How To Do An Inward Dive Straight (401A): It's All Balance

This is a shorter one, because the inward dive straight really comes down to a single idea.

I want to show you the common balance mistakes on an inward takeoff and connect them to inward 1½, inward 2½, and even inward 3½. Because here's the thing most divers get wrong: it isn't necessarily about leaning over the board. It's about staying on top of your toes.

That's a slight difference and it's easy to miss, because the two feel similar. But once you've been diving long enough you learn you can't lean over the board too much, or you'll fall into it, and your natural instinct is to push your hips away when that happens. Staying on top of your toes is what puts you in the optimal position.

The Inward Takeoff Position

The optimal position starts with your core engaged, which basically means hollow hips. Not everybody does this, but I believe it helps you hold better balance if that's something you struggle with.

An engaged core also means that when you push away from the board on the jump, you're connected from upper body to lower body.

If you think about the 90/90 position on a front takeoff, the inward version looks slightly different, because you have to push the hips back just a little. But on an inward dive straight (401A) you don't bring your chest down at all. You don't need to think about the throw or any of that.

This is literally just a dive about balance and body position, which is exactly why you can't cheat it.

The goal is to pop off the toes and throw from an extension of the elbows. You don't have to throw your arms down into this dive at all.

My Favorite Inward Balance Drill

Do this on the end of the board.

Get into a squat position with your hips directly over your toes and your knees forward. Arms up by your ears. Now keep them there, core hollow, while you bounce the board at the fulcrum.

Ideally your head stays in exactly the same position and the only thing moving is your legs.

This forces you into the correct alignment, because the moment you fall out of it you'll either come off the board or step forward. But the point isn't to hold it perfectly. The point is to keep moving, and when you get off balance, self-correct. Fight to get the balance back.

Diver Guy's Tip: That self-correction is the whole value of the drill. It teaches your body to make micro adjustments, so when you're doing a real arm circle and squat on an actual dive, you'll naturally make those same adjustments without thinking.

I've seen divers who struggle with pushing away from the board do two rounds of about ten pulses, then go do an inward 1½, and their balance is dramatically better immediately.

The Hip Slide: Think J or U

This visualization helps a lot of people.

Going down into the squat, you're going to sit back slightly. That's supposed to happen. But on the standup, your hips have to move back in to sit on top of your ankles. Otherwise you're sitting and pushing out.

So I imagine my hips tracing a J or a U. Squat down, keep the core engaged, and as you shift from squat to standup, slide the hips in to be right on top of your ankles. From there it's the same as the drill. All you're doing is standing up.

Finishing the Dive

For inward dive straight, pop from the elbows. You're throwing up, pushing through the ankles, and keeping the chin up as much as you can on the takeoff.

That head position is a bonus habit. On inward takeoffs I always want to see the head up when you go for more somersaults, so this dive trains that for free.

Diver Guy's Tip: For your spot, pick something halfway down the board or the black strip at the end. Some people look up at the wall behind the board. I'd choose something on the board, because it'll always be there no matter what pool you're in. Your surroundings change when you travel to a competition. A visual cue on the board is always in roughly the same place.

The 401A vs 401B Tell

Here's a common mistake worth naming. As divers come through for the standup, it's natural to push the hips back, so they end up going into a little bit of a pike before straightening out.

That tells you you're on your way but not there yet. It means you're releasing from the board too early, and you need more time on the balance drill.

You have to stay on the board a lot longer than you think you do.

The only things generating rotation on this dive are pushing through the ankles and the throw up into the air. And the only way to release from the ankles is to wait long enough to actually push through them. Leave early and you'll be forced to bend at the hips just to get away from the board.

It might feel scary the first few times. But once you find that release point, your inwards across the board get significantly better.

Final Takeaways: Inward Dive Straight Done Right

• Stay on top of your toes. Don't lean over the board hinging at the hips.
• Core engaged, hollow hips, connected from upper body to lower body
• No chest drop and no arm throw down. Pop from the toes and extend from the elbows
• Run the fulcrum bounce drill: hips over toes, arms by the ears, only the legs move
• Let yourself get off balance in the drill and practice self-correcting
• Trace a J or U with the hips: sit back into the squat, slide them in over the ankles on the standup
• Chin up, spot something on the board rather than on the wall
• If you pike before straightening, you're leaving the board too early

Everything here scales. The balance you build on 401A is the same balance that makes inward 1½, inward 2½, and eventually inward 3½ possible. If you want the companion dive, here's my breakdown of inward dive pike (401B).

Good luck and I'll see you on the next dive! - DG