Diving can be considered one of the most mentally challenging sports out of all of them. One small single error can cause a chain reaction of problems during a dive. Unfortunately fear plays a very pivotal role in the development of a diver because of this reason, but there are ways to overcome that fear and achieve your goals.
The first step to overcoming fear is to understand where the fear is stemming from. It can be the fear of smacking the water, hitting the board, etc. Each diver has a different fear for each dive. It is important to know what is the cause of the fear in order to be able to work towards overcoming it at Santa Clara Diving.
Once there is an understanding about the fear, the diver and coach can work together to physically and mentally put the mind at ease. It is very important that the diver communicates with the Santa Clara Diving coaching staff so there is a better understanding for the type of training that the diver should be performing. This may require more training on the entry of the particular dive, more lead-up progressions for the dive, etc.
One of the most common ways of overcoming fear in diving is performing many lead-up progressions before the execution of the dive. This can be something as simple as an entry from the diving board or more complicated such as a back double somersault on 1-meter in preparation for a back two and half somersaults on 3-meter. Skill progressions are a natural way to prepare for a dive, but the fear of the doing the actual dive may require that more progressions be performed. 
Another way of overcoming fear is mental visualization and self talk. Many studies have suggested that mental imagery increases the athletic performance of an athlete by calming the mind of negativity such as fear. Self-talk is also another way many divers can overcome the fear. Divers can talk themselves through the dive so they know exactly what they must do in order to achieve a positive outcome.
No matter what the dive, there will always be some sort of mental confrontation. The important thing to remember is that Santa Clara Diving will always be there to help you overcome your fears and achieve your dreams.
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