Coach Profile - Sonia Jones

Hello, I'm the Area Coach for South East Wales. I'm a member of Brecon Sub Aqua Club, an eclectic bunch of non-tekkie divers.

I am a forester by day, and a runner and mountain rescue team member the rest of the time. I have a border collie who would dive if they made regs the right shape but in the meantime he is my surface cover!

I started diving in 1998 in my brother's old kit and got hooked. I'm now a Dive Leader and (almost) Open Water Instructor. I love the sport and love introducing others to it too.

My remit as Area Coach is to encourage, cajole and otherwise bully other divers into being the best and safest that they can be, by enrolling on Skill Development Courses and upgrading their diver qualifications. There's always something new to learn - not only in the classroom but also from diving with people from other clubs (and, dare I say it, other organisations!). The other side to this is encouraging those of us who love the sport to take Instructor qualifications and teach others. I took my first Instructor Foundation Course only 8 months after I started diving so you don't have to be very experienced to do it! I look forward to meeting other Club members around South Wales.

Sonia.

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