Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)
Three Decades of Diving: Fred Woodruff Retires From The Pool Deck
May 05 | Women's Swimming & Diving
For Fred Woodruff, diving has been a life-long love affair.
"I fell in love with diving at an early age," he recalled. "I actually started diving before I knew how to swim. I almost gave my mother a few heart attacks along the way diving into the baby pool that was maybe two feet deep."
Put into swimming lessons immediately, Woodruff learned to swim very quickly because that meant he'd be able to go into the "big kid" pool, which only meant he'd be able to dive there too.
From there, diving was a constant in his life and it was destined that Woodruff would become a coach.
"I can remember my father taking me to a swim meet when I was about seven years old," he remembered, "and I can tell you to this day every dive they did and how they did."
Diving for his club team, Woodruff was known as the 'teacher' of his diving enthusiast friends and he began to develop a passion for teaching and developing skills. He found exhilaration from the improvements his teammates were making in hitting the water.
"There was an excitement that I would get from watching someone doing something new," he explained. "Doing something they've never done before, spinning a little further than they ever have before. Every time someone learns something new and they pop out of the water with wide eyes and you can see in their face 'oh my gosh, I did it', it's something I live vicariously through with each and every one of those dives … and there's been a lot of them over the years."
Then one day, Woodruff found himself walking around Busch Campus at Rutgers and past new construction on the corner of Frelinghuysen and Bartholomew Roads in the early '90s. There was something standing tall among the concrete and brick that would one day become the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center.
"The walls weren't in yet, but I could see the diving tower," he recalled. "I thought 'wow, I have got to get in there.'"
That tower inspired Woodruff to get the credentials he needed to do just that – get inside Sonny Werblin and coach divers. He was coaching on the club circuit and also spent time at Lehigh, but knew he needed more experience to be prepared for when the time was right for Rutgers to be looking for a diving coach.
Woodruff spent time just up the road at Seton Hall when two years later there was an opening at Rutgers… and he did not hesitate.
"I was just so pumped," he said of joining the Scarlet Knights and coaching "On The Banks" for the next three decades.
Over the years, Woodruff has guided divers through four different conferences.
"Each conference was a stepping stone and each one was a progression getting more and more challenging," he explained. "And it's been excited to see how we've grown and developed each time."
Woodruff's divers continued to meet the challenge each time the bar was raised. Each season in his tenure on the pool deck, a Scarlet Knight has advanced to NCAA Zones along with other notable accomplishments.
Early in Woodruff's career at RU, he saw two Atlantic-10 finalists in 1994 and Scarlet Knights earning both men's and women's Diver of the Year in 1995.
In 2008, Erin Saunders captured the Big East title on 1-meter for which Woodruff was named the league's Diving Coach of the Year,
In 2014 Nicole Scott clinched a gold medal performance on platform at the Big East Championships and would go on to win silver at Zones and compete in the NCAA Division I Women's National Diving Championships diving to Honorable Mention All-American status.
"When we got accepted to the Big Ten," he said, "It was an awesome moment to realize I would be coaching alongside a bunch of Olympic coaches. I thought 'am I ready to do this?' going from the Atlantic 10 twenty-odd some years ago to now coaching in the toughest diving conference in the country."
"It's just unbelievable how good the Big Ten is, so when you accomplish something in the Big Ten it feels very gratifying."
And Woodruff has had some very gratifying moments since entering the Big Ten. The 2016 season saw Addison Walkowiak reach the finals on 1-meter, 3-meter and platform and win gold on 1-meter at Zones and Alyssa Black qualify for the U.S. Senior National Team.
The following season, Rutgers sent three divers to the NCAA Championships, the most since he started coaching at RU in 1993, where Black earned Honorable Mention All-America for the second-straight season.
What has been the key to Woodruff's divers' success over the years?
"A little bit of luck," he laughed "but I think consistency really comes with culture. I think that's a big part of developing people. Also, the support at Rutgers has been wonderful. Having that support as we got into tougher competition and as our zones started getting tougher, we were able to keep up and stay competitive."
As his chapter in Rutgers diving history gets ready to turn the page, memories for Woodruff have been popping up in his mind. Everything from the annual tradition of toilet papering coach's house the night before Halloween in the '90s right up until recently when
Walkowiak was dueling it out dive-for-dive on 1-meter against Sarah Bacon, a US Diving National Champion and silver medalist at the World Championships.
However, what Woodruff will miss the most are the people.
"Everybody's just such cool people and we all work really hard to attain our goals and work together to do it with cooperation from everyone," he said. "There are all sorts of people I have had the opportunity to work with all these years and there have been so many different teams.
"I certainly will miss the divers and being on the deck, going into practice and saying 'hey guys, guess what we are going to do today' and getting in there and getting better each day at our diving."
While Woodruff won't be on the pool deck in the upcoming season, you'll be sure to see him still cheering the Scarlet Knights on from the stands.
