Send us a text For about two years Jay has been asking me for a history of UTD. It's one of the tasks I never completed, until now. On a long drive from San Diego up to the Sierra Nevada Mountains I recorded a look back at Unified Team Diving – how did it start, where did it start, what were some of the ups, and what were some of the downs. For those of you who have been around UTD for a long time, much of this will sound familiar. For those of you who have come to UTD more recently, this should...
Jun 02, 2025•44 min•Ep. 109
Send us a text Dear UTD Community, Today, we’re sharing a meaningful milestone in the journey of Unified Team Diving. After years of inspiring leadership, Jeff is stepping down from his leadership role at UTD. His vision has shaped the path we’ve walked together, and his contributions have left an indelible mark on our organization. We are deeply grateful for his passion, his pioneering spirit, and the values he instilled in all of us. Jeff will still be around, however, as an instructor, instru...
Apr 28, 2025•51 min•Ep. 108
Send us a text Do you feel like you are good enough? That is the core of this episode. In diving, and in sports, we are constantly comparing ourselves to others and that can be a huge impediment to any successful outcome in a class or training program. The most important thing in any training situation, or in a competition, is simple: you do you. As usual, I tie diving to cycling. Regardless of whether these stories are about you, let us know if you need some guidance, some coaching, or some men...
Mar 30, 2025•22 min•Ep. 107
Send us a text Hi, in this episode Ben will discuss the Dunning Kruger effect. A cognitive bias that was created in 1999 by David Dunning and Justin Kruger. It gives a graphical representation of the development when learning new things. It's very applicable to us divers, as we can easily become the victim of incomplete education and/or a false sense of security by our own doing. For more information, contact us here: https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/ Here is a link to the graph: https://uploa...
Mar 13, 2025•42 min•Ep. 106
Send us a text Meet UTD Instructor Rene Krikke, based in Blomberg, Germany. Rene is teaching across northern Europe and brings a fascinating perspective to our "Meet the Instructors" series. Rene stumbled into diving while on a holiday in Egypt, got hooked, made his way to the UTD Scuba Coaching Program, and is now a UTD instructor. Check out Rene's journey as we continue our "Meet the UTD Instructors" episodes. To reach Rene, click here. https://utdscubadiving.com/member/rene-krikke/ For more i...
Feb 28, 2025•45 min
Send us a text How many dives do you have? I believe the answer to this question is the biggest lie in scuba diving. As instructors, we are trained to take this answer with a grain of salt. In this short carcast, Jeff takes a look at logging dives, logging flight hours, and some ideas about how to best log your dives. For more information, contact us here: https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/ For more information about the UTD Scuba Coaching Program, click here: https://utdscubadiving.com/utd-scu...
Feb 24, 2025•25 min•Ep. 103
Send us a text Do you feel like you are in a rut with your diving? Doing the same dives over and over? How do you stay motivated year after year? These are the question we look at today in another of Jeff's soon-to-be-famous UTD Carcast episodes. Check out more on UTD Scuba Coaching, click here.
Jan 13, 2025•13 min•Ep. 102
Send us a text In this inaugural episode of Ben's short podcast series, "The Training Corner," he looks at the concept of 'dive beautifully.' How do you gain your own level of elegance in diving, particularly around propulsion techniques. As always, if you have questions, comments, or thoughts about this, you can contact us here. https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/...
Dec 18, 2024•15 min•Ep. 101
Send us a text Weerrrrreee...back! The Most Obscure Questions in Scuba Diving - Live at DEMA 2024. This week we collected questions in the booth and pulled them out in front of an audience. Fun, interesting, informative. And did we say fun?
Nov 22, 2024•44 min•Ep. 100
Send us a text We are back in Las Vegas for the DEMA show – us and a gazillion other divers checking out new equipment, new training, new everything. This year, in the Technical Resource Center at the show, Ben gave a talk on advanced rebreather training, why it's important to dive a consistent team configuration in your closed circuit rebreather, and how we accomplish that goal at Unified Team Diving. Here's the link to the video that Ben showed at the beginning of his talk: https://youtu.be/Ui...
