Mexico –
Anders Heegaard
Platinum Course Director.
Address
Carreterra Federal, Parcela 4 MZA 293 Lote 2 Local 5-6, Ejido Norte, Edificio Matiz, Playa del Carmen, Quintana roo, 77712, Mexico.
Anders Heegaard
Mexico’s first & only PADI CDC: Pro Dive Mexico Scuba Academy.
Angel Navarro is the new Course Director at Pro Dive Mexico
Become a PADI instructor by taking your IDC in Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya Mexico, with Pro Dive Mexico Scuba Academy PADI CDC center, and Platinum Course Director Anders Heegaard.
About Anders
PADI Platinum Course Director Anders Heegaard is one of only a few Course Directors in the Caribbean. Having taught hundreds of instructors over his career, he continues to love diving and is constantly venturing into new areas of diving.
Since 2003 Anders has been residing in the warm waters of the Caribbean, and he believes that becoming an instructor should be a fun and memorable event.
With a almost perfect, close to 100% passing rate at the PADI IE’s, Anders has shown that he and his team teach the IDC with the highest level of quality possible, and personal attention to the individual.
Course Director Anders Heegaard has been diving since the mid 90’s and logged over 5000 dives in very different environments all over the world, from Deep wrecks of the North Sea, to fresh water caves systems in the Riviera Maya.
Anders is also currently working as a counselor for a major and renown scuba gear manufacturer, as both an advisor on new products coming up, but also test diver on experimental prototype items.
When he is not teaching IDC’s, he focuses on his cave diving career. As an experienced technical cave diver, he is involved with cave diver training and cave explorations of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Anders’s Background
Before working in the dive industry, Anders dedicated his work to team building and animation. His has a very motivating approach to handle situations, and he creates an atmosphere of trust.
Anders started his diving career in the rough waters of the North Sea, but after a few years of diving the cold waters of Denmark, Sweden and Norway he moved to Thailand, in order to pursue his career in diving further in warmer waters.
In the last 10 years, he has been teaching all levels of diving, which has taken him to amazing dive destinations such as Honduras, Bahamas, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt and Mexico, and more.
Anders now specializes only in professional diver training for PRO DIVE MEXICO SCUBA ACADEMY and runs the GO PRO department of the company. He currently works full time for Pro Dive Mexico and ensures the high standards of teaching set by the company are met.
Course Director Anders Heegaard currently holds over 20 instructor trainer specialties and EFR/CFC Instructor trainer rating. He is also a DSAT instructor and Instructor Trainer in many mixed gas and TecRec courses, and his credentials keep growing.
Pro Dive Mexico and Course Director Anders Heegaard don’t just certify you, they qualify you!
Has anything funny happened during your IDC courses?
At every IDC there is always some funny story, and some do stick more than others.
When training for the IDC in the Cenote session (fresh water pond), a few times it has happened, that the IDC candidates have had their food stolen and eaten by local squirrel like animals, called the “Tejon” or “Coati”. The wildlife in Mexico is amazing, but also hungry at times!
Once on an Open Water session of the IDC we had to move 30 feet away, because a huge ray had decided to look for food in the sand, exactly where we were sitting.
Another time a candidates on an Open Water session had to fight off a big Remora, that had decided to attach itself to his bald head! What a sucker!
What is the reason Divemasters should take their IDC with you?
Course Director Anders Heegaard and Pro Dive Mexico have together designed an IDC program that stands out. Besides classroom, confined and open water sessions, we have also included an excursion to a local Cenote (fresh water pond). Here IDC candidates will learn to teach in local conditions, to be better prepared for working as an instructor in the area.
Pro Dive Mexico offers a 14 day IDC with EFRI, which is a bit longer than other IDC’s at other facilities. We believe that with these extra days of training, the candidates get more out of the course, more rehearsal is available and more time for feedback on their presentations.
Workshops and excursions on teaching in the area, and introduction to technical diving with a free rebreather try out, and even the PADI oxygen instructor course are included for no extra charge in our IDC. It is easy to realize, that completing the IDC with Pro Dive Mexico, gives the “best value for the money” to the instructor candidate.
Anders Heegaard and his multi lingual staff offer IDC training in English/Spanish/French/German/Italian/Portuguese and Danish.
