Ashwaubenon Diving

Sad news regarding my long-time friend, a man that most of you out there probably know as "Coach Rich". From the info that I received, Rich Maes had two bad events in May.
On the 7th, his handicapped modified van was struck by an F-150 (twice). Rich was shaken up, and seemed ok, but the van needed MAJOR repairs! The van should be all fixed up in 7-10 days (today is May 29.
But, there is more! On May 25, Rich was taken to the hospital with chest pains. He had the full battery of tests, images, nuclear medicine, and more done. They scanned every part of his body for clots, and scanned every major organ. Result: It was not a heart attack or any other organ causing the pain. BUT his heart has VERY serious blockage, to the point that the doctors are surprised that he is still alive. Angioplasty or bi-passes are not viable options! The only thing that would improve his health is a transplant, but his age and numerous medical conditions make him very unlikely to even get on the transplant list.
It looks like my college pal, a guy that I always loved, respected, and admired, is left in the hands of his creator. We don't know how much time Rich has left, probably 2-5 years, maybe more, but a significant illness or "health event" could end it abruptly.

Rich and I shared many moments in our college days, discussing our Christianity (I am Greek Orthodox, Rich is Roman Catholic). He strongly believes in prayer and miracles. Right now, he could use a lot of the former and at least one of the latter.
I am sure there are a lot of people on this page that love Rich. Please, remember him with prayers, if you will.

Thank you

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When gas is $3.99/gallon, you have to save any way you can. With KwikTrip fuel discounts plus Festival credits we knocked that price down!

Already looking forward to the 2028 summer Olympics in LA! DIVING will be July 16-28 and SWIMMING July 22-30! No mention of TRACK and FIELD, but maybe they fall under "ATHLETICS". I love the Olympics!

Charles graduated 8 years before Coach, but Rich considers him a "brother in diving", both veterans of the OLD pool at Ashwaubenon High School.

Charles "Chaz" Philip Slavek Obituary - Green Bay Press-Gazette Charles “Chaz” Philip Slavek, faithful husband and loving father and grandfather, passed away at the age of 74 on October 4, 2025. Charlie was...

Today's senior spotlight is Nevaeh Clayton! Congratulations, Nevaeh!

[Don't miss the "clip" at the very end of this post!]

To all our loyal followers, thank you. Rich and I agreed that I have posted plenty (maybe too many) photos of him diving, in the 70s.

He knows I was a huge fan and if it weren't for him, I would not have learned so much about diving and fallen in love with the sport. In his freshman year, he went unbeaten on his home boards! He had a few defeats on the road, but was always competitive in the NCAA meets. In his club meets and AAU meets he went against the best in the world, including his idol, Greg Louganis. He would always place, but not as well as he did in the NCAA.

I would often catch the end of his daily pm practice before we woud go to the GYM, weight room, running or any combination. We had a group of about 5 guys with varied backgrounds so we pushed each other to be better in anything we did.

I don't think I will post any more, but I have one clip from a Facebook post of Rich's 12 years ago, that I shared with friends for some laughs. This is just a small clip, but it is a "snapshot" of Rich in his 50s.

". . . we are watching splash, people from 4'2" to 7'2" and from 117 lbs to 417 lbs, competitive diving. My favorite diver of all time is the coach this year, Greg Louganis. Just waiting for Louis Anderson to dive from the 7m (commercial break). . ."

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Hi everyone! Gymmy is back for at least one more post before I shut down this page. Don't worry, I will keep it up for a little while, but it will not go on forever, like some do.

I will include any comments with each picture instead of all at once here.

Gymmy here again. I have my hands full right now, but Coach Rich asked me to just make a post that HE can add to for today. I don't know what he has to share, but here it is (in the comments)

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Sorry this is so late. I have been very busy and may have to travel to New York this weekend for "family reasons".
This group is just a bunch of photos I like. 1) Reverse 1 1/2 Pike, 2 & 3) Inward 2 1/2 Pike, and then two entries, Inward and Forward. See the comments for each photo.

So sorry that I could not find that Back 1 1/2 STRAIGHT. Maybe I wasn't shooting that dive or maybe they just didn't turn out. Diver Rich wanted these pictures and I volunteered to take them, promising I had a new "high tech" camera and I would do my best, plus I only charged for my expenses--A PRO would cost a lot-- too much for a college student--even one on an athletic scholarship. We both knew things would not all go perfect! If I find that dive, I WILL POST IMMEDIATELY, unless this page is closed by then. 🤞

First, I apologize for taking some time off. I was busy with other stuff -- Gymmy does have a life -- and I was earnestly trying to find the photo set that I SWEAR I shot of Rich doing his Back 1 1/2 SS in LAYOUT. I checked with Rich and he said, "How do I know what dives you photographed? I would tell you what I was going to do and then I did it." Well, I can't find it and Rich doesn't have a copy, so maybe I was too busy watching him and didn't take the pictures. Sorry, my bad?
Second, I think my old pal is trying to wrap things up here and asked me how much longer I planned to continue. I have a set for today, though not my best work. It is a Forward 3 1/2 somersaut Tuck from the 1 meter. I wish I had the auto-shutter motor set for higher speed because he was really spinning fast, particularly between the "throw" of the somersault and the next frame, I missed the peak of his dive and a whole somersault, and then another frame at "then end" would be great, showing Rich coming out of the somersaults. I never printed the last frame of this set because it just showed his feet above the water after his entry. Man! If I had a digital camera & could view the shots right away! He would have done the dive again so I could get it right.
I promise at least one more post with a few more pictures, but I will stop then???