“On Fridays for my college kids we do "vegas day" where we roll dice to see how much dryland we have to do. I always take part in it too, so they can see I'm in it with them. Sometimes I do trivia days or "diver jeopardy" with them to mix things up. Depending on where we are in the season (if there's a lull in between meets), I'll pair some of them up and they do a competition with each other, but sometimes they have to do the other ones dives. Just keeping things creative for them to keep them on their toes. For motivation, especially with getting some of the harder dives off, it goes back to communication. I tell them what worked for me, saying "if I don't do this dive I'm not going to Nationals". That worked for me, but it might not work for them, so we just need to figure out mentally what will help them. Once they get comfortable then it's all about numbers.”

“At the end of the day, I think practice should be fun and light. When everyone is in a good mood, more deliberate work will get done. There are times and places for both fun and seriousness, and finding that balance can allow me/ my athletes to thrive.”