Neat teaching method

[Query]

I'd like to praise a school teacher (whose name I don't know) I just saw teach a class on the ice.

She wasn't a great skater (though she skated forwards comfortably), but she really knew how to teach.

Off ice she really made sure everyone had the skates on good and well-fit, with the heels fully in, and the laces tight. Something a lot of group lesson programs omit. She had them practice off-ice falls and recoveries in their skates in a very systematic fashion. Then she had them practice off ice a different style forward marching than I've seen, with the toes splayed apart, heel to instep in successive T posititons (I liked that - makes it much easier to transition to skating), and showed them how to march backwards with the toes towards each other. Then she took it on-ice and had them practice the same things.

The really big thing is that she kept them all organized, and kept their attention.

It all goes to show - some of the best teachers aren't the best doers.

I talked to her afterwards. She prepared by reading books on how to teach skating!

[CoachPA]

Then she had them practice off ice a different style forward marching than I've seen, with the toes splayed apart, heel to instep in successive T posititons (I liked that - makes it much easier to transition to skating), and showed them how to march backwards with the toes towards each other. Then she took it on-ice and had them practice the same things.

While we teach our Tots to actually march forward (like soliders), our Pre-Alpha skaters learn to "skate" using this method. (We tell them to walk like a duck.) I agree with you that it really does help make the transition from marching to stroking much easier.

And, I agree that there's a definite distinction between being able to skate well and being able to teach well.

That's wonderful, also, that you had the opportunity to talk to this woman. As coaches, we can learn so much from networking, asking questions, and simply observing other coaches, and this should never stop. I think the day a coach stops trying to learn should be the day he/she stops coaching. There's so much to learn in this sport--from our colleagues, our own mistakes, and even our students.

[katz in boots]

While we teach our Tots to actually march forward (like soliders), our Pre-Alpha skaters learn to "skate" using this method. (We tell them to walk like a duck.) I agree with you that it really does help make the transition from marching to stroking much easier.

Hey, that's good to know! I'm a wannabe coach, and people in public sessions often ask me for tips for their children, and I tell them to use the 'duck' style. As I've seen coaches teaching the marching style, I'd wondered if I was telling people the wrong thing.

[Clarice]

I tell my little ones to "march like a duck" going forwards, and "like a penguin" (toes turned in) going backwards. The marching part is important so that they keep their feet underneath them (not striding forward like walking), stay flat on the middle of the blade (instead of toe pushing), and are actually shifting weight from foot to foot (a lot of them try to keep both feet on the ice all the time).