GERMANTOWN ACADEMY DIVE CLUB

FOUNDATION - EXPERIENCE - RESILIENCE - ACCELERATION

Germantown Academy is proud to offer a competitive diving program as a member of USA Diving and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).

Founded in 2016, Germantown Academy Dive Club has produced USA and AAU Diving Junior National Champions, Finalists, and Qualifiers, PIAA AA and AAA District and State Champions, Inter-Ac League Champions, and Eastern Interscholastic Champions.

2019 - first AAU National Champion at the AAU National Diving Championships in Riverside, CA.

2021 - first USA Diving Junior National Finalists (2) in Indianapolis, IN.

2022 - first AAU National Team Member competing in international competition. 

2023 - first Eastern Interscholastic Diving Champion.

2023 - first PIAA AAA District 1 Diving Champion.

2023 - first PIAA AAA State Diving Champion. 

2023 - first NISCA All Americans (5). 

2024 - first USA National Champion at the USA Diving Junior National Championships in Morgantown, WV.

The program is open to students from any school of all ages and skill levels. Contact Coach Tom Henninger (267-405-7370) to inquire about joining the Dive Club.

Training Locations

Germantown Academy Pool
All one meter training programs will regularly practice both dry land and water sessions on campus at Germantown Academy. All diving clinics and lessons will be offered at this location. 

  • One (1) Six-Lane, 25-yard Pool, 12 feet depth
  • Two (2) One-Meter Maxiflex Model B Springboards
  • One (1) Sparger System "Bubbles" for safety in learning new dives
  • One (1) 7x14 Ross Competition Trampoline equipped with overhead spotting rig with somersaulting and twisting safety harnesses
  • One (1) Maxiflex Model B dry diving springboard with 6 ft x 12 ft foam landing pit
  • Apple TV with 50" display for real time pool and dry land video analysis
  • Full use of strength and conditioning weight room

Daskalakis Athletic Center (Drexel University)

All three meter training will occur off campus at this location, these training sessions require a coach's invitation when proper safety and mechanics are established on one meter.

  • One (1) diving well, 12 feet depth
  • Two (2) One-Meter Maxiflex Model B Springboards
  • Two (2) Three-Meter Maxiflex Model B Springboards
  • One (1) Sparger System "Bubbles" for safety in learning new dives
  • Apple TV with 50" display for real time video analysis

Training Programs
The dive club offers four types of training programs, each with a flexible schedule to fit your diver’s lifestyle. Each program has a fixed monthly program fee. The club also offers semi private lessons and clinics.

Junior Program (5th Grade and under)

Practices: 5 practices per week (90 minute sessions)
Grade Levels: 5th grade and below
Dive Reccomendations: 100A, 001B, 001A, 200A (deep water swimming safety is required / 30 sec treading water / 25 yard freestyle) 
Competitions: AAU and USA Diving meets optional but encouraged

Our junior program is set up to train and prepare young divers to transition into our senior program and to compete on the AAU Diving circuit and/or USA Diving national circuit. Practices include a combination of water and dry land skill development in preparation for advanced dives in our senior group. 

Senior Programs (6th Grade and over)

Senior Blue
Practices: 5 practices per week (120 to 150 minute sessions)
Dive Reccomendations: 103C, 201C, 301C, 401C, 5121D, 5221D
Competitions: AAU and USA Diving meets optional but encouraged

Our 'Senior Blue' group is designed to foster the transition between junior and 'Senior Red' facilitating the divers' growth into the sport through competition experience and into the USA Diving national circuit. 

Senior Red
Practices: 6 - 9 practices per week (120 to 150 minute sessions)
Dive Reccomendations: 103C, 403C, 203C, 301C, 5122D/5221D (middle school) + 105C, 403C, 203C, 303C, 5132D/5231D (upper school)
Competitions: USA Diving meets required, AAU Diving meets encouraged

Our 'Senior Red' program is based on the same full-year training model used by the former USA Diving National Training Center. With a strong emphasis on dry land training and advanced skills, this program is best for athletes who has their sole focus on diving and advancing to the national circuit or NCAA diving. The macro training schedule for this program is a full 11 months.

Semi-Private Lessons

  • 90 minutes
  • Semi private lessons are open to non-club members with a maximum of 6 divers per session. All lessons are offered on the weekend evenings. All dry land equipment and diving boards are open for full use during these sessions, allowing for easy transition to new and advanced skills. Participants are encouraged to prepare a list of goal dives for each session to maintain focus in the training and utilize the equipment effectively. 

Diving Clinics

  • 4 hours on select Sundays (subject to change based on pool schedule and availability)
  • The GA Dive Club offers diving clinics on select Sundays from 11:30am to 3:30pm. All clinics feature experienced local coaches with PIAA, NCAA Division I, and National USA Diving experience. Clinics consist of 50% dry land and 50% water training, with every participant using the trampoline and somersaulting harness "belts". 

