As dive professionals, we love our sport and try to help others share our enthusiasm. The satisfaction we get when we see divers achieve their goals is one of the rewards of our job and we pass along to our students our passion for the sport. Students are eager to learn and to experience more in diving but it is our responsibility to provide direction that helps students safely and comfortably achieve their goals.
The SCUBA certification card broadens the horizon for divers and allows them to venture into an exciting new underwater world. From the Openwater diver to the most advanced technical diver, an additional certification means they have training for another adventure and, that can be exciting. As a student’s skill and experience grow, their enthusiasm grows and they often want to continue quickly with more training. It is an Instructor’s responsibility to manage a student’s enthusiasm and provide direction to help them build the experience and confidence necessary to move on to the next level in their training.
A SCUBA Instructor is a teacher, but can also be a counselor and mentor, who guides their students and helps them get the most from their training. By sharing knowledge about our sport and talking with students about their personal goals, an instructor can gain information to help students choose the correct path in their dive training. Modern SCUBA courses cover a wide variety of diving interests and potential students can be guided in their curriculum and experience to reach their personal objectives safely and confidently so they do not take training they do not use or go “too far too fast.”
Training agency standards set a minimum of experience and training for each level of certification. Often, students who are enthusiastic and goal oriented will attempt to rush from one course to the next. By understanding a student’s goals, an instructor can provide counseling and mentoring at each level of training to help students develop skills and experience that will better prepare them for the next step along their journey. Some students will benefit from gaining additional experience or more skill practice beyond the minimum requirements. This may give them more confidence and make the next class more enjoyable. An instructor who is involved with their students to learn their strengths, weaknesses, goals, and aspirations can provide long-term benefits and build a better relationship.
As an instructor, it is important to evaluate your students to understand where they want to go in diving. You can build their enthusiasm by serving as a guide and by giving them good advice on their training to make them the best diver they can be. You may have to tell them to slow down or give pointers on additional skill practice. You will also be able to suggest courses they may not have thought of. An instructor’s guidance and counsel will make safer, more confident divers and it will build loyalty. By understanding students’ goals, along with their strengths and weaknesses, a good instructor can manage student’s expectations and help create divers who are safer, more skillful, and who have more fun. Isn’t that what our sport is all about?