Another What-About-THIS-Instructor Thread (So Cal)

[on_two_wheels]

right. So wouldn't the Sports Chalet instructor that was great be a better choice than one that happened to work out of a long term LDS and sucked?

My point was that choosing simply based on large chain/small store is not the way to go. Ok, maybe your odds would be better at the small store, but I don't think going with the odds makes any sense when there's better ways to choose. As you said yourself, "That's why the questions mentioned above are a great idea."

Perhaps I worded something wrong. I wasn't entirely disagreeing with ya. Just pointing out that at those stores, it's not uncommon to see less experienced instructors. I even stated in my post that there is still one sport chalet I would go to for instruction.....just one. :cool2:

 

[Thalassamania]

You are right to be concerned about rushed through assembly line instruction, that appears to me to be the norm today and I think that your doing the right thing to make sure that you find something else. Might I make a couple of suggestions?

1. An independent Instructor, especially one who teaches the LA County program, which stands head and shoulders above anything else out there in the U.S. sports diving world.
2. A private Instructor (rather more expensive, but another place where you get what you pay for). There are some "name" instructors out there who are really good with kids, Jeff Bozanic is an old and dear friend who pops to mind.

 

[Ann Marie]

Have you considerd Holywood Divers? They have been around a lot longer than Sports Chalet, no reflection on Ann Marie because she is a good, pacient instructor.

No offense taken, I took the compliment (thanks!). I certainly don't consider myself to be the best; I am constantly trying to improve, learn, and add important key elements to my courses. There are many instructors out there that I look up to. I was just trying to point out that you need to consider more than just the 'shop'. :kiss2:

 

[rstofer]

WOW - thank you all for some great input, especially concerning the young'uns.

@rstofer & two_wheels: Since the three of us are going to be training together, we'll definitely be in the classroom AND pool sessions - and going private for the kiddo's instruction is a great idea & something I'll look into.

Thanks again everyone & thanks for the warm welcome to SB

In my view, this is a bad idea. If the three of you are sharing an instructor (or even two instructors), there is simply too much going on to have a kid involved. In my view... When I said one-on-one, I kind of meant that only the instructor and the student were in the pool at one time. No other classes, no distractions, nada.

Here's what I did: First, I paid to have my grandson's father certified in a conventional group environment. Then I paid to have my grandson certified one-on-one with his father along for the OW sessions. Since his father's instruction was current, he knew exactly what was going on with the program and the instructor could still dedicate 100% attention to my grandson. My training was 20 years old and I had no intention of getting involved in the training process.

My grandson was as ready for the program as anyone could be. But still I was concerned because diving carries risks and nobody's kid has a long attention span.

BTW, kids tend to learn better from the DVD.

Richard

 

[muddiver]

Jeff Bozanic is a really cool due with a vast background to learn from.

 

[fnfalman]

Also, the protective hubby is a good point, too. He's already talking about a wireless computer that tracks your buddy's levels as well as your own. Which, I know, is not necessarily a BAD thing.

I know something about these wireless computers that can track both your own and your dive buddy's air pressures because my Aeris Elite T3 does that. That feature isn't all it cracked up to be. It's a real pain in the wazoo to switch to that mode underwater and realistically speaking, right now at this level of experience (or lack thereof), all of you need to worry about yourselves and not about anything else.

You all will be overwhelmed with sensory inputs and tasks. If your hubby were to think that he can try to keep track of your air or your son's air underwater by fooling around with his dive computer, he's going to get himself in a lot of trouble for overloading his skills and experiences. Tell him that signaling you for your air reading is plenty good enough.

Once you get your certs, come diving with us. If all three of you were to go together, I'd recommend buddying up with several people where one of you is buddied up with an experienced diver instead of with each other.

I just came back from my vacation (not a diving vacation but I squeezed a few in as opportunity arised) where I dived with a local guy, his wife and daughter. All of them are pretty much newbies with a handful of dives under their belts. The husband was fussing so much over his wife's and kid's gears that his own was not properly set up. Then we went into water and once again, he was mother henning the wife who in turn mother henning the daughter (who actually was the best out of all of them) and I had to interfere and made sure that they all followed me and I'd pay attention to them instead of them to each other. It was not a pretty scene. Oh yes, the wife was rather pissed at the hubby's overprotectiveness and he was all hurt because all he wanted was to make sure that they were OK.

While I understand the spousal or parental instincts to protect those we love, it's a bad, bad, bad thing when all involved parties are brand stankin' new, especially when emotions run high.

 

[Teamcasa]

Also, the protective hubby is a good point, too. He's already talking about a wireless computer that tracks your buddy's levels as well as your own. Which, I know, is not necessarily a BAD thing.

A protective hubby here: I still worry about my wife even after we have 80+ dives together. This will never change although I worry less now that when she first started to dive.

fnfalman's comments are spot on. Don't let him start down that path. He needs to learn that diving in buddy pairs is one thing but diving in 3's, particularly with the two people you love most in the world, will have its own set of issues.

If he is really serious about protecting you two and being there to help, he needs to have his own skills down cold first. When things start going haywire, his confidence and skill sets, will be called upon long before the aid of any fancy gizmo.

 

[rstofer]

One other thing: 10 YO divers are restricted to 40'. We're staying above 30' for a while. There is no reason for a ten year old to dive deeper than that.

Of course, there are no dive police to check the computers but as a prudent grandparent, I have no difficulty in accepting the restriction.

Richard