Laval's Michel Larouche named new head coach of Diving Canada

This past Monday, Diving Canada announced Larouche was joining the organization as its new head coach.

Larouche's principal duties will center around the training and development of high-performance coaches in Canadian diving, to ensure that Canada remains an international power in the sport.

To date, there was no one at Diving Canada focusing on this goal and, according Michel Larouche, the time has clearly come to move in this direction.

"Countries that shine in diving all have a head coach who takes on the task of providing mentoring which is extremely beneficial. We had truly reached a point where we needed such a measure," he says.

"The competition is staring us in the face," he continues. "China, the United States, England, Mexico, and Cuba are all accelerating their development of high-quality divers. It's essential that we also get proactive towards improving our program."

"To ensure that future athletes and coaches will be better is at the heart of my task. I'll have to set up training programs, talk with coaches, and develop strategies for solving problems faced by divers. I have a lot on my plate."

"I'll be traveling (and scouting) across Canada and the Unites States, where Canadian divers are training and performing, to try to determine on whom to concentrate for the future of Canadian diving. As of now, I can say there's a lot of potential, especially among women divers."

Asked about young diver Jennifer Abel of Laval, the head coach confirms she's one of the bright hopes for the coming years. "Jennifer has already made her mark in international diving. Her development and progress will be closely watched. But there are some other young female divers to keep an eye on. And there's also potential in the boys division but these guys are a little younger, so more patience will be necessary."

Michel Larouche led Montreal's CAMO Diving Club for the past twenty years. Aaron Dziver, who has coached at CAMO since 1994, will succeed him as the club's director.

(Photo: Martin Alarie)