A committed team player, Adrian Cadman has given back to diving in many different club, regional and national roles. Interview by Kristina Pedder
FACTFILE
Name: Adrian Cadman
Job titles: Instructor Trainer, formerly Regional Coach and Snorkel Chief Examiner
Area covered: West Midlands and UK-wide First dive: snorkel 1983, scuba 1986
VOLUNTEERLIFE“ A secret world of adventure”
A committed team player, Adrian Cadman has given back to diving in many different club, regional and national roles. Interview by Kristina Pedder
Adrian leads a snorkel instruction session
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Since the age of four, I have been fascinated by the underwater world, a secret world full of adventure, only accessible to a few,” says Adrian Cadman. At 10, he joined a local snorkelling branch and trained as a snorkel diver.“ I have vivid memories of donning an ill-fitting wetsuit on cold, damp, foggy mornings.” The fascination about what lay beneath the surface drove Adrian’ s passion and he joined Bloxwich Sub Aqua Club when he was 14. As the years passed, he progressed through the diving qualifications while enjoying a wide array of diving and branch activities.
Having always been encouraged to expand his diving skills to put back into the club what he had taken out, his instructing career began in 1999 when his branch needed help with training. He recalls being inspired by the support of the local Instructor Trainer who coached him through the entry-level Club Instructor qualification, much as he does for others now.“ I get great satisfaction from seeing individuals develop the skills and succeed,” he says.
Adrian joined his current club, Black Country Barracudas( BCB) in Cannock, when it was set up back in 2007. As the branch’ s only instructor at first, he trained about 30 trainees from newbie to hero over the course of a few years. In 2008 he began working towards Advanced Instructor and qualified at a joint course and exam event in Malta. All this at the same time as organising a variety of dive trips and a period as Diving Officer:“ I believe that as divers we should never stop trying to learn something new.”
INSTRUCTINGTIP
Listen to constructive feedback from“ your instructor peers and, definitely, dive as you teach:‘ monkey see, monkey do’ is real, so be the best role model. You will always know more than the student. Be confident!
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