To be a scuba diver, you need to be comfortable in the water and be able to swim. You don’t need to be a strong swimmer, but being in the water should not cause you stress. The age for diving today ranges from 10 years old to senior adults. Under water, age is hardly an issue. Being in basic good health is the only other requirement.

Adventure Sports Kansas City

Related posts:

1. SSI's Free Online Training Program
2. Adventure Sports
3. Dive Training – Jan 24th 2009

Academics - You can complete this online FREE when you sign up for SSI’s Online Training program, and then attend review sessions at your favorite SSI Dive Center.

Pool Training - you will learn all the skills you will be using in the open water  safety in a pool.

Open Water Sessions - You will complete at least four open water dives and have the chance to experience everything you learned in the pool hands-on. (Open water can be defined as an open body of water such as a lake or the ocean).

After successfully completing the Academics, the Pool and Open Water Sessions you will be certified as SSI Open Water Diver.

SSI's Online Training  (the scuba diving academics) is free.   After completing this free online course, you can continue your education and become a certified diver.   You will just need to sign up for an SSI Open Water Class as your local SSI Dive Center.   For those that are in Kansas City, I would recommend you look into Adventure Sports.  My wife and I have been working with Adventure Sports for years and have no desire in looking elsewhere.

Adventure Sports along with any SSI dive center will have additional training material that you will need in order to complete the course.   Adventure Sports in particular has a variety of class times to choose from which are posted on the Adventure Sports web site.  The dive shop will typically work around the students schedule within reason.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us directly using our contact form.   You may also contact Adventure Sports.

-Mike

Related posts:

1. Dive Training – Jan 24th 2009
2. Scuba Diver Training & Certification
3. Free Weight Training For Scuba Divers

Related posts:

1. Scuba Diver Training & Certification
2. International Underwater Cleanup Slated for this Weekend
3. International Environmental Photo Contest Adds Underwater Category

Class went very well.   We had lots of students and three of those were refreshing skills.   We had three DivCons in the class, two helped with the open water pool session one.  I had the opportunity to work with the refreshers.   Boy, I will tell you, this is fun.  The three students were pretty much perfect.   I went over all the update skills with them without any issue.     I do want to point one thing out, though this not the first time I have seen this it is very important.   While acending do not put air into your BC!  If you do you are looking trouble.    The purpose of putting air into the BC is to keep you afloat on the surface and trim out your buoyancy while you are below.    Anyway, just wanted to share.   Enjoy the read!!!

-MJ

------------------

It is time again to start reviewing some of the skills I learned while going through the SSI DiveCon course.     This coming up weekend, I will be assisting one of the Adventure Sports SSI instructors with dive class.   From what I understand, we will have several newbies and a few updates.      I will be reviewing the DivCon Scuba Skills update documentation in particular to make sure I do not miss anything.   We as DivCons generally perform the Skills Update solo.  Periodically reviewing the documentation keeps my mind sharp so that both the students and myself benefit from the training update.    I will go ahead and post an update when the class is complete and let everyone know how it went.

Shannon will not be joining me for dive class as she has to work.   We typically work as a team which allows some our classes to be a bit larger.

So if you are in the Kansas City area and with to get some dive training, do visit Adventure Sports.   Depending on the instructor teaching your class, you may be working both Shannon and myself.

-Thanks,

-MJ

Related posts:

1. SSI's Free Online Training Program
2. Adventure Sports
3. Scuba Class 6/28/08-6/29/08

The pool at Shawnee Mission North was one busy place this weekend!  There were 3 different classes being held simultaneously!  Fortunately for us, the pool there is a big one, and there was plenty of room for all.  We didn't even bump into each other!   Mike and I assisted one of my favorite instructors,  Beau, with the biggest class.

The class consisted of 10 eager students who all did a great job.  Saturday we covered the usual...   appropriate gear assembly, entries, gear donning,  purging the regulator (2 methods), retrieving the regulator (2 methods), mask clearing, and buoyancy skills.  Most got to work on ear clearing and proceeded to the deep end to practice their skills in the deeper water.  One remained behind, as 'in the mouth -  out the nose' breathing was quite the challenge for her.  Mike went with Beau and the class, while I stayed behind with the one student to let her get used to the idea of breathing under the water.

For my student, as with many students, anxiety was playing the largest part of the problem.   Sometimes it takes a little longer for people to get comfortable with the procedures, or just to get comfortable with the idea that they're depending on equipment to breathe underwater.  Clearing the water out of one's mask always proves to be the biggest challenge.  That's usually where I come in.   I always hang back with the students having a little more of a problem mastering their skills or relaxing in the water.  I generally try to provide a 'no pressure' experience, because pushing a student too fast can lead to even more anxiety, which only worsens their problems.  It's very important that the first experience with SCUBA, even in the pool is a good one.  Without a lot of patience, and letting people get used to the idea at their own pace, you can push students away from what I consider to be one of the most awesome experiences in  life.   Proceeding at their pace, even if it takes more than a weekend to complete it, in my opinion, is the best way to introduce someone to the sport.  Honestly, I much prefer to work with the more challenging students, as I get a great sense of accomplishment helping people relax, and being around during their "ta-dah" moment, when everything falls into place, and they're finally relaxing and 'getting it'.

My student ended Saturday on a great note.  She finally made it through her skills in the shallow end, and came down to play with us in the deep end.  She learned lots, and was obviously feeling more comfortable by the end of class.  We still had a ways to go to get there, but she had made giant strides from the beginning to the end of class.  The rest of the class was a group of fish and made Beau look smart, as usual   Everyone had smiles on their faces when leaving which was a very good sign that they would return the next day, and complete the confined portion of their SCUBA training.

Sunday

Didn't know if my 1:1 student would feel more comfortable entering the pool on the second day, or be just as nervous the first.  She came into class with a smile on her face, but still had some trouble getting started with flooding and clearing her mask.  After much practice she was finally able to pull the mask completely off and place back on her head to clear it.  YEAH!!!  Suddenly there was a change in her demeanor.  We proceded toward the deep end and she performed every skill I asked her without hesitation!  She whizzed through the air sharing, the emergency ascent and even donned and doffed her gear underwater.  Even though it took her awhile to get her gear back on, there was never any panic, she just calmly worked it out, which was where I wanted her to be.  For starting the weekend taking 2 hours to master regulator purge and retrieval, she finished with a bang!!  I was so proud of her!   She overcame her fears, and actually finished her skills with enough confidence to head to her open water class in 2 weeks.  She had a trip to Costa Rica planned, and I think she might make it in fine form!  One other student spent some time with me just on mask clearing, but after adding a mask strap to her gear, her task became so much easier, and felt much more comfortable with the idea.  Funny how just a little tweak here or there makes a big difference.  Everyone else in the class passed with flying color with Beau and Mike's assist.  Our class did so well, that Michael actually ended up helping a young boy in another class that was in the pool, also.

All in all fears were conquered, skills were mastered, and there was a lot of fun had by all.  They all planned to complete the open water portion of their training either down at Beaver Lake in Arkansas, or on their upcoming vacations.  They were 1/2 way to becoming certified divers, all with great potential to do so.

Mike and I are looking forward to our next class.  Will keep you posted on the details!

Ciao for now!

Training Session from Shawnee Mission North

Related posts:

1. Dive Training – Jan 24th 2009
2. SSI's Free Online Training Program
3. Scuba Diving Safety – Practicing Your Basic Diving Skills