Head Coach Todd Spohn has led Santa Clara Diving since 2011.   Todd and his talented staff have established Santa Clara Diving as one of the top clubs in the nation.  Over the last few years, Santa Clara Diving has produced 3 age-group National Champions and numerous Junior National Finalists, as well as Regional and Zone gold medalists.

Born in Louisville KY, Ryan started gymnastics in 1995, competing up to Level 5 before transitioning to diving full time in 1998 with Louisville Area Diving. As a junior diver, Ryan qualified to USA Diving Junior Nationals as well as placing second at the Kentucky high school State Championships.

Ryan attended college at Northwestern University and earned a degree in Communication Studies and Business, graduating in 2008. While at NU, he set and still holds the Northwestern school record on 1m of 332.80. Ryan was also twice named Big Ten Conference Diver of the Week.

Ryan served as assistant coach for North Shore Diving Club under Northwestern University head coaches Tommy Michael and Alik Sarkisian where he coached, and ran all competitions held at the university. In addition, Ryan was head coach for both Louisville Boat Club Country Club and for Indian Hill Country Club Winnetka, IL

Kelsey grew up in Southern California and began diving at age 8 with Crown Valley Divers. As a junior diver, she was a multi-time junior national qualifier, senior nationals finalist, 4x high school all-American, and the 2006 CIF high school champion. She continued her diving career at UC Berkeley (Cal), where she was a three-time PAC 10 and NCAA Zones finalist, and received Cal’s Most Outstanding Diver award in 2010 and 2011. 

Kelsey graduated from UC Berkeley in 2013 with a degree in Media Studies and Conflict Resolution. In addition to coaching, she works full-time for a tech company in the Bay Area.

Jenna Douglass, born in South Africa, has competed on both the international and Coligiate levels. As a Junior she attended meets in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, placing 2nd in the 3m event as a junior at the Amsterdam Diving Cup. 

 

Jenna moved to the USA after high school and was a student athlete diving at Rutgers University for 5 years (because of Covid year). She was a NCAA Zone Qualifier all years and Big Ten All-Academic for 4 years. 

 

After finishing her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Chemical Engineering, Jenna was selected to compete at the World University Games in Chengdu, China. She placed 5th in 3m Synchro and reached the semi finals for 3m individual. 

 

Jenna is in her first year of coaching at SCD, although she has coached and judged throughout her diving career.

Coach Carissa began diving at age 7 and trained at Columbia University and West Point. She was a multi-time NJ State Champion, East Coast Champion, and national finalist. She went on to attend Stanford University where she was a member of the Varsity Women’s Diving Team (1995-1999) and part of 3 NCAA Division 1 championship teams. She was also a 6 time All American and the United States Diving 1 Meter Champion earing her a spot on the US National team representing the US in many international events including the 1998 World Championships and World Cup, finishing as high as 6^th place internationally. While at Stanford she also fit in her studies and graduated in 2000 with a BA in Communications and a MA in Sports Psychology.

Carissa is passionate about coaching and encouraging the next generation of divers, and she enjoys giving back to the sport she loves so much.  She also owns and operates her own company called Absolute Adventures where she brings the value of teamwork and fun to local corporations through outdoor adventures. She is the mother to a 15 year old artistic swimmer, and (after a very long break) now finds herself competing in master’s diving championships all around the world.

Zsofia Reisinger is a former elite-level diver from Hungary.  She began diving at the age of 9 and went on to have an extensive 18-year career in the sport. She competed for the Hungarian Junior National Team from the age of 13 in 2003-2007 and later for the Hungarian Senior National Team 2008 - 2016.

Throughout her career, Zsofia participated in numerous international competitions, including European Championships, World Championships, World Cups, Grand Prix, and World Series events. She is a three-time European bronze medalist in the 10m synchronized diving event (2014, 2015, and 2016). She also made finals at the 2009 World Championship in Rome in the 3m synchronized diving event and at the 2011 World Championship in Shanghai in the 10m synchronized diving event.

After retiring, Zsofia transitioned into coaching, bringing her extensive knowledge and experience to the next generation of athletes. She spent six years coaching at Crystal Palace Diving Club in London, England, where she worked with young divers aged 8-14. She moved to the US in 2021 and started coaching with Santa Clara Diving club in 2022. She started coaching in collegiate diving at San Jose State University in the fall of 2024 as well. 

Zsofia holds a master’s degree in sports therapy from London Metropolitan University, enhancing her expertise in athlete care and performance development. She believes that coaching goes beyond teaching technical skills it’s about preparing athletes for life, fostering resilience, and building character.

SPECIALIST:

Collin Pollard, a two-time All-American as a student-athlete, is in his first season as Cal’s assistant diving coach.

Pollard has 10 years of coaching experience both at the junior and collegiate level. He has coached at the Santa Clara Diving Club since 2014 and was a coach for the Trojan Dive Club from 2014-16. He also had a brief stint previously on Cal’s coaching staff on an interim basis in 2019.

Pollard began his collegiate diving career at Cal before transferring to USC after one season. He earned All-America honors on both 1-meter and platform with the Trojans and won the Pac-12 championship on platform in 2016.

Pollard also competed at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials on platform in 2016.

SPECIALIST :

Pei Lin, a three-time NCAA runner-up and a Chinese national champion, was named head diving coach at California on April, 28, 2022, and oversees diving for both the men's and women's programs. She enters her third season on staff with the Golden Bears in 2024-25.
  
Before coming to Cal, Lin most recently served as head diving coach at the University of South Dakota for the 2021-22 season, which followed two years as a graduate assistant diving coach at Ohio State. She has also spent time working as an assistant coach with the California Diving Academy in nearby San Ramon and with the Guangdong Diving Team in Guangzhou, China.
 
Lin competed collegiately at Miami (Ohio) from 2015-18, where she was a four-time MAC Diver of the Year. She captured seven MAC championships – four on the 3-meter springboard and three on the 1-meter board – and won six NCAA zone titles. At the NCAA Championships, she placed second on 3-meter three years in a row, took third on 1-meter as a sophomore in 2016 and totaled seven top-10 finishes.
 
Lin, who set Miami records on both boards, scored a MAC meet record 338.90 points on 1-meter in 2016, while she set the MAC record on 3-meter with a score of 409.70 at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
  
Lin began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2019. In two years with the Buckeyes, she coached three Big Ten champions with six divers qualifying for the NCAA Championships. During her one season at South Dakota, she coached Stella Fairbanks to a Summit League title on 1-meter. Lin also served as an assistant coach at the California Diving Academy, managing a team of 40 divers, from 2018-19, and was a volunteer coach in Guangzhou, China from 2015-17.
 
Lin grew up in Shantou City of Guangdong Province in China. She began diving at age 13.
 
Lin earned her bachelor's degree in public health from Miami in 2018 and a master of sport coaching from Ohio State in 2021.