I really don't get where anyone picked up that he was eavesdropping on lessons and staying close to skaters on the ice as he did this. He was very clear from the beginning that he was just sitting down on the bleachers during "breaks" and watching out onto the arena, and looking at lessons from there. It's not like he can hear anything- and he's as far away as any of the skating parents and not disturbing anyone. When I'm bored between sessions I do the same thing, and I really don't need any extra private instruction so I'm not "stealing" anything. I'm just watching to keep entertained.

It's also how I've picked coaches whenever I've needed to switch. I sit there, and I watch what kind of skaters they teach, and what their coaching style is. No one's "put off" or bothered by it, it's totally normal, and all the skaters old enough to pick their own coaches do it when they are switching. How else are you supposed to pick a coach? You can't possibly sign up for try outs with all of them.

Good point... I was trying to figure out how to pick a new coach now hat I've found a rink. I think I will do just that, sit and observe, thanks for the tipp!!!

His initial post DOESN'T say that he was off-ice, in fact one of his posts says he was across the rink. If you read the thread in order, that information isn't given until after people expressed concern for his "eavesdropping." (In fairness, his initial post doesn't say he was listening in, just watching.)

I've coached with people that are VERY private about their teaching. They don't want other instructors stealing their methods. I've asked a few why they did this or that and gotten vague or misleading answers.

I do agree that watching a lesson without announcing yourself is by far the best way to get a clear picture of whether or not you'll like a coach for yourself.

As for the original question, they probably don't know what to make of you, but the parents are going to keep an eye on you until they've decided you can be trusted. After being there a while and chit-chatting with the parents (also a great way to find out about various coaches, BTW) they'll warm up to you.

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How you dress at a rink can definitely be attention-getting. I love the little first-timers with the little skating dresses. They don't last more than fifteen minutes - one fall, a cold tush, and they're off for hot chocolate! LOL

You're not alone in wearing "different" clothes for skating. There are a number of Hasidic families that skate at our rink. The girls wear long skirts and dark-colored jackets/coats. Some of the kids (not mine - they're used to it by now) check them out.

BTW: In a post not too-long ago, someone asked about wearing your type of clothing. Maybe they meant a burka; but I thought of you.

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I don't disagree that watching/listening to how a coach interacts is a good way to get an honest view of their skills. Continuous eavesdropping goes a bit beyond that, especially when you listen in to learn more about skating than the coach/student.

A few trial lessons is a wonderful recommendation. Just because a coach interacts well with other students, doesn't mean that they're a good fit for your skater.

Hmmm, I thought Masons were only men?
Guess this is MR. Alicia taking a turn at the keyboard again?

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A point for up-and-coming coaches to note:

When you are a beginner skater, everything is daunting. You are very grateful for any sort of encouragement, even just a friendly smile, or God forbid - a "free" helpful hint! You are very unlikely to take lessons from a coach if they have "given you the hump", or snarled at you.

Beginner skaters may sometimes be unpromising adults, but very often they have relatives who are children who may want to learn to skate. They are very unlikely to put those children with a coach who has "given them the hump" or snarled at them.

There is at least one competent coach I know of, who I would never recommend to anyone, because of her unappealing "attitude". And there is at least one coach I know of, who does extremely well, simply because he is genuinely welcoming and helpful to new faces at the rink.

Skating technique isn't a great secret - people can usually get free help from other skaters if they ask. The most important factor in a coaching relationship is trust.

Think about it!

Watching is cool in my opinion. I watch skaters as I put my boots on.
Sometimes you see something that clicks and helps you. We all need that special something sometimes. Following a coach and skater closely isn't. I've had this happen on an occasion and it's annoying. I agree on picking a coach by observing and listening. It's amazing what you can learn this way. However, you never know until their your coach what you feel. Relationships aren't built over night and a good coach/ student takes time to build. Sometimes the overly friendly coaches are ones to stay away from and ditto with the emotional ones. This is just my personal opinion.

Chico

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"I truly believe, when God created skating, he patted himself on the back."

My only two cents is that you may need to go slightly out of your way to ensure that the parents don't view you as a stalker. When I was in my late teens, I was in a show class that consisted of myself, two female pre-teens, a female adult and a male adult. The guy, while never actually doing anything inappropriate, often made inappropriate remarks geared towards no one in particular but way out of line for two pre-teens to hear. Both pre-teens were uncomfortable around him whenever we were on the ice together.

While it would be excessive perhaps to assume that you could be friends with the young female skaters, you do want an environment that's friendly. Avoid any comments, looks or touches that could be misconstrued, and you'll hopefully be okay.

Sometimes my training partners and I will watch each other during a lesson and one of us is trying to nail a new jump. We all have the same coach. If I'm having a lesson and one of my training partners skates on by and stops to check out what I'm doing when I'm with my coach- it's cool. I do the same with them. We really support each other and clap for each other when we finally land something. Nothing my coach is telling me is a secret from any of them, and I have no problem with them listening to my lesson.

But if someone I didn't know and didn't share coaches with did this, my coach would tell the person to take a hike! Why aren't the coaches shooing the nosy people away in the cases some of you have reported? I'd be really put off by a coach who let that sort of butting in happen if it wasn't welcomed.

