Having taught credited courses at Marywood University and the University of Scranton, one problem with retaining and developing youth in scholastic programs is that the Open Water course is the be all and end all of the diving universe for most students. Scuba diving, when taught for credit at colleges and universities, is usually a Phys Ed course and must compete with general swimming education and competitive swimming for pool time.
While an Open Water program is an excellent Phys Ed course, with many liberal arts schools requiring 1 aquatics and 1 gym credit, and introduces the general student population to diving, advanced, specialty and technical training is ignored by the majority of colleges and universities. Barry University, Marywood's sister college, has a sport diving management program which creates instructors while Marywood has an Aviation Management program in which students emerge as flight instructors. Marywood wasn't interested in a sport diving program.
Sadly, many science students could benefit from on-going diver training, but are ignored. If colleges could be moved into opening up advanced, specialty and technical training to undergraduate and graduate students as credited courses, it would increase the number of young people who may engage in diving for both recreation and vocation.
For example, a marine biology or geology student might be able to take the following courses:
Freshman Fall - OW, Freshman Spring - AOW & Rescue, Sophmore Fall - Nitrox and Intro To Tech, Sophmore Spring - Advanced Nitrox and Deco Procedures, Junior Fall - Trimix, Junior Spring - Cavern & Intro To Cave, Senior Fall - Advanced Trimix, Senior Spring - Apprentice and Full Cave. Now, you have student graduating with a marine bio or geo degree who can take part in almost any sort of science diving research.
Or, these could also be Summer, Intercession, or Spring Break programs as well. Instructors leading such programs would also be poised in a good spot to oversee dive clubs in which students could keep experiencing adventure at higher levels.
Another idea I had for getting youth involved is to run "Navy SEAL" style training for paintball players. If a dive center could get their dive pros, who had military small unit tactical experience, to run a course in improving paintball team strategies, a discover scuba or open water program could be added to the course, as both a selling point for the course itself, and to sell the sport of scuba diving in the process.
An SSI instructor in the area, named Paul, goes into schools and tries to turn the kids onto diving. My 14 year-old niece, having an uncle (ME) who is an instructor and always talking diving and having Paul visit her school, was never really interested in diving UNTIL she did the PA State Police Camp Cadet program. The first thing that happened after roll call was the cadets were wisked away to the pool to do a discover scuba experience followed by an intro to the SWAT team. She is hooked! Now, she wants me or my girlfriend to teach her a jr. open water course this summer.
One thing that hurts youth programs is agencies trying to force the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to ally with a brand. There aren't enough dedicated people taking part in scouting as it is to limit scouting programs to only seek training through specific agencies. We also have Sea Scouts and other such programs in which diving isn't pushed and would benefit the kids, scouting and diving.
My girlfriend's mother, as a teenager, used to watch
Sea Hunt every night on her break because the diner she would patron had the TV tuned into the show. She never even thought it was something that she could ever try in New Jersey.
Dive centers always hire all these young people who are interested in diving and then tell them how to run a dive business. Maybe the dive shop owners should teach the kids how to manage money and inventory, and then listen to the kids about what is cool and how they could get kids tuned into sport.
Creating certification programs for local lifeguards would get young people who could swim into the sport. Lifeguards learn to rescue a scuba diver in class, but most lifeguard classes just simulate with mask, fins and snorkel. LDS and indie instructors could raise awareness of the availability of diving just by volunteering to be a victim during lifeguard training. That is where I received a lot of interest from kids who could swim! By talking to swimming coaches, you could do a free discover scuba program as a "reward" for a swim team who trains hard. This gets you connected to gaining access to pools and increasing interest among kids and parents.
You'd be surprised how many people in a community don't know that diving is available.
Also, diving should be well advertised beyond diving magazines. Surfing, skiing, and other sports with a wide youth participation is where the industry should be advertising as well.
I also really think they should make Shadow Divers into an epic film. Imagine what a great film about wreck exploration would do for dive centers in places like the northeast, great lakes, and the west coast? Diving is always shown to be a tropical sport even when Jacqueline Bisset, Nick Nolte and Robert Shaw or Jessica Alba and Paul Walker are the heroes.
The jealousies in the industry keep the industry from growing.
Diving is run by old farts who just want to "tell you another thing" which is why WE are the ones in these message boards!
(I'm kind of young here at age 41!)
