How do you find a good tech instructor?

[boulderjohn]

Many years of training were front loaded before the divers would be able to find their way to the fun.

What follows is a somewhat exaggerated comparison of two different training approaches.

1. We will train you until you have demonstrated that you are a safe and competent diver at that training level, at which point we will certify you so that you can go off on your own, enjoy yourself, and try to get as close to perfection as you feel you need to be.
2. We will train you and train you and train you until you are as close to perfection as we feel you need to be, at which point we will certify you so you can dive on your own.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

There it is. You have achieved perfection by way of explanation.

 

[Wah]

Thank you for all the replies. I guess the best one can do is go by recommendations and interviews. In the end, teaching/learning styles and personalities need to match and I think that is the part that is hard to gauge until you are already in the thick of it.

@Trace Malinowski I will be in touch

 

[Doppler]

Thanks for the memories, you guys! LOL!

Great advice all round. Price is the LAST thing to look at. Good instructors earn their living from instruction not selling scuba **** that gives 'em the best margins... nothing wrong with shop-based instructors, but too many I've seen are all about up-selling.

Trace is a good dude, and he works in your area. Give him a call and chat. I am sure the chemistry will be there.

 

[KevinNM]

What follows is a somewhat exaggerated comparison of two different training approaches.

1. We will train you until you have demonstrated that you are a safe and competent diver at that training level, at which point we will certify you so that you can go off on your own, enjoy yourself, and try to get as close to perfection as you feel you need to be.
2. We will train you and train you and train you until you are as close to perfection as we feel you need to be, at which point we will certify you so you can dive on your own.

Or 3. We'll train you until the class is done and you don't seem to want to pay us any more money. Then we'll send you on your way with a shiny new card and a set of skills that you have been shown at least once. Fly and Be Free!

 

[kensuf]

I'm adding my own musings..

1. While interviewing potential instructors, find someone that you will be compatible with. If you need to have a drill sgt, find a drill sgt. If you do better with a coach, find a coach. Ask questions about teaching styles, ask questions about the daily schedule, etc.

2. Ask for references from former students. However, I am going to caution that former students may be biased -- many people like to put their instructor on a pedestal. Sometimes those instructors don't really deserve it.

3. Find an instructor that actively does the type of diving that YOU want to do. You said you want to take AN/DP, but why? Are you looking to do New Jersey Wreck Diving, or are you in need of AN/DP because you ultimately want to do deep cave diving? Using myself as an example, my diving experiences are all cave and deep warm water diving, so I would probably not be a good choice to guide someone that wants to do New Jersey Wreck diving (I wouldn't know where to stow a hammer), but if you want cave diving or deep wall diving, I may know a thing or two. Some of the New England wreck divers would not be a good choice if you want to become a cave diver, either.

4. Your instructor should be regularly diving at a level higher than you're looking for training in. If his/her pinnacle dives only involve 15 minutes of deco, he's probably not going to be able to guide you through an advanced trimix class (if that's a goal). Ask him about his dive experiences, including recent diving, someone that did some very advanced diving 20 years ago, but hasn't done much in years, may also lack the skills to guide you through whatever class you're taking.

5. Ask about expectations of you. Boulder John hit a nail on the head above, some instructors expect you to be perfect in order to get a c-card, others view the c-card as a license to continue learning on your own by gaining experience slowly without direct supervision. Be sure you clearly understand what is expected of you before you show up for class.

Finally, I would like to add that a good tech instructor should also be asking YOU questions. He/she should be trying to determine if you should be taking up tech diving (it's not for everyone). If all he's asking is "when do you want to start" then you probably don't want him as your tech instructor.

 

[boulderjohn]

4. Your instructor should be regularly diving at a level higher than you're looking for training in. If his/her pinnacle dives only involve 15 minutes of deco, he's probably not going to be able to guide you through an advanced trimix class (if that's a goal).

Surprisingly enough, some tech instructors only do tech dives when they are working with students.

Surprisingly enough, some tech divers only have the minimum experience required for their certification--if that. When the man they called "Dr. Deep" in St. Croix died foolishly attempting a world record for depth, one of the stories about him said that very early in his tech training (he was really still early in that training when he died), he had surpassed his tech instructor's deepest dive ever--215 feet. I don't know the requirements for all tech agencies, but the ones I do know require dives deeper than 215 feet just to get your full trimix certification, let alone become an instructor.

 

[broncobowsher]

I strongly caution making only a cost based decision....

You forgot "convenient" as a factor.


At the point you are going tech you should be able to interview the instructor. Like others have said.
My last instructor I heard good reviews, talked with him on the phone for some time. Made a 5-hour drive one way, met him in person, did a quick dive with him, came home. Couple days later I still liked the experience and called him back and took the class.

I've also met a few that I wasn't all that comfortable with. Typically they went through a very fast paced training. They have paperwork that says they are in instructor, but just don't have the time to have the experience.

 

[100days-a-year]

Craigslist,whats the worst that could happen ?

I called around (1998) and had conversations with the ones who returned calls.I had gotten numbers from here, magazines and dive shops. I ended up going with guy who most approximated my ideals and dove where I wanted to.We became friends and did a lot of spearfishing together including some 200'+. Along the way he introduced me to some cool folks and pioneers he'd trained with or around.

Being my instructor was just part of the equation,I wanted to learn the community as well.So for me a mentoring type relationship was as important as the agency and type of classes taught.Some instructors are so busy they don't have the time to take that approach.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Then, there's always time and luck.

Time
I disliked a guy named Taz who was part of the GUE-F and Tech 1 classes I had taken. But, he was the only one in the group willing to practice skills regularly. He and I started training together and became the best of friends. We decided to take TDI Advanced Nitrox/Deco Procedures with an instructor at Corey Mearns' dive shop in Conshohocken, PA named Ed Herbst. Before moving to Florida and working for Salvo then starting Light Monkey, Corey owned a dive shop and employed me to teach freediving courses. Ed was the only tech instructor there at the time.

Time
After we started class, we weren't getting along with Ed. But, we didn't quit. I've had students quit class. It's a shame because sometimes after a rough couple of days some magic happens and you find yourselves gelling. He taught us to dive well not just look good diving. Ed and I became dive buddies and great friends. When he retired from teaching he sold me all his diving gear and teaching materials, books, toys, maps, etc., for pennies.

Luck
I bumped into Ed Herbst again one day while I was freediving at Dutch Springs. He was teaching this incredibly beautiful woman (I mean ridiculously unapproachably gorgeous woman) a PADI AOW course. He asked me to freedive down to the car at 95 feet as a stunt so she could see it during her deep dive. The next day, I was training with my wreck and cave diving buddies. We were using scooters. She saw me backward kicking, filming video with a Sony camera in a Light & Motion housing mounted to the scooter, and eating apple sauce from a food tube. Yeah. That was back in the day when we thought we were so cool! Anyway, she decided she HAD to dive with me. We did and fell in love.

Luck
Taz and I also decided to take a cave class. Not knowing anything other than GI3 learned to cave dive at Vortex, we called Vortex Springs and they set us up with Chris Wright as our NACD cave instructor. Chris was exactly what we needed to earn our respect, our trust, and give us the Ying to our DIR Yang. Chris is forever in my heart as my favorite diving instructor of all time. It's a pity he's no longer teaching. I later did the SDI Solo class with Chris in caves. I credit him for instilling in me the skills and mindset that has kept me alive when doing solo tech, wreck, and cave dives all these years.