New Adult Skater ?

[newskaker5]

Hi! I just signed up for my very 1st adult lesson on skating. Ive never skated before (I mean I can ice skate around a rink but I have never had instruction).

I had a question for anyone familair with the Adult learn to skate program. The rink I am in makes you sign up for the very beginner group if you have never had instruction before. The class was fine, but there was about 10-12 people. Because it was such a large group, the instructor is limited in being able to pay too much attention to anyone.

My question is though, the skills we learned at this class were super basis (getting up from a fall, stopping, gliding, etc). After my class was the next level adult class and I was watching them and able to do the skills they were doing. Is this normal? Should I be moved to a more advanced class? I have no idea what to expect, I just felt like the class wasnt challenging at all and I REALLY want to learn as much as I can. I have a past career as a high level athlete in a different sport, so its hard for me to start as a "beginner" in something haha so maybe Im just jumping the gun? I was just concerned because if I should move up, I dont think the instructor will notice because hes so busy with so many people :(

Any advice would be great! Thanks!

[newskaker5]

Hi! I just signed up for my very 1st adult lesson on skating. Ive never skated before (I mean I can ice skate around a rink but I have never had instruction).

I had a question for anyone familair with the Adult learn to skate program. The rink I am in makes you sign up for the very beginner group if you have never had instruction before. The class was fine, but there was about 10-12 people. Because it was such a large group, the instructor is limited in being able to pay too much attention to anyone.

My question is though, the skills we learned at this class were super basis (getting up from a fall, stopping, gliding, etc). After my class was the next level adult class and I was watching them and able to do the skills they were doing. Is this normal? Should I be moved to a more advanced class? I have no idea what to expect, I just felt like the class wasnt challenging at all and I REALLY want to learn as much as I can. I have a past career as a high level athlete in a different sport, so its hard for me to start as a "beginner" in something haha so maybe Im just jumping the gun? I was just concerned because if I should move up, I dont think the instructor will notice because hes so busy with so many people

Any advice would be great! Thanks!

[EastonSkater]

Probably better to not move to a more advanced class, unless you've had proper lessons before. The instructors may give you advice that you may not have known about before. So better to start from the beginning.

Same as in snow skiing. A lot of people may have had say 1 lesson and then go off by themselves to do intermediate slopes.....then find that they can do....but the techniques aren't quite right....but they can still manage. And then later, they join up an advanced class, which is where they find out what they really didn't know....which then wastes the instructor's time a bit, and the other students time.

[newskaker5]

Oh I understand that - no my question was more bcause the things he told us to do I could do and he kept telling me it looked perfect, thats why I was a bit concerned. I just dont know what to epect. If we just keep working on these same skills for the next 7 weeks I dont want to be held back if I am doing them correctly but most of the class has never skated at all before. I dont want to rush or learn stuff incorrectly. I was a gymnast for a long time and I know how bad techinque on basics can really screw you up later on.

[beachbabe]

I had the same problem when i was in Basic 1 (i'm not sure how the adult version is different), it was jsut very boring and I felt like they were not letting me move up so they can jsut get more money out of you. So i jsut quit and took a couple of lessons with a private coach and she made a recommendation and I was able to move up to Freestyle 1 within two weeks. I mean, I had taken lessons before so i really didnt need to do swizzles when I already had my salchow and toeloop down.

see how it goes, but you can always skip ahead if you have coach's reccomendation. But if I were you i'd make sure you have the basics perfect, because if they are sloppy, everything you learn after that will be permanently sloppy. So try to get your basics down really well.

[starskate6.0]

You might want to take a private lesson or two. You may find it a little more intence but you will get more out of it because of the one on one instruction. :) No offence to you or your coach but you may want to make it clear that you are quite serious about your training. Some coaches and rinks do not take adults seriously and its important to make it known that you are capable of much more than they might imagine.

