My son has been asked to skate pairs

[mamaskate]

My son (12) has been asked to try pairs skating with a girl at our rink. She's very good, and we do know her mother. His coach is enthusiastic about the opportunity.

Does anyone have any advice for us on what to consider?

[sk8tmum]

A few things.

Does he like the girl? They'll be spending a lot of time together. You'll also be likely spending time with her family, which may or may not be a consideration.

Does he want to do pairs? Some boys don't, and there have been some who have been pushed into doing it because of the boy shortage.

In Canada, after you get past the very first level, you're doing overhead lifts, and depending on the physical maturity of the skater, lifting a girl over your head is daunting. I'm assuming that he's big enough, otherwise, your coach probably wouldn't be encouraging it ...

My son spent a year doing pairs, and as a result, he fell behind in his singles skating. When you have "x" number of hours per week, and part of those hours become allocated into learning how to be a pairs partner and learning the pairs moves, lifts, throws etc, you have to find those hours somewhere and in our case it was pulled out of freeskate time. He's not doing pairs at present, but, that is a big consideration for us before having him resume that track. We weren't willing to add another "y" number of hours of on-ice and off-ice, as he was already skating quite a number of hours; the year and a half he spent doing pairs instead of singles meant that he fell behind his peers.

[ice_godess]

Depends upon how big a 12 year old he is. Plus what goals does the coach have at this level? The issue is not whether he likes the girl or not - but whether the two skaters can work in tandem and learn to read each others body language. Lots of boys want to be pairs partners but can't work as a team, or find a girl that 'fits'.

If this is the offseason for competing - sectionals, regionals etc are over and your son is not going to nationals, then it is the best time to start 'fooling' around with pairs stroking, side by side jumps, pair spins and footwork. All this work will help his singles freeskate, especially since he will have to think about rotation, position etc more to match the partner (and 12 year olds don't normally pay attention to that stuff on their own). He still has to work on his jumps and spins, so this can make it more fun.

Lifts - on the other hand - need to be worked on off the ice for a while and a lift class can also help build strength needed in the arms for those triple jumps. Wouldn't recommend on ice lifts above the shoulders until he can do them safely off the ice. However, armpit lifts and small throw waltz jumps etc. would be trainable at this level.

If your coach wants the team to compete at the lowest level, which shouldn't involve overhead lifts, then I don't see that the pairs stuff will eat into his singles freeskate much at this time of year. However, if the team does show promise and wants to move up, then you will have to add some pair time as well later.

Might be worth a try. You never know until you try. And a good coach will never let the singles skills slide because the better the two singles skaters are, the stronger the pair under the new judging system!

[BatikatII]

My son skated pairs and very much enjoyed it but we didn't have the usual hassles as he skated with his sister.

I know for a lot families one of the most difficult things is not the skaters themselves but dealing with issues with the other family involved.

If the kids are keen and the coaches are keen then I'd say go ahead as it can be a lot of fun. It can be scary though to watch especialy when they are doing lifts and throw jumps.

Might be worth deciding ahead of time how much time/money you are willing to put in to the pairs as many of the hassles come from the families having different expectations of how much practice/lesson time will be devoted to pairs as opposed to singles skating.

How about agreeing to a few 'taster' sessions to see if they 'gel' as a pair and enjoy it. If they do - then you have to think about how it will fit with other skating and how seriously you are going to take it.

[mamaskate]

Thanks for the responses. I am afraid that the girl's parents may have more ambition than we have, and more money available to reach their goal. They also may want to bring in a couple of different coaches in addition to the pairs coach, and we don't want to add too many cooks in the kitchen.

My son's coach has already mentioned that she doesn't want him to neglect his singles skating, so she'll watch out for that.

[Virtualsk8r]

Some clubs I know offer pairs training classes - both on ice and off ice lessons in lift technque, skating as a team etc. The skaters switch around to get accustomed to different partners etc. but don't plan to compete together. It acts as a sort of LTS session for pairs. The guys start learning proper technique at an early stage and when they are big enough or strong enough to actually form a real team, they are ready.

