Leaving the pool

After more than two decades of coaching, Thunder Bay Diving Club's Mike Lang is taking the plunge into retirement.

The 52-year-old from Newfoundland decided to end his long career of coaching this year. Lang has helped many young athletes rise to the top throughout the years with his unique brand of coaching.

Lang first came to the city in the early 90s before permanently settling in 1999. He said what attracted him to stay was the accessibility of the Canada Games Complex.

“The reason I left Regina was that I felt I couldn’t do anymore there,” he said. “Here we have a great facility. I love the sport. I’ve worked with a lot of kids. I’ll work with them for eight, nine, 10 years and I spend more time with them than their parents. I like being in the role of developing young people.”

Lang has been involved with watersports since he was young and said his desire to coach simply evolved over the years.

One of the best features of diving for Lang is that it’s about the individual and how they perform in that moment. He believes the secret to succeeding in the sport is not only practicing diving but also having a good work ethic.

That’s the reason he said it’s important for athletes to start when their young so that they can learn that discipline.

Seeing the athletes he trained go onto being successful members of society gives him a real sense of pride. He also sees the money raised for athletic scholarships as his biggest accomplishment.

He said it’s difficult to see athletes giving up the sport but he understands as diving demands a lot.

“It’s easier to be a normal kid,” he said. “These are very special individuals. I’m proud to be a part of this whole thing.”

Lang said he would like to move away from his administration role and do strictly coaching but he wasn’t sure if he would be continuing down that road or if he was even staying in Thunder Bay.

He even thought about going to law school.

But what Lang did know was that he was done with traveling and living out of a suitcase.

“I enjoy coaching individuals but I also enjoy developing programs and coaches,” he said. “I like training. If I could get another coach to take them to the meets and everything, that would be ideal. I hate airports, I hate travel.”

Molly Carlson has worked with Lang for the past few years and she said she’s miss his unique coaching. She said she remembers him fondly as the man who would burst into song during a competition.

She added that he helped her get to where she is today.

“Working with Mike has been an amazing experience,” the 14-year-old said. “He’s so experienced in the world of diving because he’s been around it for so long. It’s been crazy being able to dive with him because he just gives such good corrections and is really easy to work with.”