Retired diving coach joins psych faculty

After nearly two decades out of the classroom, Coach Huber will become Professor Huber once again.

Jeffrey Huber retired in February as the IU diving coach after more than 35 years of coaching.

He coached at the highest levels both nationally and internationally throughout his career. This spring he will bring his teaching prowess to the IU classroom as he returns to teach psychology.

Huber grew up with an older brother and two older sisters in Buena Park, Calif., where he was a high school diving champion and record-holder.

After verbally committing to dive at IU under Coach James “Doc” Councilman, Huber changed his mind and instead attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“I thought maybe I’d made a mistake and should’ve gone to IU,” Huber said. “So, it was nice to have a second chance.”

As a Badger, Huber was a finalist at both the Big Ten and U.S. National championships. In addition, he competed in the U.S. Olympic trials in 1976.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in English and education, Huber furthered his education at California State University-Fullerton with a master’s degree in English.
While going to class, he also began his first head-coaching job at Cypress College in California.

In 1989, Huber was hired as the head coach of the IU diving team, so he and his family made one last move to Bloomington.

Huber said he returned because of IU’s tradition and in anticipation of brand new swimming facilities.

Huber said he immediately became comfortable with the campus and the city.

When he first arrived at IU, Huber was both a professor and coach. Although he said he loved being in the classroom, it was too much to do both.

In 1996 he focused all his attention on diving.

His decision paid off.

Four years later, Huber became the second IU head coach ever to coach on the world’s biggest stage: the Olympics. One of his divers had to qualify for the games for him to go along, and after coaching the U.S. team in Sydney in 2000, he earned this honor twice more — in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008.

He just missed the 2012 Olympics when one of his divers finished one spot away from qualifying.

“It takes a village to raise an Olympic athlete,” Huber said, adding that the most exciting part of being an Olympic coach is “helping a kid achieve their lifelong dream and seeing the expression on their face when they make the team.”

Along with unparalleled coaching experience came the chance to travel all over the world. Huber said he especially enjoyed sharing this with his daughter. He would also write while on the road, something he would not normally have time to do.

As a result of his successful career, Huber was named the U.S. National Coach of the Year 12 times. He was also the Big Ten Coach of the Year for 14 seasons.
In Huber’s 23 years at IU, his divers thrived.

He coached some of the most successful collegiate divers in the country, including IU senior diver Darian Schmidt, last year’s Big Ten Diver of the Year, and Amy Cozad, who won the Big Ten Medal of Honor.

“He made me not only a better diver but a better person,” Schmidt said. “He took me to a level that I never thought I could accomplish.”

While the IU diving program prospered under Huber’s instruction, his divers said his support extended beyond the pool. He truly cared about the athletes he coached, senior diver Kate Hillman said.

“He has been such a positive influence for me and has made the IU diving team like a family,” Hillman said.

Huber said he invested a lot of time, energy and emotion into his 35-year coaching career, but when the time came to stop, teaching was right there waiting for him. He said he has always known he would be a teacher.

So, he decided to return to the classroom.

Although during his college years, he planned to one day be an English professor, Huber switched his focus to psychology. He was interested in how human beings learn and how people can accelerate and influence that process. 

He compared his coaching career to a “longitudinal study of working with
athletes.”

From this, Huber learned a lot about how people can learn to handle adversity, stress and setbacks. He described psychology simply as “an incredible field.”

In November 2012, Huber published his first book called “Applying Educational Psychology and Coaching Athletes.”

He is currently working on his second book.

Next semester, Huber will teach Intro to Psychology and Psychology of Coaching.
He is currently preparing to be an “effective teacher” by brushing up on his knowledge of the material.

“I like working with young people,” he said. “I like making a difference in their lives.”