East Bay man still diving at 97 years old

LAFAYETTE, Calif. - He has done it thousands of times.  Even as he approaches the age of 97, walking up the ladder to his beloved diving board is a well-worn routine.

"It's a reflex, so I don't have to think," Bob Sherman said recently at his family's longtime swim school in Lafayette, the Sherman Swim School. "I'm in the air and everything's a reflex."

The end of that board is like a second home for Sherman, who fell in love with diving as a kid in the East Bay and has been diving for almost a century. 

He smiled while remembering just how long he has been a diver.

"You know, I didn't think I’d live this long," Sherman said, who is turning 97 on Sept. 26. "It's in my blood. It's a natural thing." 

Sherman grew up in the Bay Area and now lives in Walnut Creek. 

He was swimming at age four and diving took hold and never let go. 

He dove for City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University. He even dove when he was serving in the military.

He never stopped diving, even while raising his four children with his wife of nearly 70 years, Shirley. They now have 14 grandchildren. 

"He's something to keep up with," Shirley Sherman said with a smile. "He's a go, go, go."

Bob Sherman founded the Sherman Swim School in Lafayette and, of course, made sure there was a diving pool. 

His son, Steve Sherman, an All-American diver and who competed in college for Brigham Young University, took over his father's business and has now become his father's coach. 

Of course, the diving board is always there for Dad.

"He wants criticism," Steve Sherman said of his father. "He wants to know what he could do better."

Bob Sherman has a box full of diving medals at home and still continues to compete in the 90-and-over category. He's now down to his three best dives: A front, back and half twist.

When he is not in the pool, he is likely on a golf course, and he only started using a cart last year.

Bob Sherman also knows he wants to keep diving, even though every year he said it is a little harder and a "couple of things are falling apart."

Still, even with ailments and injuries, it's not about whether the dive is perfect, it's about getting to the end of the board.