By Sarah Musselman, PDCA Intern
The US Professional Diving Coaches Association mourns the passing of Coach Dick Kimball, one of the true architects of modern diving and one of the most influential figures our sport has ever known. His impact reaches far beyond medals, championships, and accolades. Dick Kimball helped shape what diving is today, and through the athletes and coaches he inspired, his influence will continue in the sport.
As an athlete, Dick was extraordinary. He was a national champion, an NCAA champion, and a Professional World Diving champion. At the University of Michigan, he helped power championship teams and established himself as one of the finest divers of his era. But even those remarkable accomplishments would become only the foundation of a far greater legacy.
As a coach, Dick Kimball became legendary. For more than four decades at the University of Michigan, he developed athletes, built champions, and elevated the standard of excellence in collegiate diving. He coached multiple U.S. Olympic teams and guided divers to the sport’s highest stages. His athletes did not simply win, they performed with the confidence, creativity, and technical mastery that became synonymous with the Kimball name.
Yet numbers and titles alone cannot define Dick Kimball. He was revered because he represented the very best qualities of coaching: innovation, wisdom, generosity, and an unshakable commitment to helping others improve. He was known as a thinker, a teacher, and a pioneer. He was someone who saw possibilities in the sport before others could. He challenged convention, expanded what was possible in training, and inspired countless coaches to think bigger and coach better.
That is why the Dick Kimball Award carries such meaning within the US PDCA. This award honors exceptional creativity & out-of-the-box thinking, qualities that Dick embodied throughout his life. It recognizes coaches who serve the sport, mentor others, and bring imagination and innovation to athlete development. It is more than an award bearing his name, it is a reflection of the values he lived every day.
To have known him was to know someone who made diving better.
To learn from him was to carry forward knowledge built over a lifetime.
To follow in his footsteps is to remember that great coaching is not only about results, it is about vision, leadership, and the ability to change lives.
The diving world has lost a giant, but his legacy remains everywhere: on pool decks, in coaching conversations, in championship moments, and in the imagination of every coach who dares to innovate.
On behalf of the Professional Diving Coaches Association, we honor Dick Kimball with deep gratitude and respect. Our hearts go out to his family and friends during this time.
To learn more about Dick Kimball and the Dick Kimball Award, please visit www.ProDivingCoach.org/awards. If you would like to nominate someone for the Dick Kimball Award, please click here.