Looking to Get Kids Certified...Decent Instructor in NE?

[rob.mwpropane]

I'm a father of 4 boys. 21, 15, 13, and soon to be 10. I know the little guy is little but I'd like to get him cert. now so he can learn as we grow as a family of divers. No intentions on being reckless, we'd be doing really shallow dives until he got older. I was left unimpressed by the local dive shops and am now geared towards finding an instructor that will work with us to get them certified who will actually teach them to dive as opposed to how to pass tests and do the bare minimum. Trying to head towards a Christmas present for them all.

I had my eye on Trace Malinowski but he's currently on sabbatical in the Himalayan mountains learning ninjutsu from a Buddhist monk (jk, I have no idea where he is but I wish him the best). So now I'm looking for an instructor that is willing to teach the boys. I'm located in Maryland but that doesn't mean the instructor has to be.

Any ideas? Recommendations? I always figured I would just get them cert. and then teach them what I know (from this awesome website and lots of practice), but after trying that with my wife...let's just say it hasn't been easy and I can't imagine trying to keep track of 4 more.

Just looking for some guidance, ideas, tips, tricks, perspective. Thanks!

 

[purbeast]

Where in MD are you?

I got certified this past year at a place in Chevy Chase. It was a 2 day course that was over a weekend like 9-9 each day. It was 9-5 classroom work, then 5:30 - 9:30ish.

I really enjoyed both the classwork and the pool work. Granted, some of the reviews of the place I went to were that the first 1/4 of the course was basically a sales pitch, and it is pretty much, but I still sat through it even though I had my own gear, and I learned a little bit about gear too, although I was knowledgeable somewhat because I've owned my own personal gear for snorkeling for years. The owner is kind of a quirky/odd guy overall and he's clearly a sales man, but he was also good to learn with in the pool.

But one thing to know is while you can rent gear for the class, everyone buys their own gear, and that equipment adds up quickly. The idea is though that people getting certified will be diving somewhat regularly, and of course you will want your own personal gear in that case.

The school even does certification trips to Grand Cayman to do the certification dives, and you can also choose to do advanced while there too. I ended up doing the trip to GC (twice actually, but I couldn't finish first time due to getting very sick completely unrelated to diving) and I really enjoyed the checkout dives there. The discount you get on the hotel is also REALLY good compared to prices in GC, as i had been there 2x prior to these trips and knew how expensive it is there.

I do think in hindsight that the class in Chevy Chase was a bit more expensive had I shopped around a bit more, but in the end I liked it as well as the checkout dive trip to GC and don't regret it at all. They also do have a free orientation you can go to prior to signing up (and it is required if you sign up), which I did, to get a feel for how the class will go and to meet the owner.

That said, since then I've ventured to quite a few local stores in the DMV area and I have found one that I really like and if I were to do it again, I'd probably shop around a bit because I've found one shop that I really like the owner. She let me try out BCD's and regulators that I was interested in purchasing in a pool session while she was doing OW class on a weekend for some students. And that is actually the reason I ended up purchasing a BP/W setup instead of jacket style.

If you are interested in either of these I can let you know the names. Feel free to either PM me or just reply here if you want me to put the names out in the thread here.

 

[sdeachoe]

Submerged in Rockville. Tanya is very good instructor.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I'm located in Northern MD, Harford County area, but would be willing to drive.

Appreciate the responses so far. I'll look into Submerged and the one that @purbeast mentioned. I was trying to get away from going through a shop and finding an instructor that does it privately (as suggested on SB). I want it to be fun for them, but I'd also want it to be more than just another # being pushed through a class. It would have to be someone who loves what they do and wants to pass it on....I know they're out there.

 

[Andy in Gap]

+1 on Submerged if you want to go down the UTD road. They may be doing SSI or SDI now as well. Jon Edwardsen I have worked with and recommend. PM incoming.

 

[purbeast]

The one that I really liked that I was talking about was Submerged in Rockville, and Tanya is the owner that I was referring to that I really like. I can't comment on the actual course with her or anything, but she is very nice and you can feel her passion for SCUBA just from talking to her. She is just a very nice person.

The class I did it with was SCUBA Edu.

SPE Dive School | PADI SCUBA Diving Certifications in DC Area

I can answer any questions you have about the class. As far as being a passionate diver, I'd say Tanya wins hands down than Mike Parker who runs SCUBA Edu. I don't even really know how often he dives anymore and I know both times I was in GC with the class, he didn't even dive at all. He just kind of sets it all up and probably gets a free trip to GC due to it, which is a good gig considering he does it 10x a year. But the trip itself was fantastic and I loved how organized it was.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

+1 on Submerged if you want to go down the UTD road. They may be doing SSI or SDI now as well. Jon Edwardsen I have worked with and recommend. PM incoming.

Tbh I could care less about which card, agency, or shop. I'm more concerned with the instructor. A good instructor happy to work with kids.

 

[doctormike]

You might contact Wayne Fisch - I have done a lot of tech training with him, but I believe that he trained his daughter in OW when she was about that age, and he stressed the importance of building good habits early on. He occasionally posts about kids in training. He is a rock solid instructor and a great diver. He is based in NJ...

 

[purbeast]

Tbh I could care less about which card, agency, or shop. I'm more concerned with the instructor. A good instructor happy to work with kids.

FWIW, when I did the pool session with Tanya she was teaching students before I got in the water, and one of them was a girl that was around 14 or 15 years old, so she definitely has worked with children. And I believe she had taught her dad who was there watching because I was there waiting to talk to Tanya as they finished up and overheard their conversation.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

You might contact Wayne Fisch - I have done a lot of tech training with him, but I believe that he trained his daughter in OW when she was about that age, and he stressed the importance of building good habits early on. He occasionally posts about kids in training. He is a rock solid instructor and a great diver. He is based in NJ...

Thanks, I'll look into him.