Our storied history begins
in 1941.
That’s when our namesake (a Colquitt County native), Robert C. “Moose” Moss, served with the courageous ‘Flying Tigers’
They were an American Volunteer Group comprised of 87 pilots from the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps assembled to fly the legendary shark-toothed P-40 fighters synonymous with World War II.
Some twenty years later, Moose and his wife, Janie, built a small diving well on their farm, 12 miles northwest of Moultrie, Georgia. Once a competitive gymnast, Moose admired the sport of diving. But he was never a diver and never attended an organized diving class.
Channeling that same courage, passion and willpower, which made him a successful Flying Tiger, Moose turned his energies to diving. He was fascinated by it’s coaching, and he learned from some of the sports’ best.
In the evenings, Moose was known to climb down from the tractor early enough to coach his children and those that others began to bring to him. It was from these humble beginnings that Moss Farms Diving Tigers eventually became regulars on awards podiums across the state, nation, and the world. In 1993, Moultrie saw the dedication of the Moose Moss Aquatic Center—a stunning, world-class facility that became the training site for six Olympic teams, a Can-Am-Mex Championship and host to several national diving championships.
Within the sport of diving, Moose Moss was an anomaly. Coaches and divers alike have marveled that a man with no experience in the sport of diving could have had the success that Moose had with his athletes. His contributions to the sport have been recognized in response:
- In 1985, U.S. Diving crowned Moose the National Age-Group coach of the year.
- In 1994, Moose was posthumously recognized with the prestigious Glenn McCormick Award for outstanding contribution to the sport of diving.
- The National YMCA named its annual diving award the Moose Moss Award.
- The Georgia Diving Association has a lifetime achievement award named in honor of Moss.
- U.S. Diving named its annual junior’s coaching award the Moose Moss Age-Group Coach of the Year Award.
- Moose is a member of the Colquitt County Hall of Fame, and was honored with a posthumous induction into the Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame in 2011.
Moose dreamed of bringing unparalleled opportunity to Colquitt County. And he accomplished precisely that—through his unwavering dedication to the cultivation of a world-class diving program that continues to produce accomplished athletes even today.
You, too, can Dive with Champions.