meter champion and named to the All-Big Ten squad. His sophomore season was more of the same as he took the Big Ten 1-meter crown, earned a second All-Big Ten nod and honorable mention All-American distinction, competed at the NCAA Division I Championships on all three boards and was named to his first U.S. Diving National Team.

The summer of 1998 proved difficult as, according to Davidson, he couldn't land on his head.

"I was getting a lot of sprained ankles as I was training for (Outdoor) Nationals," Davidson said. "I couldn't do a 2 1/2. I didn't know what was up, down, left or right."

"I always knew I would come out of it, I just didn't know when," Davidson said. "It was very frustrating, because it was like diving with your eyes closed. Nothing felt right and I knew how to do the dives."

With the help of a sports psychologist, Davidson had his dives turned around by the New Year, and it was a new lease on diving for Tom.

He regained his ownership of the Big Ten 1-meter title, was named Co-Big Ten Diver of the Championships, garnered a second honorable mention All-American award and finished 16th on 1-meter and 14th on 3-meter at the NCAA Division I Championships.

Davidson entered 2001 with the goal of leaving college following a successful competitive year. Huber gave him the goal of finishing in the top eight at the NCAAs. Both were realized.

"I really worked on consistency my senior year. When I placed 16th, I was diving very inconsistent," Davidson said. "Top eight finishers don't miss dives."

The lone senior diver on the IU squad also left the team the attitude he tried to practice each day.

"I always tried to make practice fun for everyone. I would crack a joke even when I was having a bad day," Davidson said. "It's no fun to practice when everyone is in a bad mood, so I would try not to let it get that way."

"That's one of the reasons why I chose IU. The school had a new state-of-the-art facility and good business school, but the team always trained hard and had fun. Everyone wanted to be diving."

"I really liked Jeff a lot too. He visited my family during recruiting periods and just made the extra effort. He was really genuine."

Huber also gave Davidson the opportunity to assist in practices and serve as a volunteer coach during his senior season.

"We had a young team this past season. There were three freshmen and two sophomores," Davidson said. "I tried to help everyone realize how long the collegiate diving season really is (seven months) so they wouldn't exert themselves. I know I really felt it my freshmen year."

"Coaching also helped my diving. Trying to teach someone makes you think about your own diving."

Davidson also taught the younger divers the importance of stretching, something he does not practice.

"I'm just not flexible on the ground. I stretch when I'm sore, but usually I get in the shower or hot tub to warm up," Davidson said. "I know the right thing to do, and I try to make sure everyone does that. Jim is making me stretch more."

Davidson now trains with Pyrch in Connecticut, where he also has his own team.

"I trained with Jim last summer, and it was a great experience. He is a coach who really worked for me, and I planned to move to Connecticut in September," Davidson said. "I got the coaching job one month before graduation and was able to move sooner than I expected."

"Jim's team is really, really young. I have three and a half years on the next oldest diver. I'm training with 12-year-olds," Davidson said. "It's a really good thing though. I can help them more than I could help a college kid. Sometimes I can help Jim out too by trying something different or saying something that he isn't saying."

Davidson's days are also filled with practice at Patterson Country Club - his team.

"The kids are there when they want to be there. I have a different group everyday," Davidson said. "You can't force the kids to practice, and sometimes they leave to go to the snack bar. I'm starting to have some of the same kids though, and there have been days without snack breaks."

Davidson doesn't plan to take a break any time soon. Although his 1-meter list will remain the same, he has been playing with an inward 3 1/2 and reverse 3 1/2 for the 3-meter. He plans to unveil the dives at the World Championships (July 22-29, Fukuoka, Japan).

"The World Championships will be a good experience, and each meet will make me more prepared," Davidson said. "I check out the other divers and try to learn something from someone else. I try to imitate what I see."

"Everything else will be the same for me - just having fun."