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Raise Your Game: What is your job?

Colin Macandrias: I'm the Course Director here at London School of Diving so I oversee all professional training for the pro courses right up to master instructor level, which all happens here at the centre. We run a variety of programmes from Try Diving right through to professional courses.

RYG: Why scuba diving?

CM: I was on a trip to the Red Sea and started off as a try dive. As soon as I hit the water I knew this was exactly where I wanted to be, to discover the underwater world and see the amazing amount of fish and colours underwater.

I went from the recreational side to my open water and advance diving and knew that I wanted to carry on and make a profession out of it. Within a year of achieving my entry level diving certification I achieved my professional rating, went through the ranks and it started from there.

RYG: What inspired you to become a fully qualified instructor?

CM: The idea of teaching people to dive was quite exciting and it's still a very rewarding occupation. You get to work with a variety of people, different nationalities and age groups. Everyday is different.

RYG: Is diving something that people of all abilities can participate in?

CM: Absolutely. The earliest age that you can actually start diving is eight-years-old. It's what they call a 'bubble maker' programme, which is in shallow waters. There's not an age limit on scuba diving. One of the oldest people I have taught was 72 years of age.

RYG: What are the health benefits of scuba diving?

CM: There are many benefits involved in scuba diving. It's a recreational pastime and as you are also exerting pressure throughout, your body is getting a good workout. You need to be relatively fit to be a diver, because you're carrying a certain amount of weight, and depending on the conditions you can be diving in places with mild to strong currents. Scuba diving will increase your fitness levels for sure.

RYG: How important are communication skills?

CM: Obviously we can't talk in the water, but we have many other ways of communicating. We have a variety of underwater hand signals which are internationally known and these are taught on day one of the first entry level course. We make sure we can communicate with divers without surfacing because we want to spend as much time underwater as possible and we can monitor safety.

RYG: How can young people get involved in diving?

CM: Anyone that arrives at our centre can be in the water within 30 minutes to an hour. It's purely about fun and fostering teamwork. You also learn to become quite dependant on yourself, such as being responsible for your own equipment.

RYG: What is water therapy?

CM: Warm water therapy is used to heal injuries after contact sport and is very effective for post-match recovery. We have worked with English rugby players, such as Paul Sackey, and other members of the Wasps squad, and it's a way of solving mostly problems in the legs. The hydrostatic pressure of the water acts as an anti-inflammatory effect which reduces swelling and pain.

RYG: How important then is the recovery process?

CM: With sport being so competitive nowadays you want to get players back into the training rooms as quickly as possible. The sooner an athlete can recover, the sooner they can get back into training without seizing up. The old format of training was slow stretches and warm downs, however, you don't actually want the muscle to warm down, you want it to stay at quite a warm temperature so you can recover more quickly.

RYG: Do you have any tips to aid the recovery process?

CM: The most important thing is that as soon as the exercise is finished you don't just stop, because the shock of going from heavy exercise to stopping is not very good for the body. You've got to give your body time to recover.

Finish running with a gentle trot or if you're swimming you should finish the last five minutes with a very, very slow swim and just give your muscles time to warm down slowly.

RYG: What would your advice be to young people looking to get involved in a career in this environment?

CM: Get involved with your local clubs and your local swimming pool. Look at the courses and training programmes that are on offer. Many colleges are offering physical training as degrees and qualifications. There's plenty of options out there, so don't limit yourself.