Review Did my pool lessons this weekend, thoughts on how it went.

[tursiops]

I'd like to apologize, I made a typo in my original post. I corrected it to 4. We were in groups of 4 per instructor.

Just to confirm: it was an instructor, and not a divemaster (or other assistant of some kind)?

 

[Awkwatic]

Just to confirm: it was an instructor, and not a divemaster (or other assistant of some kind)?

Everyone was an instructor as far as I am aware, but I did not ask each individual teacher what their credentials were.

What's the difference between divemaster and instructor?

 

[Outbound]

Everyone was an instructor as far as I am aware, but I did not ask each individual teacher what their credentials were.

What's the difference between divemaster and instructor?

Divemasters are certified assistants. They basically herd cats, watch over students, and assist with schlepping tanks and gear. If a student is having difficulty with a particular skill a DM can take that student aside and work with them until they get the skill down, and then the instructor can have the student perform it again for the final mastery assessment. Instructors, on the other hand, are the ones who have to ensure that all students performed all the skills satisfactorily, as they are the ones who will sign off on the paperwork.

The equipment issues you faced aren't very encouraging. It's not entirely rare to have a piece of rental gear have an issue, but having so many regulators with problems means the shop isn't servicing them properly or regularly as they should. As far as having 20 students in the pool at the same time, yeah that sucks. But I can understand why shops do it. Pool rentals are expensive, and it makes more financial sense to book a weekend rental and cram as many students into the class(es) as possible, rather than dividing the number into two or four smaller groups and renting the pool two or four more weekends. But at some point it's just too many people in the water all at once. When we have multiple groups in the pool at the same time it's always a relatively small OWD class and then perhaps a small DSD group and/or a few reactivates. And we stagger the start times and work with the other pros to try to keep away from the other groups as much as possible.

 

[bcaderunr]

Thanks for sharing. Not at all dissimilar from me and my son's pool training experience 25 years ago.

Whenever anyone asks me if I've ever had any "bad" dives, I reply: "Yeah - the ones I did in the pool when I was getting my certification."

Since then, every subsequent dive has been an amazing experience. Just from reading between the lines, it is apparent that you will become a great diver and will enjoy every minute of your future time underwater. Welcome to the sport.

 

[Awkwatic]

Divemasters are certified assistants. They basically herd cats, watch over students, and assist with schlepping tanks and gear. If a student is having difficult with a particular skill a DM can take that student aside and work with them until they get the skill down, and then the instructor can have the student perform it again for the final mastery assessment. Instructors, on the other hand, are the ones who have to ensure that all students performed all the skills satisfactorily, as they are the ones who will sign off on the paperwork.

The equipment issues you faced aren't very encouraging. It's not entirely rare to have a piece of rental gear have an issue, but having so many regulators with problems means the shop isn't servicing them properly or regularly as they should. As far as having 20 students in the pool at the same time, yeah that sucks. But I can understand why shops do it. Pool rentals are expensive, and it makes more financial sense to book a weekend rental and cram as many students into the class(es) as possible, rather than dividing the number into two or four smaller groups and renting the pool two or four more weekends. But at some point it's just too many people in the water all at once. When we have multiple groups in the pool at the same time it's always a relatively small OWD class and then perhaps a small DSD group and/or a few reactivates. And we stagger the start times and work with the other pros to try to keep away from the other groups as much as possible.

Thanks for the explanation!

Besides the equipment, it really seems like they just had a busier than usual weekend. I am going to stick with these guys because I believe they're great people and know what they're doing, even if it wasn't a 100% solid start.

I run a business myself, and if I was measured by perfection, I'd fall very short. I've worked with a lot of customers who worked through hiccups or issues and stuck with me because they enjoyed working with me and believed in me. I am gonna show this shop the same respect.

 

[Awkwatic]

Thanks for sharing. Not at all dissimilar from me and my son's pool training experience 25 years ago.

Whenever anyone asks me if I've ever had any "bad" dives, I reply: "Yeah - the ones I did in the pool when I was getting my certification."

Since then, every subsequent dive has been an amazing experience. Just from reading between the lines, it is apparent that you will become a great diver and will enjoy every minute of your future time underwater. Welcome to the sport.

Thank you for the encouragement!

 

[TMHeimer]

Thanks for the explanation!

Besides the equipment, it really seems like they just had a busier than usual weekend. I am going to stick with these guys because I believe they're great people and know what they're doing, even if it wasn't a 100% solid start.

I run a business myself, and if I was measured by perfection, I'd fall very short. I've worked with a lot of customers who worked through hiccups or issues and stuck with me because they enjoyed working with me and believed in me. I am gonna show this shop the same respect.

When I took OW course the instructor introduced us to the divemaster. I figured he was some agency big shot overseeing what the instructor was doing....