Longtime Gig Harbor, Peninsula diving coach Litsch dies at 67

Liz Litsch, a longtime diving coach for Peninsula and Gig Harbor high schools and a Peninsula School District educator, passed away Wednesday night after a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 67.

Last month, Litsch was recognized for her 30 years of mentorship with the district. An estimated 150 to 200 people came to a party to recognize her, some of whom flew in from different parts of the country to honor their former coach. She’s remembered by those close to her as not just an excellent diving coach, but also as a mentor to those whom she coached.

“She shaped so many people’s character,” said former diver and current Gig Harbor High teacher Alyse Yeaman. “It’s not easy to fall backwards on your head. She challenged kids and believed in them. You take kids at a young age and you believe in them, it changes their life.”

Gig Harbor High swim coach Mike Kelly, who coached with Litsch since 1993 at Peninsula and more recently, Gig Harbor, said Litsch had a unique gift for molding an athlete who may have never dived before into a formidable diver over the course of four years.

“She was always enthusiastic about her teaching her divers, perpetuating the belief that you may start with nothing, but you can get yourself somewhere with hard work and learning,” Kelly said. “She was always looking out for the best interests of the athletes. She sacrificed a lot of hours so she continue as the diving coach. She was a selfless, servant-warrior of sorts.”

While some kids in other sports may quit after a year or two, most of Litsch’s divers stuck with it for all four years of high school.

“She had a real ability of connecting with the kids and teaching them how to do the dives properly and get the most out of each dive,” Kelly said. “They kept coming back, all four years. She made the practices fun but challenging and it made the athletes better.”

In diving, judges give out scores on a scale of 1-10 for each dive performed.

“She’s a 10,” Yeaman said.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Longtime Gig Harbor, Peninsula diving coach Litsch dies at 67."