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Down under at the local YMCA pool By Jennifer Nitson Ashland Daily Tidings With masks, snorkels, and cylindrical tanks with multiple hoses sprouting out the top, students in the YMCA scuba program explore an alien world - underwater. Working with partners, the students listen closely as the instructor demonstrates how to use the equipment and follow the cues of a diving partner beneath the surface. Dodie Noles of Talent has taken three scuba classes at the YMCA and has been diving for 18 months. At first Noles felt uncomfortable in the underwater environment. With the encouragement and support of scuba instructor and YMCA Community Programs Director John Souza, Noles soon mastered the basics and learned to love the sport. Ashland YMCA scuba instructor John Souza (left) goes over the underwater lesson plan with students at Y pool. Ashland Daily Tidings/CHRIS MILLER "It's a huge confidence builder," Noles said. "Because of John and the way the course is designed, it totally makes you comfortable. If I'd thought at 40 years old I'd be scuba diving in the Gulf of Mexico � 10 years ago I wouldn't have believed it." Noles has traveled to the Florida Keys, Mexico, and other diving meccas with fellow YMCA scuba students and can't wait for her next trip. "I'd go just about anywhere with anybody to dive," she said. "It's the only reason we go on vacation now is to go diving. I've seen sunken ships, sharks, every kind of fish you could imagine. It's amazing." Noles also likes the response she gets when she tells others of her new-found passion. "They go 'woah.' They say 'I could never do that.' I say 'Oh yes you could!'" The scuba classes have three basic components: classroom instruction, skills practice in the pool, and open water dives at the end of the course. The open water dives usually take place in deep sections of the Illinois or Smith rivers, though in mid-summer if the weather is favorable, the scuba students sometimes dive in the ocean near Crescent City. The demographics of class participants has changed dramatically since the YMCA incorporated the scuba classes in 2001. Scuba was previously taught at the YMCA swimming pool in conjunction with a retail shop in Medford, and at that time class participants consisted mainly of college-aged, adventure-seeking types. "Once we changed it to a YMCA values program the classes really grew," Souza said. "It's a program based on those family core values of caring, respect, honesty, and responsibility that makes it family based." "It's changed to almost 70 percent family participation and 30 percent adventure seeking types. The participants don't feel the merchandising pressure they can get if they take it from a retail shop." Souza points out that it is an excellent activity for parents and children to do together. "It's kind of hard to find something to do that's cool to do with your parents when you're a teenager," he said. Greg and Anne Bailey of Ashland completed the basic scuba class with their 12-year-old daughter Heather this winter. Having recently returned from a scuba diving vacation in Cozemal, Mexico, the family is enthusiastic about diving and the rewards of the class. "John's an excellent teacher," Anne Bailey said. "He made it so you could really understand what was going on - not a lot of technical terms or anything." "It was fun," Heather Bailey said. "It was cool staying under water for that long." Many scuba class participants are older adults whose children have left the nest. "They've done their gig as responsible adults and now they want to do something for themselves," Souza said. "It's a great way for people to network and meet other people with a common ground. They plan trips and do things together. They've become quite a tight little family." Last year 126 students participated in Ashland YMCA scuba classes, which ranks it as the fourth largest YMCA scuba program in the nation. "It's one of those programs that you started because there was a niche that needed to be filled, and you didn't realize how large that niche was," Souza said. YMCA National has noticed the success of Ashland's program and has chosen Souza as a member of an advisory task force to counsel the national program on trends, safety and program development. Souza will travel to Chicago in March and share his recipe for success. "Making it family friendly. Putting the emphasis on a safe, fun environment and breaking down those stereotypes relating to scuba that it's only for the young or really in shape," Souza said of his formula. Classes for beginner through Master Diver level are offered for ages 12 and up throughout the year. All that is required is a basic ability to swim and a desire to enjoy the water. Also offered are specialty courses, including rescue diver, night diver and reef ecology classes. The next YMCA scuba class will begin March 25 and run through April 17, meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8:30 p.m. The YMCA provides text books and all equipment except the requisite mask, snorkel and fins. For more information on classes and prices call the Ashland Family YMCA at 482-9622. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -