Derek Douglas ~ Coach

Derek began diving at 14 with Diablo Divers in Walnut Creek after being a gymnast. After graduating, he then went on to dive at UC San Diego for four years. After returning to the Bay Area he returned to Diablo Divers and was again coached by his former collegiate coach, Phil Tonne. As a Masters Diver he has competed all over the world.

Coach Douglas has coached Berkeley High School’s diving team for sixteen years as well as assisting other local age group teams. A number of his divers have gone on to Division 1 college programs. He is currently a 4th grade teacher in Alameda.

Willow Dunster ~ Coach

Details coming soon...

Alex Kiaie ~ Coach

Details coming soon...

Eric Holzheimer ~ Coach and Executive Director

Eric founded California Diving Academy in late Spring of 2013. Eric has and continues to coach various high school diving teams. Those past/present schools include: Acalanes, Alameda, California (CalHigh), Campolindo, Carondelet, Clayton Valley, College Park, De La Salle, Dougherty Valley, Dublin, Encinal, Las Lomas, Miramonte, Monte Vista, Napa High, Piedmont, and Vintage High. For high schools, CDA has developed more than 125 North Coast Section (NCS) participants, more than two-dozen (boys and girls) top-4 Champions, more than a dozen divers making it to the CIF/State Championship (in several cases more than once). The California Diving Academy (CDA) strives to help and develop those athletes who want to dive in college or wish to compete at the highest levels. For our Age Group and Junior Olympic Divers (JO's) CDA has more than 200 divers that have competed in and won hundreds of medals in local club meets, national qualifiers (region and zone), and national events. CDA has also successfully launched almost two dozen (D1, D2, D3 and NAIA) college divers from our JO program in the short time CDA has been a club.

Holzheimer has been a youth sports coach for almost 50 years across myriad sports. Currently, Eric focuses his coaching acumen on springboard and platform diving (men's and women's). Just prior to CDA he also coached women's lacrosse (goalie coach) at the JV and Varsity high school levels and women's soccer as a head coach and goalie coach. A few of the other sports he has coached over the years include: gymnastics, trampoline, water polo, swimming, soccer, baseball, volleyball, and of course diving.

As a multi-sport athlete himself for more than 20 years, Eric competed from an early age in youth sports, high school, and college. He knows what it takes to be a casual as well as an elite athlete. He is hoping to dive again in a Masters (19 and older) event.

In addition to his duties on the deck and administering day-to-day activities of CDA, Holzheimer is and has been involved in business as a serial entrepreneur for more than 50 years. He has retired several times (ask about the towels)...he LOVES coaching!