Nov 20, 2024•24 min•Ep. 99
Send us a text Things don't always go quite as planned. Sometime the planning turns into a setback. What is the best way to deal with that? Take "no" for encouragement and take a setback for opportunity. Thoughts or comments? Let me know. Contact here.
Nov 14, 2024•25 min•Ep. 98
Send us a text Who is brilliant? You? Or your students? Or both? What happens when you face an instructor or a coach who is more focused on their own brilliance than yours. In this short carcast I take a look at a scenario where the brilliance got confused. Have a listen, let me know what you think. Contact us here. https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/ Jeff...
Oct 24, 2024•20 min•Ep. 97
Send us a text Another of the Most Obscure Questions in Scuba Diving. This time we tried something a bit different. Ben came up with the questions and did not tell Jeff what they were going to be. Tune in for an honest discussion about pockets, valve drills, cameras, and more. Send us your obscure questions....contact us here: https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/...
Oct 14, 2024•56 min•Ep. 96
Send us a text Following someone else's dreams. This is something every scuba instructor has faced. A student brings a partner, who does not want to be there, into a class, usually Open Water. As instructors, we get to see this play out, sometimes in terror, sometimes in joy. What do you do when someone drags someone into your class? What is it like to successfully follow someone's dream? What is it like to not want any part of someone's dream. In this short podcast I tell a few stories, some ab...
Sep 05, 2024•26 min•Ep. 95
Send us a text How to get there. That's today's question. What is the path to becoming a UTD instructor or dive master. How does the program work? What are our expectations of you? What do we expect your expectations to be of us. In this episode Jeff and Jay look at the "path," the course work, and tell some stories from past IDC's. Interested in UTD Leadership? Click here: https://utdscubadiving.com/be-a-utd-instructor/...
Aug 27, 2024•55 min•Ep. 94
Send us a text It's on! Cave Week 2024! This November join us in Florida for Cave Week. In this short podcast Jeff, Ben, and Jay discuss the logistics, the fun, and all the details about this amazing UTD community event. For more information and to register for Cave Week, click here: https://utdscubadiving.com/utd-cave-week/
Aug 07, 2024•23 min•Ep. 93
Send us a text Jon Edwardsen has been a UTD instructor almost since the beginning of UTD. He is my colleague, friend, and critic. The great thing about having Jon as an instructor trainer is his uncanny ability to cut through any and all BS and get to the heart of the matter. So when Jon did an IDC with a few of our coaching clients and said he was knocked over by the success of the coaching program, I knew we had to get this recorded. If you have any interest in Unified Team Diving as a system ...
Jul 24, 2024•28 min•Ep. 92
Send us a text There is much to unpack around how we run out instructor development program, how we train our instructor trainers, and how all that benefits the Unified Team Diving students and coaching clients. Back in the car, Jeff takes a look at the mechanics of teaching teaching – education as a change in behavior, that change being worthless without retention, how we use levels of learning, and how we create common ground with our students. Grateful to Socrates for allowing us to take his ...
Jun 27, 2024•31 min•Ep. 91
Send us a text This episode is a cross between our wrap up of "Becoming a Thinking Diver" and "The Most Obscure Questions in Scuba Diving. Jeff and Ben cover: Redundant equipment. Knowing when to say when. Training for multiple failures buy planning for one. And a quick story about the bike. Check it out, if you have questions or comments contact us here: https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/ To subscribe to our mailing list, click here: https://utdscubadiving.com/subscribe/ And for more info abou...
Jun 26, 2024•55 min•Ep. 90
Send us a text It's not the equipment, it's the choices you make. In his inaugural training corner episode, Ben takes a look at how you can make good, or bad, choices and how those choices can have dramatic ramifications. For more information on the Unified Team Diving training systems and the UTD Scuba Coaching Program, or to reach Ben or Jeff, click here....
