How To Do A Back Dive Pike (201B): Balance, Timing, and the Fixes That Matter
Share
The back dive pike — or 201B — is one of the first dives where you truly have to trust your body. You're leaving the board facing away from the water, lifting into a clean pike position, and finding the entry behind you. It sounds scary at first, but it's also one of the most foundational dives you'll ever learn.
Balance is everything on this dive. Get it right early and it sets the foundation for almost every back dive you'll add to your list. Get it wrong and you'll fight the same problems for years.
In this post, I break down the biggest mistakes I see — from beginners all the way to experienced divers — and show you what the best athletes in the world do differently.
3 Key Fixes for Your Back Dive Pike
1. Stay Over Your Feet — Balance Is Everything
The most common mistake on the back dive pike is losing your balance at takeoff. Most divers either lean too far back (falling away from the board) or too far forward (hipping in over the board). Neither gives you the best dive.
Your goal is to stay balanced directly over your toes on the end of the board. That means your hips should be stacked over your heels, your shoulders over your hips (maybe slightly inside as you squat, and your head neutral.
Diver Guy's Tip: Think about pressing the board down evenly through your feet. If you tend to fall back, try and feel knees move forward as you squat and stay higher up on your toes as you squat and stand up!
2. Watch Your Shoulders and Core— They Control More Than You Think
Here's something that surprises a lot of divers: your shoulder position at takeoff has a huge effect on where you end up in the air. And that paired with your core stability will dictate a lot about your direction off the board.
If your shoulders roll back, you'll arch and likely sit back away from the board too much.
The fix is to keep your arms relaxed as they swing up and keeping your core engaged so the shoulders can't roll backwards.
Diver Guy's Tip: Film yourself from the side if you can. Shoulder position is one of those things that feels fine in the moment but looks completely different on video. If you see an archy back on the take off think about keeping your core hollow as you stand up and jump from the board.
3. Be Patient — Don't Rush Into the Pike
Divers who rush the pike early, kill their height, and can end up short on rotation. This is one of the most consistent mistakes I see across all levels — even experienced divers can get caught rushing.
A great back dive pike has a clear moment of height — where you feel like you're floating. If you're breaking at the knees on the takeoff to get your legs up, touching too late or touching too low, you're leaving a lot of the dive on the table.
Diver Guy's Tip: The goal is to pop from the toes as the board pushes your feet away. Then, the key to making this dive look easy is to be out of your pike at the peak of your jump. If you can show off a flat position with a ton of space between you and the water, you'll make it look easy.
Watch the Full Breakdown
In this video I walk through dives from beginners all the way up to Olympic-level athletes — showing what goes wrong, what goes right, and the exact moments that separate a good back dive pike from a great one. Stay till the end for the full takeaways.
A few things worth noting from what I break down in the video:
- Even experienced divers struggle with balance — this is not just a beginner problem
- The best divers have incredible patience before they fold into the pike
- A clean underwater entry tells you everything about how the dive was built from takeoff
Final Takeaways: Back Dive Pike Done Right
Here's your checklist before your next practice:
- Stay balanced over your toes — hips over heels, shoulders over hips
- Keep your shoulders active from 12:00 to 6:00 and relaxed from 6:00 back up to 12:00
- Be patient — don't rush to get off the board
- Film yourself — balance errors are easier to see on video
If you're working on your back dive pike and want personal feedback, I offer virtual coaching for all skill levels. Send in your video and I'll send back drills, voiceover notes, and technique corrections.
Got questions? Shoot me a message — I answer every one.
Good luck and I'll see you on the next dive! - DG