That being said, Keep in mind that as an Adult skater you are the best judge of how capable you are to learn and how fast. If you have a coach that believes in you to do what ever you put your mind too, you are on the right track. I have several coaches who back me to the max and never say it can't be done. I try a lot of things and my coaches and the rink back me all the way. I hope you have found the same in your rink and that you are very happy with the results and the training.

best of luck and welcome.

[dbny]

Your coach is really the one who should advance you to the next class as appropriate. However, since the class is so large, my guess is that you were pretty much unnoticed while the coach was busy with those who were most in need. It wouldn't hurt if you were to ask the coach about moving into the next class. Be sure to give her/him all the info you gave us here. In all likelihood, she/he will be glad of an opportunity to decrease the class size and will agree to move you if it seems at all appropriate for your skill level. Do keep in mind, though, that there are specific skills assigned to each level, and you may be playing catch up in the next class on one or two of them. Let us know what you do and what results.

[newskaker5]

Thanks so much - thats exactly why I wasnt sure. I really have no idea about skating levels, etc. And I certainly am happy in my class if I will be learning new things. I just didnt know if this was normal or not, and since I did feel like he wanst really able to pay attention to my skill level I wasnt sure if I should ask.

BTW - does the first level of learn to skate include more than swizzels, skating on one foot, and gliding (backwards/forwards). If it does then Im fine - just seemed like we will only be doing this for a while so I wasnt sure
Thanks!

[VegasGirl]

Oh I understand that - no my question was more bcause the things he told us to do I could do and he kept telling me it looked perfect, thats why I was a bit concerned.

Trust me, when you're reading they'll be moving you up all on their own!

[dbny]

Your coach is really the one who should advance you to the next class as appropriate. However, since the class is so large, my guess is that you were pretty much unnoticed while the coach was busy with those who were most in need. It wouldn't hurt if you were to ask the coach about moving into the next class. Be sure to give her/him all the info you gave us here. In all likelihood, she/he will be glad of an opportunity to decrease the class size and will agree to move you if it seems at all appropriate for your skill level. Do keep in mind, though, that there are specific skills assigned to each level, and you may be playing catch up in the next class on one or two of them. Let us know what you do and what results.

Can one of the moderators please consolidate the threads? The other one is on Coaches & Parents.

[dbny]

In the other thread you asked about which skills are in the first level for adults. That depends on which program you are in. The US has two: USFS and ISI. In Canada, Australia, and the UK they would be different.

USFS Adult 1

Falling & recovery
Forward strides & gliding
Forward swizzles, 4-6 in a row
Backward skating
Backward swizzles, 4-6 in a row
Forward one foot glides, one times skater's height, R & L
Two foot turns, in place
Snowplow stop (one foot or both)
Forward curves on two feet
Forward 1/2 swizzle pumps on a circle, 4-6 in a row


ISI Pre-Alpha

Two foot glide, distance equal to skater's height with three opening steps
One foot glide, same as two foot but done on each foot separately
Forward swizzle, 3 to equal skater's height in distance
Backward wiggle, distance equal to skater's height in 4 zigzags
Backward swizzle, distance equal to skater's height in three swizzles

[sk8guy71]

I just want to chime in here that I'm also a brand new adult skater. I went and checked out a nearby rink today (first time I've ever even seen ice skates in person, let alone an ice rink) and got information on the Adult Learn to Skate program. Although they're already into their current session, I'm told I can just show up, pay my fee, and jump right in (so to speak), so I'm planning on attending my first group lesson on Saturday morning. This is something I've wanted to do for years, but had no idea that there was even any ice rinks in my state (Kentucky isn't exactly a winter sport mecca, after all), and low and behold, there are 2 within reasonable driving distance of where I live. I even picked up a pamphlet about private instruction and I'm rather shocked by how reasonable (and down right cheap) some of the rates are. Wish me luck (considering that the only ice I've ever stepped on was in the driveway, nearly resulting in a lovely triple splat).