Jun 18, 2024•34 min•Ep. 89
Send us a text One of the great things about me and Unified Team Diving is that I get to set the company culture around money, finances, student fees, all of it. I feel very strongly that financial transparency is critical to the health of any business. I also believe "free" does not serve anyone – us or you. Basically, I believe free has no value. In this short carcast I expand on my vision around UTD and money. Questions? Comments? Contact me here: https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/ Jeff...
Jun 03, 2024•27 min•Ep. 88
Send us a text In our last episode about the "Thinking Diver" we talked about creating your team, or village. In this episode Jeff and Ben start to look at the practical elements of being a thinking diver – gear, gas, team, and much more. Be a thinker. Listen in. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know by clicking here. To join our mailing list, click here....
May 04, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 87
Send us a text A non-car carcast. This time I woke up ready to talk about why Unified Team Diving is so important to me but I did not have any place I needed to drive, so I recorded a non-car carcast. Why do we keep doing what we do? How do I grow as a coach and instructor as you grow as a diver or instructor? What makes me tick and, in turn, what makes UTD tick. Contact us here to ask me/us anything. https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/...
Apr 15, 2024•36 min•Ep. 86
Send us a text Learning and advancing at anything does not need to be something you do alone. Really, it takes a village. You are at the center, then your instructor or coach, but then all the other people and organizations and facilities and friends and family that guide you to becoming the most successful diver-version of yourself. In this episode Jeff and Ben help you discover how to create your village. Questions? Comments? Contact us at https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/...
Mar 20, 2024•39 min•Ep. 85
Send us a text In any business one of the most important things is knowing who your clients are. And equally important is to know who your clients are not. In this carcast, I take an honest look at who we are for and who we are not for. It's a complex discussion about a very simple concept. Are we for you? Let us know: Click here to contact Jeff and Ben at Unified Team Diving...
Mar 04, 2024•42 min•Ep. 84
Send us a text Is it success that's the most important thing in scuba diving? Or style? This is a discussion – actually a monologue I recorded in my car – on the issue of style vs. success or, in scuba diving, style vs. certification. Drawn from a phrase common in big wall rock climbing, style vs. success refers not to whether or not we reach our goal, but how we reach our goal. In this episode, after I apologize for the crappy audio quality, I look at style vs. success in our world of training ...
Feb 14, 2024•24 min•Ep. 83
Send us a text We are Unified TEAM Diving not, as we sometimes like to say, Unified 'Go-Run-Off-By-Yourself Diving.' But what about when you are instructing students? Are they part of your team? Can they help you? What are everyone's expectations when instructing? In this episode Jeff and Ben unpack this simple, yet not so simple question. Contact us any time at: https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/...
Feb 09, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 82
Send us a text Setback happen. This is true for everything we are learning, particularly when moving to a higher level in any field. In scuba training, in Unified Team Diving, we have a thing called the "ebay dive." This is when you come out of the water after such a frustrating dive that you want to put all your gear on ebay, sell it, and take up another sport. How we deal with the frustration of setbacks in scuba also informs how we deal with setbacks in life. In this short carcast, Jeff takes...
Jan 19, 2024•28 min•Ep. 81
Send us a text In the late 70's or early 80's I had an opportunity to take on something that looked really cool to me but my situation at the time blocked it. I've kept that dream alive until this past weekend when I fulfilled an unfulfilled dream. What are your unfulfilled dreams? What are you missed opportunities – in scuba or in life? Do you have the chance to close the loop now? In this short episode I look at how I completed something I started almost 50 years ago. No regrets, just fun. Con...
Jan 08, 2024•20 min•Ep. 80
Send us a text We are live at the DEMA show in New Orleans taking questions from the audience. Listen to Jeff and Ben answer all sorts of random questions and, finally, almost get completely stumped. Contact us with your obscure questions and plan on seeing us at DEMA 2024 in Las Vegas where we will do another live episode: https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/...
Nov 19, 2023•50 min•Ep. 79
