Issue date: 3/5/04 Section: Sports

Media Credit: www.bridgew.edu Diving coach Rob Ferreira has turned the Bears´ diving program into the ultimate success story.

Coach Ferreira is now in his eighth season as the diving coach at Bridgewater State College. He joined the staff prior to the 1996-97 season. His ability to repeatedly turn an average diver into a star has earned Ferreira his fourth straight Charles Batterman Men's Diving Coach of the Year Award.

"Receiving this award was as exciting this year as it was in years past," said Ferreira. "The award represents what we were able to accomplish as a team."

Ferreira met Charles Batterman when he coached part-time at Keene State College.

"He is a diving guru when it comes to the biomechanics of diving," said Ferreira.

Rob is a 1994 graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He coached diving lessons for the Sandwich Community School on Cape Cod about a year prior to coaching at Bridgewater.

He has coached several top finishers at the New England Division II and III Championships. Three divers under his tutelage have qualified at large for the NCAA Division III Championships, while one of them (Andy Fuccillo) placed 12th on the three-meter board at the NCAA's to earn Honorable Mention All-American honors.

"I wouldn't be getting the award if our divers did not dive well," said Ferreira. "Everyone had their part. We all own it."

His ability to convert diver Rob Ricciardi from a non-competitive diver to a star earned him much recognition this season.

"I try to get my divers to understand the biomechanics and physics of diving," said Ferreira. "If you can understand it at a cognitive level, you will become a better diver at a physical level. I believe that our program has been successful for divers who come to us with little or no experience because we work on building the necessary fundamentals that will ultimately help them reach their time/potential down the road."
Rob is currently a Health and Physical Education teacher at Blackstone-Millville Regional High School. He and his wife, Amy, presently reside in Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts.

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