| diving |
Colquitt County ’ s
‘ Field of Dreams ’ Diving powerhouse grows in rural Georgia
Moss Farms diver Bo Bridges won the Georgia State Championship 6A / 7A men ’ s title in early February 2022 . from Moss Farms Diving photography by Gale Couch
Moss Farms Diving was founded in Moultrie , Ga ., due to the passion of Robert C . Moss , better known as “ Moose .” This passion has led to a successful nonprofit organization , the Moss Farms Diving Tigers , and has placed 65 divers in colleges and universities across the nation competing as collegiate athletes .
After serving his country in World War II as one of a select group of pilots to fly the legendary shark-toothed P-40 fighter planes , the late Robert C . “ Moose ” Moss returned to his home in Colquitt County . Twenty years later , he and his wife , Janie , resurrected the Flying Tigers name , tweaking it to Diving Tigers to denote the team he coached at the diving well on his farm northwest of Moultrie .
Though “ Moose ” was never a diver , he didn ’ t let that stop him ; he set out to learn from the best diving coaches in the country to hone his own coaching skills . As his reputation spread , athletes began to trickle into south Georgia to perfect their diving under his leadership . The unlikely site in small rural south Georgia is home to the Moss Farms Diving Tigers , perhaps the country ’ s most improbable diving powerhouse . This program is often compared to the build-it-and-they-willcome theme from “ Field of Dreams .”
38 MoultrieScene MAY 2022