COACHES

Head Diving Coach Tom Henninger (GA '07)Tom Henninger

Tom Henninger is the Head Diving Coach at his alma mater, Germantown Academy. After graduating in 2007, he competed for the University of California, Berkeley where he helped the Bears win the NCAA Division I Team Title in 2011. Tom's accomplishments as a diver include being a Junior and Senior National Qualifier, PAC 10 Finalist, GA Record Holder, and NCAA Zone Finalist. As a coach, Tom has 14 years of USA and AAU coaching experience including Centennial Diving, Penn Charter High School, Upper Dublin Aquatic Club. During that time he has also spent two summers working with John Wingfield (2008 Olympic Head Diving Coach) along with various Olympic, collegiate, and international coaches at Ripfest Diving Camp in Indiana. Since founding GADC in 2016, he has coached USA Diving Junior National Champions, AAU Diving Junior National Champions, AAU National Team Members, NISCA All Americans, Eastern Interscholastic Champions, PIAA State and District Champions, All Inter-Ac Team Members, and Inter-Ac League Champions.  In 2022, he was named to the coaching staff for the AAU National Diving Team, traveling to Sweden for two international competitions. Since then they have also traveled to Berlin, Germany and Edinburgh, Scotland. Most recently, in 2025, Germantown Academy school and club divers completed a 1-2-3-4 sweep of the Eastern Interscholastic Diving Championships. Tom is fully certified and safety trained through USA Diving, USA Swimming, American Red Cross, and Amateur Athletic Union.

 

 

Sam Henninger is a 2019 graduate of Abington Senior High School, Sam brings a wealth of competition experience to Germantown Academy Dive Club. He holds two Abington school records: 6 dive (330) and 11 dive (610). He was also a 4 x PIAA AAA State Championship Finalist (2nd in 2018), 3 x NISCA High School All American, and 2017 PIAA District One Champion (setting the meet record of 606.10). During that time he also earned high level accolades on the junior diving circuit where he competed for Centennial Diving. His accomplishments include 2 x AAU National Champion and 3 x USA Diving Junior National Championship qualifier. He currently attends LaSalle University where he competes for the university’s swimming and diving team. Entering into his 4th year at LaSalle, he has already earned 6 Atlantic 10 Conference final appearances, winning the conference title in the 1 meter event in 2021. He has also qualified for the NCAA Zone Championships 3 times. He is currently pursuing a double major in Educational Studies and Pyschology. With this combination of academic studies and diving experience, he aims to have an immediate impact on the coaching philosophy at GA.

 

 

Erica Kenski is a 2019 graduate of Trinity High School, Camp Hill, PA, where she started diving her freshman year after being a competitive gymnast for eight years. She was a team captain of the swimming and diving team her junior and senior years. She was the gold medalist at the MidPenn's and Districts in 2019 and was the silver medalist at the 2019 PIAA AA State Diving Championships. She is in her senior year of undergraduate (double majoring in psychology and sociology at La Salle University, she has been a four-year member of the Swimming and Diving team. Having been a competitive athlete for most of her life combined with utilizing strategies gained in her field of study, Erica aims to bring the most effective coaching styles to her position at Germantown Academy, enabling all student athletes to pursue their goals. 

 

 

 

 

 

Kyle Goldbacher considers himself half student, half teacher, half storyteller. As a graduate of LaSalle College High School, he was a four-time high school All-American, and a once-upon-a-time junior national qualifier. He went on to dive at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a B.A. in Anthropology, as well as an M.A. in International Peace and Environmental Security. Kyle continues to study indigenous culture and spiritual ecology and enjoys traveling to remote corners of the world. Kyle began coaching summer league and winter rec-league diving soon after finishing grad school. As his athletes progressed, so did his dedication to their training. In 2010, he established the Imaginary Dive Club. Over the course of 10 years, he had the pleasure of coaching 4 Junior National finalists, including the 2012 11 & under girls Junior National Champion on platform. In 2013, Kyle also began serving as the dive coach at North Penn High School, where again he has had the pleasure of coaching 7 PIAA State Champions, as well as 27 NISCA All-Americans and 5 NCAA D1 scholarship athletes. Now at GA, Kyle hopes to continue the joy of helping each diver defy gravity and explore the limits of what seems possible.

 

 

 

 Alaina Schumann, a proud Germantown Academy alumna from the Class of 2017, returns to GA as an Assistant Diving       Coach, bringing with her a strong record of achievement both on the boards and in the classroom. A 2021 graduate of   Bucknell University, Alaina earned her B.A. in Biology while competing as a Division I diver. During her collegiate career, she   achieved the third-best 3-meter diving score in Bucknell program history. Alaina currently teaches Chemistry, Biology, and   Environmental Science in the Upper School at Sanford School in Delaware. She also serves as the Head Diving Coach and   Assistant Swim Coach at Sanford, where she launched the school’s first diving program in the 2024–2025 season. Her   coaching philosophy emphasizes skill development, confidence-building, and team spirit.

 Passionate about both education and athletics, Alaina will be graduating this May with a Master’s in Educational Leadership   from Eastern University. She’s dedicated to helping young athletes grow in confidence, skill, and love for the sport—and   she’s thrilled to bring that energy back to the GA diving community.