[Rusty Blades]

As a former skater who has been away for 36 years, I am virtually starting all over again. I decided to join the figure skating club and hire a coach. In re-learning figure skating, I know how VERY important it is to master the absolute basics before moving on and since I am not in a good position to judge my own "skill" I trust the coach for that. I can wizz around the ice pretty good but I don't mind doing the basics until she gives me something else. In figure skating I don't think anybody is ever perfect even with the basics. Trust your group coach.

[quarkiki2]

I agree with DBNY. I'd approach the coach of the group lesson and ask him/her if you could talk about your current skill level and whether or not you should move up to the next level. I wouldn't wait to ask until you're on the ice, but maybe approach them off-ice and see if you couldn't spend a couple minutes before class with a quick test of your skills. That way if you're ready to move up, you can go straight to the other class on the ice and still get the benefit of a full lesson.

It's also possible, depending on the level of the other skaters in your group, that you may still get to the skills from the next level up. My adult ISI Pre-Alpha class was strong enough that by the third lesson, we were an Alpha class and all seven or eight of us were working on the Alpha skills.

Welcome to the world of adult skating! We're a wacky fun bunch!!!

[Isk8NYC]

Can one of the moderators please consolidate the threads? The other one is on Coaches & Parents.

Done. I kept this one because it had more posts, so you may see some redundancies.

[garyc254]

BTW - does the first level of learn to skate include more than swizzels, skating on one foot, and gliding (backwards/forwards). If it does then Im fine - just seemed like we will only be doing this for a while so I wasnt sure

Often that depends on how quickly the class as a whole picks up each skill. A coach must teach certain skills, but if the class masters those well enough, a good coach will teach them more advanced moves.

I know at times I've missed the progress of some of the young learn to skate kids because I'm so busy working the class as a whole. If a parent comes to me about their child being bored or needing a further challenge, I'll make special note to look at their skills and sometime give them a mini-test during class to see how they're doing. If they have the skills, I'll bump them up.

Talk to the coach or skating director.

8-)

[Skate@Delaware]

I just want to chime in here that I'm also a brand new adult skater. I went and checked out a nearby rink today (first time I've ever even seen ice skates in person, let alone an ice rink) and got information on the Adult Learn to Skate program. Although they're already into their current session, I'm told I can just show up, pay my fee, and jump right in (so to speak), so I'm planning on attending my first group lesson on Saturday morning. This is something I've wanted to do for years, but had no idea that there was even any ice rinks in my state (Kentucky isn't exactly a winter sport mecca, after all), and low and behold, there are 2 within reasonable driving distance of where I live. I even picked up a pamphlet about private instruction and I'm rather shocked by how reasonable (and down right cheap) some of the rates are. Wish me luck (considering that the only ice I've ever stepped on was in the driveway, nearly resulting in a lovely triple splat).
This is exactly how I began (after I registered my kids). Of course, the first time I showed up for class, one of the guys was doing a toe-loop 8O and I told her I thought I was in the wrong class, but she assured me I would catch up in no time.

Now I'm the one doing toe-loops while the newbies are working on edges and 3-turns and I get to demo stuff. It's cool. Yes, ask to be moved up because if you are too low you won't learn anything (you can only swizzle for so long without boredom).

If you can, spring for a private coach every now and again. I wish I had done that earlier...who knows I might have got stuff sooner :frus: and then there's the issue of total individual attention!! It's great because they can see stuff that is missed in a group setting. Although, in a smaller group (my class is now a total of 4 adults) you can't get away with being sloppy as much (it's amazing how much stuff they can see when they aren't looking, unless it's the good stuff, which they never see).

Good Luck!!!!

PS-The skill levels in my class (the only intermediate-advanced-meaning beyond gliding and swizzles) vary greatly from Adult 2-Freestyle ??. She has some of us working on certain things while she instructs the lower levels, then she has them work on things while she instructs us at more complicated stuff. She usually has us doing warmups with edges then we split. Several weeks ago we did jumps while the other half did back glides on one foot (jump landing position). So it is possible to have varied levels in one class. I'm thinking that next year might be my last year in the class, though as we are pretty much all tapped out. I only signed up this quarter because it's the only time I get to skate with some of the other adults. :cry: