Johanna Hollaway is a member of the Moss Farms Diving Tigers. (Photo by Gale S. Couch)
Located in the middle of Georgia’s agricultural hub sits one of the nation’s most prestigious diving centers. The Moose Moss Aquatic Center, home to the Diving Tigers, has been part of the Moultrie and Colquitt County landscape for more than 50 years.
The start of what is commonly referred to as the Moss Farms Diving Center began when Robert “Moose” Moss, a local farmer dug a diving well for his children on his farm 12 miles from Moultrie. Moose, who was once a competitive gymnast, turned his attention to the sport of diving. He learned the sport from some of the best athletes and began coaching his children and others in the area.
The Moss Farms Diving Tigers began competing and winning at regional, zone, and national levels. Under the leadership of Moose, more than $1 million was raised in the early 1990s to build a diving complex in Moultrie. In 1993, the Moose Moss Aquatic Center was officially opened. It has hosted numerous regional, zone, and national championships.
The 2016 AT&T USA Diving National Championships was the largest event hosted at the center and brought a resurgence of attention to Moss Farms Diving and placed a national spotlight on Moultrie.
The championships were held Aug. 1-14, with more than 600 elite divers, 200 coaches and judges, plus family members and friends. Add to those numbers the hundreds of spectators that attended, and it is easy to understand how the event generated more than $4.3 million in economic impact.
The entire region benefited from the national championships. Divers and their families stayed in Valdosta, Thomasville, and Tifton, as well as other South Georgia communities. When you also consider the increase in business for restaurants, shopping, and entertainment, the diving championships were a strong economic win.
According to Dorothy McCraine, president of the Moss Farms Diving Board, the national championships would not have been a success without the support of the local community.
“We could not have done it without the volunteers and financial support from the community,” said McCraine. “Moultrie is a special place, and when you ask this community for support they are always willing. People from Moultrie love this town and want to see it succeed.”
Approximately 50 volunteers were utilized each of the 14 days to help manage everything from registration to hospitality to assisting with logistical issues, such as parking and maintaining the center’s high standards of operation.
“Throughout the two weeks I kept hearing about how friendly and welcoming everyone was,” said McCraine, a Moultrie native and a local attorney. “I was so proud. Moultrie has always been dear to my heart, and it was rewarding to know we did something to help the community I love.”
Chris Heaton, head coach and program director, Dorothy McCraine, president of the Moss Farms Diving Board, and John Fox, an assistant coach at the Moose Moss Aquatic Center located in Moultrie, Ga.
Moss Farms a Diving Powerhouse
The Moss Farms Diving Center is regarded as one the top outdoor diving facilities in the country. With five platforms, eight springboards, and 6,000 square feet of dry-land practice area, the center has become a draw for divers to come train both part-time and full-time.
After the 2016 national championships, Johanna Holloway of Ft. Lauderdale and Maggie Merriam of Orlando, moved to Moultrie to become part of the Diving Tigers and continue their training at Moss Farms under the direction of Chris Heaton, head coach and program director, and John Fox, assistant coach. In December, Holloway and Merriam traveled to Kazan, Russia to compete in the FINA World Junior Championship.
Heaton attributes the facilities, programming, and mission as key reasons for the center’s success.
“We can get the training we need every single day regardless of the weather conditions,” said Heaton, who arrived at Moss Farms Diving Center in 2015. “The dry-land practice area is key. University programs might have a dry-land practice area or some just have trampolines and maybe a dry board setup, but here we have the equipment where children can practice everything even on cold days, and this makes the training process more of a fluid routine.”
Getting them at a young age and moving them through the programs is the best way to develop a diver that is ready to compete at the collegiate level and beyond.
“It’s really about developing them from when they are 5, 6, and 7 years old until they are 18,” said Heaton. “It takes 10 years and 10,000 hours of training to really develop an athlete. Our high-performance group (11 to 16 years old) trains four hours every day.”
Under the coaching of Heaton and Fox, there are approximately 70 Diving Tigers ranging from 5 to 18 years of age.
The Junior Olympic team has 18 members, seven of which are part of the High Performance team.
“Members of the High Performance team are our top athletes,” Heaton said. “They are the team members that qualify for nationals and place regularly in the top 10.”
Heaton is excited to start the Tiny Tiger program, ages 6-10 years old, for the young diving standouts.
“I love this group,” Heaton said. “We have selected this group based on identified talent. We are investing a lot of time with this group. They will be the ones moving through the program to possibly become part of the High Performance team in a few years.”
Heaton said the goal is to win a team championship at the junior national level. He would also like to have members of the Diving Tigers return to Moss Farms Diving after their post-collegiate competition to train for the Olympic Games.
“When John (Fox) and I first got here we painted a vision of what we knew could be accomplished,” Heaton said, “and what had to be done to get to that point.”
With excellent facilities and robust training programs, Heaton and Fox began working on what they consider the most important element of training—building character.
“We have adopted a culture that includes faith, character, and sport,” Heaton explained. “We are investing in the culture ideology that first comes faith, then we work on building the person’s character, then the sport comes last.”
Heaton firmly believes that with this vision they are developing the complete person and athlete.
“We want people to see the success,” Heaton said. “But it has to be in this order. This has been a shift in our culture, and I think it is contributing to our success as a team and individually.”