It’s that time of year again when many people are digging out their dive kit after being locked away in the garage during the winter. Many of these will be getting in touch asking to brush up their skills with a Scuba Review or just want to get in the pool to make sure that everything is ok. However, a few will ask ‘what is the next stage?’. Whether this is Advanced Open Water, Rescue or going further to the PADI Pro level, whenever we run a course the first step is always to go over existing knowledge, so whatever level you are at we refresh your skills.
The PADI Open Water Course is the first step in the journey to become a competent diver. As a PADI professional we are always learning, training and advancing our skills. Whether that is teaching a course or participating on a course, we are always looking to continue development.
As a Master Instructor I always tell my students that the minimum goal should be Master Scuba Diver. To achieve this level you are required to have PADI Open Water, PADI Advanced Open Water and PADI Rescue Diver certifications, five specialties and 50 logged dives. Accomplishing this was a great personal achievement for me and I then felt that I was starting to understand what diving was about.
Here at Orca Scuba Diving Academy it’s something that we promote to all of our students; from the very young in the Seal Team right through to PADI Pro members who come and work with us who haven’t attained the Master Scuba Diver Certification yet.
The confidence this can build in the individual helps reduce anxiety, increases confidence, helps promote safe diving so more enjoyment is had at all levels.
I.D.C
Over the past 5 weekends we have had a group of our instructors doing their Instructor Development Course, that will culminate in 3 of the students completing their Instructor exams this weekend, however for the fourth member this will have to wait as they are in the Philippines enjoying some great diving!
Like all other courses, the I.D.C involves theory and skills but this time it also includes how to teach the theory to others. Just because you know how to do something doesn’t mean you know how to teach it. I know many very good divers will only too quickly acknowledge the fact that they cannot teach and on the other hand I know some great teachers who aren’t the greatest divers in the world. They say teaching is a vocation and people are born to be teachers, in whatever field they choose. Personally, I get fantastic satisfaction from working with individuals who start off by say ‘I can’t…’. My normal response to this is that you haven’t done it yet. I can just about remember when I was getting ready for my instructor exams and the nerves I was feeling. I wish all the guys the best of luck and I will see them on Sunday to share the smiles once they have joined the ranks and become a PADI Instructor.
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