Coaching Olympic diver in Paris a ‘dream experience’ for Centre grad
When University of Louisville diving coach Ryan Rougeux ’13 first heard from a Dutch teen looking to pursue her love for diving while studying in the U.S., little did he know their journey would lead to the Olympic games.
Rougeux spent early August in Paris helping coach UofL grad Else Praasterink as she competed in the 10-meter platform diving competition, advancing all the way to the finals, finishing in 12th place while representing the Netherlands as the lone member of the nation’s diving contingent.
“There is no other experience like it when it comes to sports,” Rougeux said of his up-close look at the Olympic games. “To see peak performance in any sport is incredible.”
He soaked up the atmosphere and met celebrities (snapping a selfie with Tom Brady) and also joined local residents at a nearby bar on what turned out to be a stirring night of swimming as French star Léon Marchand won gold for his home country.
“To be a part of the local community celebrating the games was really special,” he said. “I definitely had a dream experience there in Paris.”
It was during the height of COVID restrictions when Praasterink contacted Rougeux about diving at the University of Louisville. It didn’t take him long to realize Praasterink had a unique drive propelling her to excellence.
“She has the intangible qualities and wants to be the best,” he said. “In the last two years here at Louisville, she has caught fire. She graduated in May and the Olympics was a nice culmination of our 4-year career together.”
That competitive spirit led the duo to great heights at Louisville (a 4th-place finish in the NCAA finals) and the World Aquatic Championships this February in Doha, Quatar, where Praasterink’s 11th place finish earned her a spot on the Dutch Olympic team.
The sort of internal drive that has led Praasterink to the top of the sport has to strike a familiar chord with Rougeux, who excelled as a Centre diver during a challenging time for the team.
“The four years I was at Centre, we didn’t have a diving coach, so for the most part it was me coaching myself,” he said. Rougeux also dedicated himself to helping his teammates improve. “Ultimately, I think that’s where I got my start in coaching,” he said. “I would try to get to practice early, coach myself and then turn around and coach the rest of the team after I was done training. “I definitely did diving for the love of diving and really enjoyed competing for the team and representing the school.”
Beyond developing his coaching chops, Centre provided lessons Rougeux has incorporated throughout his career building teams and preparing divers for success.
“The sense of family and community at Centre has always been special to me,” he said. “When looking at building a team culture and building this program at Louisville, I have really tried to model a lot off my experiences at Centre and how much it meant to me to be part of the swim and dive team and part of the campus community.”
Rougeux keeps in contact with his Centre teammates, and some of his classmates threw an Olympic-themed party to send him off to Paris.
After completing his degree in government, Rougeux enrolled in law school at the University of Dayton with the goal of working in sports law, with the NCAA or as a sports agent. But while at Dayton, he learned Wright State University was looking for a diving coach. So, he spent three years juggling the challenges of being a full-time law school student and a full-time diving coach.
“It was a little hectic,” he admits.
After completing law school, he stayed on at Wright State until the program was shuttered as part of budget cuts in 2017. He returned to Louisville to prepare for the bar exam and found a volunteer coaching position at UofL. His bar studies were put on hold again as he was appointed interim diving coach for the 2017-18 season before taking the reins as head coach a year later.
A Louisville native, Rougeux got a construction tour of Champions Hall last year during homecoming and looks forward to seeing the completed swimming and diving facility in person.
Rougeux is determined to make it back to the Olympics. Louisville has a strong swimming history, with athletes competing in the last four games. His mission is to continue to build the diving program to that level.
“My goal for 2028 is to coach a U.S. athlete at a home Olympic team,” he said.