What type of diving do you like the best?
Any type of diving that gives me something new. Whether it’s diving on virgin reefs or going into unexplored caves, the thrill of experiencing something new or learning new techniques is what Anders love the most.
What else do you like (non diving)?
When not diving or counseling students, Anders likes to travel and to learn more about Mexico. In Playa del Carmen, he spends his free time doing martial arts and running.
Why do you love being a PADI Course Director?
Anders loves being a Course Director, because it gives him a chance to impact and positively change people’s lives. With Pro Dive Mexico they have a great partnership, and hope that they can in the future help even more people reach their personal goals, live their dream, and become PADI instructors.
One IDC is never the same as next one. It’s a development course, filled with individuals that need to work together and succeed as a group. In the IDC we learn a lot about diving, but we also need to learn about ourselves and how we can deal with an array of situations.
Teaching diving is all about adaptation, problem solving and especially problem preventing. It is about learning how to change certain things, so they work better.
From every IDC, Anders too, learns about people and how they deal with situations. All these things he uses, to make his following courses better, and even more complete.
What does the future hold for you?
Besides continuing his work with Pro Dive Mexico, Anders would like to keep diving, keep learning and help even more people to really obtain the lifestyle that many people only will dream of.
What do his IDC students think of Anders?
Review from Simon Kendall Page, New Castle, United Kingdom (IDC September 2010)
I enjoyed the course extremely.
I had actually done an IDC back in England earlier that year, but was not confident enough for the PADI IE.
This time round with Anders and his staff, I was confident and happy about the PADI IE.
This course, including staff and students was an inspiration to myself, and I am very pleased and satisfied that I continued my diving career with Pro Dive Mexico.
Materials and products within the facility were easy to find and use. Good classroom materials and the swimming pool was good size and depth. Open water dives were excellent including boat and staff.
Excellent staff for the IDC!!
They were easy to work with and made me feel part of a team.
Couldn’t have asked for better instructor trainers.
These guys teach the IDC thoroughly and confidently and remove any doubts from your head.
Grateful I have gained my experience with these members of staff.
Thank you so much.
Review from Bernd Eisele (Parents of IDC candidate Ben Eisele, 18years old) Williams Lake, Canada (IDC September 2010)
Anders promptly and patiently answered each and every question to our satisfaction.
As a result we recommended to our son that he book with Pro Dive Mexico. In September our son partook in the IDC (Instructor Training) with Pro Dive Mexico Academy and passed his exams with flying colors.
At the end of his training, our son applied for an instructor position in several parts of the world.
He quickly received multiple job offers and ended up accepting a position as Dive Instructor at a leading resort group that operates a chain of dive centers around the world.
Our son has shared his job offer emails with us and what stood out in one of them was a comment that was included in an email from Human Resources of one of the dive centers: “We have decided to offer you that position based on your resume and the quality of the instructor training you have done that is familiar to us, without the interview”
Anders‚ superior reputation precedes him and the above testimony attests to the high standards he adheres to and which are well-known in the diving industry. We have no doubt that training with Anders and Pro Dive Mexico was instrumental in helping our son find immediate employment as Dive Instructor. We wish Anders, Pro Dive Mexico as well as our son nothing but the best and are convinced that all three will continue to be valuable assets to the diving industry.
Review from Jo Jo Willink, London, United Kingdom (IDC June 2010)
What a great experience!
Had great fun, learnt a lot and feel ready to start teaching diving
Also The staff Instructor and Course Director Anders Heegaard were very good.
I got great results in the PADI IE all thanks to the instructors.
Anders is a particular excellent teacher.
Want to see what goes on during our IDC classes?
Check our website and see thousands of pictures from our IDC’s from our blog links here http://prodivemexico.blogspot.com/
Click on the photo to the right to view a photo gallery from a recent IDC class
Where are we?
Website: www.idcmexico.com
PADI IDC Address
Carreterra Federal,
Parcela 4 MZA 293 Lote 2 Local 5-6,
Ejido Norte, Edificio Matiz,
Playa del Carmen, Quintana roo,
77712,
Mexico
PADI 5-STAR Gold Palm IDC Resort
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Dive Centre