In my girlfriend's world of figure skating every skater needs the ice rink to have somewhere to skate. The pro shop is almost never a thought. In fact, few pro shops are capable of meeting the needs of their high end skaters. Sonya drives to the NYC area and Delaware to get her skates sharpened rather than get them sharpened at any local rink or any of the rinks at which she coaches in nearby states or across the country. None of the rinks at which she skates or coaches carries her brand of skates. She likes Harlick out of San Carlos, CA. She chooses coaches inside and outside her rinks and recently has trained with Mirai Nagasu and Tom Zakrajsek, Karen Courtland Kelly, and Maya Usova. She can walk into her pro shop and buy things like magic markers or skate guards and never get hassled. Her skating director supports her coaches getting trained by the world's top athletes and Olympic coaches or medalists.
She said to me today, "Dive shops seem to want total control. They want to control what you buy and the information you hear. How can you become a great diver if they block you from the instruction and equipment you need?"
Good question.
Do you feel like your dive shop encourages or discourages your personal growth? Do you see yourself outgrowing your dive shop? Or, does your shop have the talent or provide access to world class talent? Do you get a pat on the back when you achieve a goal outside the walls of the shop? Or, do you get hassled?
I grew up at PDIC HQ when it was in Pennsylvania under the former owners. I got hassled for taking GUE, NSS-CDS, NACD, TDI, IANTD, etc., classes. I was uninvited to be part of the shop for a while. Then, one day, I was offered the training director position because I possessed the skills and knowledge they needed between a career at TDI and being vetted by my friend Marcus who was the director of PDIC Brasil and a GUE IT/IE for tech and cave diving. We both rose to the top of PDIC after getting in trouble for not behaving ourselves.
At the dive shop level, does your shop support pros who seek information and education beyond the shop? Or, have you seen those who get education and gear elsewhere fired, ostracized, or become targets of criticism and gossip?
She said to me today, "Dive shops seem to want total control. They want to control what you buy and the information you hear. How can you become a great diver if they block you from the instruction and equipment you need?"
Good question.
Do you feel like your dive shop encourages or discourages your personal growth? Do you see yourself outgrowing your dive shop? Or, does your shop have the talent or provide access to world class talent? Do you get a pat on the back when you achieve a goal outside the walls of the shop? Or, do you get hassled?
I grew up at PDIC HQ when it was in Pennsylvania under the former owners. I got hassled for taking GUE, NSS-CDS, NACD, TDI, IANTD, etc., classes. I was uninvited to be part of the shop for a while. Then, one day, I was offered the training director position because I possessed the skills and knowledge they needed between a career at TDI and being vetted by my friend Marcus who was the director of PDIC Brasil and a GUE IT/IE for tech and cave diving. We both rose to the top of PDIC after getting in trouble for not behaving ourselves.
At the dive shop level, does your shop support pros who seek information and education beyond the shop? Or, have you seen those who get education and gear elsewhere fired, ostracized, or become targets of criticism and gossip?