Divers Hit the Water at St. Peters Rec-Plex

The St. Louis Diving Club offers opportunities for athletes of all ages and skill levels.

The club has diving lessons for those who want an introduction to the sport and competition for more serious athletes. The program used the facilities at the .

“We’re recognized nationally and we compete internationally,” St. Louis Diving coach Greg Triefenbach said. “People who are looking to do any type of diving know we have a great facility.”

A product of St. Louis diving, Triefenbach grew up in Bridgeton and graduated from Pattonville High School. He started diving at 7 years of age. The Rec-Plex didn’t exist in those days and Triefenbach travelled from local pool to local pool to practice. His career was a success, as Triefenbach competed on the junior national team, won a state championship in high school and earned a diving scholarship to Louisiana State University, a Division I school in Baton Rouge. In college Triefenbach placed third in the NCAA championships in 10-meter tower diving. In addition to his coaching duties at the St. Louis Diving Club, Triefenbach also coaches St. Louis University’s diving team.

“It’s been a part of my life my whole life,” Triefenbach said. “And it’s also changed my view of the world. I’ve met a lot of my best friends through diving and not all of them live around here. I have very good friends in California. Diving is who I am today. I do it because it’s what I do best.”

Triefenbach said that the Rec-Plex is a valuable asset to St. Louis area divers by offering a quality facility for practices and meets. The Rec-Plex hosted the Olympic diving trials in 2004.

The diving club offers lessons and competition for all age levels; some are as young as 5 and others are as old as 68. Older divers compete in Masters competition. The club’s competitive diving team—which travels to meets all around the country—has a successful track record in producing quality high school divers who continue at the college level.

“Every summer I get a call from six to 10 college coaches who are looking for divers,” Triefenbach said. “These are kids who go to school on scholarship.”

The club’s diving lessons serve as a farm system for its competitive divers, as the more serious divers from the lessons usually move up to competing on the team, said Triefenbach. The lessons concentrate on basics like board safety, building the correct habits for success, or what Triefenbach calls “muscle memory,” physical fitness, attained by dry land training, or exercising out of the water, and the different types of dives a competitive diver uses: front, back, reverse, inward, and a twist. 

Those interested in the St. Louis Diving Clubs program can contact them at: stldiving@sbcglobal.net.