When I became a tech instructor, my main focus was on teaching the Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures courses. As time went on, I was finding myself rejecting more potential technical diving students than ones I held classes for. So I decided to find out why. Was it me? Are my standards too high? Do I have unrealistic goals for potential tech students? My curiosity was piqued. As part of my own personal standard, I do an assessment dive with every potential tech student and I video those dives. So I went back to the video of those people I did not accept into my classes. As I watched, one thing became blatantly obvious. These people did not have true mastery of the fundamental skills for diving (i.e. buoyancy & trim control, etc.) and they just did not look that comfortable in the water. Many were OK divers and didn’t kick up the muck or shoot to the surface. But I could just tell they weren’t in full control of their position in the water. [Read more...]

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