I've been on the pairs side where it was like pulling teeth to get the guy to do anything or pay his fair share of the bills because he thought (and his coach as well ) the girl should be grateful she had a partner. Didn't last the season as the girl was a much better skater and worked her blades off at every session, while the guy goofed off and never practiced his own skills. A girl can only get dropped so much by an inept partner before she smartens up. So if you decide to give the pairs thing a try - give it everything you've got given the ice time and lessons you can afford (and have fun!).

[slusher]

The other parents. haaa!

For your son, an off ice gym trainer is crucial. At the age of 12, there can be permanent damage if the strength is not there while the body is still growing but at that level, lifts are just a small part of the program.

[dbny]

Thanks for the responses. I am afraid that the girl's parents may have more ambition than we have, and more money available to reach their goal.

I've been on the pairs side where it was like pulling teeth to get the guy to do anything or pay his fair share of the bills because he thought (and his coach as well ) the girl should be grateful she had a partner.

My daughter had an opportunity to skate pairs when she was 12, but did not want to. I convinced her to have one lesson with the boy, which she did. They skated great together, landing axels in synch the first time, but she really did not want to do it. When I mentioned it to a another skater's mom who had been involved with skating much longer than we had, I was told that the girl's parents pay for "everything". I've always wondered if that was true, and exactly what "everything" encompassed.

[LWalsh]

I have see where the girl's parents pay for everything. This includes coaching, ice time, costumes, travel, etc. Male pairs partners or dance partners are in great demand.

LW

[sk8tmum]

Nothing surprises me anymore, and I have heard of the inequitable financial arrangements in some pairs, which we would not tolerate ourselves, nor would our coach.

It's gotten uncomfortable a few times re: aggressive girls and their parents actively pursuing him for pairs partners, or just the ones who truly have a dream and a passion for it, and you feel like you're letting them down by not pairing up with them.

It's absolutely unfair that there are so few boys; I wish there was a 50/50 split, because it would make my kid's life and competition career far more enjoyable. But, those are the breaks. HOWEVER: not every boy wants to do pairs, or dance, and some just are not suited to it (emotional, physical, interest, whatever), and I've seen quite a number of boys pushed into it due to the shortage and found it to be less than suitable. My kid has said "later, not now" and that's fine by us and his coach, although hard to explain to the parents of girls who want a partner, or club executives who see an easy medal or two due to the lack of competition...

[FSWer]

I'm no Pairs Skater. But as a Pairs fan You might want to concider this....Has he told you what HE HIMSELF would like? Is he anxous to be doing Pairs? Did you find out what moves would be taught to a kid that age? How old is this girl btw.? Also I'm problily curtain. But was he asked to try out for just a CLUB Pairs Team? Or does the coach see a possible new future famous Team? I e-mailed skatingmoms5 with the link to this thread. As she IS also a Pairs Skaters mother,and really more of the Pairs expert of our group. So hopefully she'll stop by and reply with advice. I wish your son good luck btw. if he takes it.

[sk8pairsmom]

okay I'll put my 2 cents in .............
dont know much about the aspect of the guy. Although I help Ivan out right now with room and board as he has no money hopefully he will start paying his way when they make money. Being 12 years old is alot different. Katie started much later,15 and had already established her singles career. Winning the bronze medal at Jr Ladies and gold medal at the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia her first International. So she decided to try pairs at that time. Most of these people talking are saying the right things but they are all talking about how the parents are. Too bad! Many aren't like that. But skating pairs is like a marriage. You have to learn to get along with each other. Reading each other and learning each others quirks. But at that young age he will probably go through a few partners because they will grow on him (physically) becoming taller so he will have to get used to a few different partners. They only had one coach and had time for pairs not singles also. If you want to excel in any dicipline you have to pick one. Pairs is the way to go if you want longevity in a skating career. (2005 pair champions) She's back!