"I see this program really making some jumps over the next couple of years," he forecasted. "I wish I could have been able to stay and experience it with them, but I really think this is the time for me to do what I'm doing. I think the diving is going to be great though. Over the next few years and well into the future. I think we are going to have a new coach that's going to be able to basically take where we are and run with it and I think we're going to be extremely successful. Jon (Maccoll) has a really good plan to win and succeed. Not only does he have a great plan, but he also has the ability to make it happen and to bring it to fruition."
And as the Scarlet Knights continue to challenge themselves on the boards, Woodruff can enjoy the fact that he has laid the foundation from which the program will continue to grow from. And he will be excited to watch them continue to excel and live vicariously through each and every one of those dives looking for that wide-eyed expression that they have indeed done it.
"It is hard to find the words to describe how important Fred and Rutgers Diving have been in my life. Fred welcomed me in 1997 as a walk-on to the RU diving team. I am so grateful that he was willing to take a chance on me and teach me for four years. My time at RU was defined by my being on the diving team. Fred was an amazing coach, with so much patience, always positive, and made going to practice lots of fun. I trusted him to know what was best for me and he never let me down. I have so many great memories from my time diving for Fred and feel so fortunate I had the opportunity all those years ago. I have kept in touch with Fred for the last 20 years and I'm proud to see how successful he's been during his career at RU. He will surely be missed, but I'm happy to see him moving on to his well-deserved retirement. RU will never be the same."
- Kathleen Greslik '01
"One 'Fredism' that comes back to me with some regularity is "stop trying and do it." I can't say I took it well at the time, but now I see it as brilliant advice that I continue to use to this day. I'm forever grateful that he never stopped pushing me and never gave up on me. A passionate and dedicated coach. Congrats on the retirement!
- Kelly Gerhardstein ' 04
"Congratulations on an amazing coaching career, Fred! I am so thankful to have had the chance to have you as my coach. You helped shape the athlete I became and the person I am today. You truly are one of a kind. I'll always remember your sense of humor (especially the earthworm jokes) when you would coach me with movie quotes, and the year you won Big East Diving Coach of the Year. Here's to a very happy and healthy retired life!"
- Erin Saunders '10
"Fred made my time as a Scarlet Knight diver especially great. As a walk-on who barely knew the sport, Fred took a chance on me joining the team and I am so grateful that he did. He saw the potential that I had with diving and he pushed me to achieve great goals in such a short amount of time. With Fred's expertise, encouragement, and drive, we were able to succeed as a team and build upon Rutgers' reputation as newcomers in the Big Ten Conference and in NCAA competitions. Having fun was always essential too; Fred's energy and excitement helped keep us going throughout the seasons. I have so many fantastic memories from my diving experience at Rutgers that will stay with me forever. A huge thank you to Fred – I wish you the best in your retirement!!"
- Alyssa Black '17
"I fell in love with diving at an early age," he recalled. "I actually started diving before I knew how to swim. I almost gave my mother a few heart attacks along the way diving into the baby pool that was maybe two feet deep."
Put into swimming lessons immediately, Woodruff learned to swim very quickly because that meant he'd be able to go into the "big kid" pool, which only meant he'd be able to dive there too.
From there, diving was a constant in his life and it was destined that Woodruff would become a coach.
"I can remember my father taking me to a swim meet when I was about seven years old," he remembered, "and I can tell you to this day every dive they did and how they did."
Diving for his club team, Woodruff was known as the 'teacher' of his diving enthusiast friends and he began to develop a passion for teaching and developing skills. He found exhilaration from the improvements his teammates were making in hitting the water.
"There was an excitement that I would get from watching someone doing something new," he explained. "Doing something they've never done before, spinning a little further than they ever have before. Every time someone learns something new and they pop out of the water with wide eyes and you can see in their face 'oh my gosh, I did it', it's something I live vicariously through with each and every one of those dives … and there's been a lot of them over the years."
Then one day, Woodruff found himself walking around Busch Campus at Rutgers and past new construction on the corner of Frelinghuysen and Bartholomew Roads in the early '90s. There was something standing tall among the concrete and brick that would one day become the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center.
"The walls weren't in yet, but I could see the diving tower," he recalled. "I thought 'wow, I have got to get in there.'"
That tower inspired Woodruff to get the credentials he needed to do just that – get inside Sonny Werblin and coach divers. He was coaching on the club circuit and also spent time at Lehigh, but knew he needed more experience to be prepared for when the time was right for Rutgers to be looking for a diving coach.
Woodruff spent time just up the road at Seton Hall when two years later there was an opening at Rutgers… and he did not hesitate.
"I was just so pumped," he said of joining the Scarlet Knights and coaching "On The Banks" for the next three decades.
Over the years, Woodruff has guided divers through four different conferences.
"Each conference was a stepping stone and each one was a progression getting more and more challenging," he explained. "And it's been excited to see how we've grown and developed each time."
Woodruff's divers continued to meet the challenge each time the bar was raised. Each season in his tenure on the pool deck, a Scarlet Knight has advanced to NCAA Zones along with other notable accomplishments.
Early in Woodruff's career at RU, he saw two Atlantic-10 finalists in 1994 and Scarlet Knights earning both men's and women's Diver of the Year in 1995.
In 2008, Erin Saunders captured the Big East title on 1-meter for which Woodruff was named the league's Diving Coach of the Year,
In 2014 Nicole Scott clinched a gold medal performance on platform at the Big East Championships and would go on to win silver at Zones and compete in the NCAA Division I Women's National Diving Championships diving to Honorable Mention All-American status.
"When we got accepted to the Big Ten," he said, "It was an awesome moment to realize I would be coaching alongside a bunch of Olympic coaches. I thought 'am I ready to do this?' going from the Atlantic 10 twenty-odd some years ago to now coaching in the toughest diving conference in the country."
"It's just unbelievable how good the Big Ten is, so when you accomplish something in the Big Ten it feels very gratifying."
And Woodruff has had some very gratifying moments since entering the Big Ten. The 2016 season saw Addison Walkowiak reach the finals on 1-meter, 3-meter and platform and win gold on 1-meter at Zones and Alyssa Black qualify for the U.S. Senior National Team.
The following season, Rutgers sent three divers to the NCAA Championships, the most since he started coaching at RU in 1993, where Black earned Honorable Mention All-America for the second-straight season.
What has been the key to Woodruff's divers' success over the years?
"A little bit of luck," he laughed "but I think consistency really comes with culture. I think that's a big part of developing people. Also, the support at Rutgers has been wonderful. Having that support as we got into tougher competition and as our zones started getting tougher, we were able to keep up and stay competitive."
As his chapter in Rutgers diving history gets ready to turn the page, memories for Woodruff have been popping up in his mind. Everything from the annual tradition of toilet papering coach's house the night before Halloween in the '90s right up until recently when
Walkowiak was dueling it out dive-for-dive on 1-meter against Sarah Bacon, a US Diving National Champion and silver medalist at the World Championships.
However, what Woodruff will miss the most are the people.
"Everybody's just such cool people and we all work really hard to attain our goals and work together to do it with cooperation from everyone," he said. "There are all sorts of people I have had the opportunity to work with all these years and there have been so many different teams.
"I certainly will miss the divers and being on the deck, going into practice and saying 'hey guys, guess what we are going to do today' and getting in there and getting better each day at our diving."
While Woodruff won't be on the pool deck in the upcoming season, you'll be sure to see him still cheering the Scarlet Knights on from the stands.
"I see this program really making some jumps over the next couple of years," he forecasted. "I wish I could have been able to stay and experience it with them, but I really think this is the time for me to do what I'm doing. I think the diving is going to be great though. Over the next few years and well into the future. I think we are going to have a new coach that's going to be able to basically take where we are and run with it and I think we're going to be extremely successful. Jon (Maccoll) has a really good plan to win and succeed. Not only does he have a great plan, but he also has the ability to make it happen and to bring it to fruition."
And as the Scarlet Knights continue to challenge themselves on the boards, Woodruff can enjoy the fact that he has laid the foundation from which the program will continue to grow from. And he will be excited to watch them continue to excel and live vicariously through each and every one of those dives looking for that wide-eyed expression that they have indeed done it.
| SCARLET KNIGHT MEMORIES & WELL WISHES |
"It is hard to find the words to describe how important Fred and Rutgers Diving have been in my life. Fred welcomed me in 1997 as a walk-on to the RU diving team. I am so grateful that he was willing to take a chance on me and teach me for four years. My time at RU was defined by my being on the diving team. Fred was an amazing coach, with so much patience, always positive, and made going to practice lots of fun. I trusted him to know what was best for me and he never let me down. I have so many great memories from my time diving for Fred and feel so fortunate I had the opportunity all those years ago. I have kept in touch with Fred for the last 20 years and I'm proud to see how successful he's been during his career at RU. He will surely be missed, but I'm happy to see him moving on to his well-deserved retirement. RU will never be the same."
- Kathleen Greslik '01
"One 'Fredism' that comes back to me with some regularity is "stop trying and do it." I can't say I took it well at the time, but now I see it as brilliant advice that I continue to use to this day. I'm forever grateful that he never stopped pushing me and never gave up on me. A passionate and dedicated coach. Congrats on the retirement!
- Kelly Gerhardstein ' 04
"Congratulations on an amazing coaching career, Fred! I am so thankful to have had the chance to have you as my coach. You helped shape the athlete I became and the person I am today. You truly are one of a kind. I'll always remember your sense of humor (especially the earthworm jokes) when you would coach me with movie quotes, and the year you won Big East Diving Coach of the Year. Here's to a very happy and healthy retired life!"
- Erin Saunders '10
"Fred made my time as a Scarlet Knight diver especially great. As a walk-on who barely knew the sport, Fred took a chance on me joining the team and I am so grateful that he did. He saw the potential that I had with diving and he pushed me to achieve great goals in such a short amount of time. With Fred's expertise, encouragement, and drive, we were able to succeed as a team and build upon Rutgers' reputation as newcomers in the Big Ten Conference and in NCAA competitions. Having fun was always essential too; Fred's energy and excitement helped keep us going throughout the seasons. I have so many fantastic memories from my diving experience at Rutgers that will stay with me forever. A huge thank you to Fred – I wish you the best in your retirement!!"
- Alyssa Black '17
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