PS: On a different note I agree with Chico. Every time I've tried working with a coach because they were particularly friendly towards me, it turned into a disaster. My current coaches barely said hello to me before I hired them- it still worked out great. I find that the friendly ones are usually "fans" of your skating if they've seen you around the rink, and they're so eager to work with you that once they do, they have nothing but praises for you and nothing gets corrected. I'd rather work with someone who doesn't even notice my existence until I point it out to them, then there's no bias. My coaches are the very definition of unfriendly. But who cares? I didn't pick them out for their winning smiles. Plus, I have enough friends already.

And damn you people for making interesting threads. I can't take a break and just be a lurker for a while if you keep coming up with interesting things to talk about!!!

Oh, I'm definitely not hovering around evesdropping on every private lesson. I'm watching from off-ice and it's only a few minutes here and there in between laps around the rink or whatever, but I find that (at least for me) watching someone do a particular move (especially when they're obviously much stronger skillwise than I am) gives me a very good idea of what I *should* be doing. Also, I really do keep to myself. That's just basically me, anyway. Also, odd looks don't really bother me because I know why I'm there and what I hope to accomplish. It was just a little strange because I'd never experienced it before and was curious as to whether anyone else had experienced it. Heck, I'm kind of in awe of the little 9 year olds doing spins and jumps and stuff while I'm damn proud that I've managed to make it a few laps around the rink upright without flailing myself all across the ice.

Another thing is ... if you don't know them, and they don't know you.....then it doesn't really matter what they think anyhow. Since nobody knows each other. Just as long as we, ourselves, know we're good people, then that's completely fine. And if anybody does have the nerve to ask you why you're looking at them....as in approaching you and rudely asking, then you can just tell them that you're a beginner skater and you're trying to just learn by example. And if they give you all sorts of nonsense....then just tell them to go to hell.

In reply to ...
"but some people just seem snotty, like they own the ice. I know we need lessons, but there is a big sign with rules on the wall, and nothing that says you have to be an olympic skater. We stay close to the wall, and even though the rules state that stationary skaters stay toward the middle of the ice, a few just do their little routines right against the wall. "

Since I'm not there, I don't really know the situation...but, sometimes skaters aren't being "snotty" they are just powerful skaters that need to be all over the ice. I'm sure it's really difficult to set up for double/triple jumps and jump combinations without taking up half of the rink. Plus, if the session is crowded the higher skaters have to be aggressive so that they can get in a few jump attempts. If you just half skate someone else will jump and you'll have to just skate around. But then again, I would hope that your rink wouldn't allow high freestylers on your session. However, oftentimes adult sessions are all levels so sometimes new skaters have to deal with this. Also, some ice dance patterns move all over the ice, even right up next to the boards (especially at my rink because it's not regulation sized). The person might not be meaning to come that close to you, but in order to continue with their dance pattern they may have to! Again, some rinks have separate ice dance practices from freestyle, but mine does not. This is just one possible explination.

And then there is the very cause that the kids could be snotty/unexperienced/just flat out don't understand/careless! And if that is the case we all feel for you...it's typical! I love when I set up for a flip and the little kid skates toward me with that deer in the headlight look.

Just thought I would add in my two cents!

I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. I have had parents give me weird looks, espacially when the rink is slow. Watching little kids practice reminds of me of myself when I was their age. I understand though, I would think it's a bit weird if a 24 y/o guy was watching my kid skate around the rink...

It's probably just because you're a) new; b) a beginner; c) male; d) an adult; and e) not obviously attached to a small child offspring. Just a curiosity. With time that should ease as the parents hopefully realize that you're unlikely to molest their child on the ice while wearing skates and clinging to the boards.

Watching coaches from the stands is fine; sneaking around the lesson less so. Alicia mentioned doctors & other professionals, but doctors don't let people observe them while examining a patient ('At $100 an exam, I should observe someone else's Pap smear first!'), lawyers don't let potential clients in on sessions on previous clients ('At $400 an hour, I demand to know all the evidence against your client.'), engineers don't reveal their client's proprietary information to prospective clients ('At $15K for this preliminary project, I demand to see the system passwords for your earlier clients!')

I'd find a coach like I'd find a doctor: word of mouth from people I trust, plus a trial. If you set it up as a trial explicitly ('I'm new, and looking for a coach, and I thought I'd try a couple of lessons to see if we gel'), no one can get offended.

I expect it might be more useful that way, anyway. My coach teaches all levels, but the girls he teaches at my rink are all reasonably high level (all doubles), and I'm a beginner. Watching him correct a bad layback or lutz didn't tell me a whole lot about how he would teach basic consecutive edges.

If you're teaching at a public rink during public sessions, then everybody has a right to watch you teaching from a distance. A doctor and lawyer has their own office or place to teach in private. If a skating teacher wants to teach the student without people watching, then it's their own responsibility to rent out the rink for private lessons. But if they come to a public rink and teach during a public session......that's tough luck.

Also, at a public session, everybody is welcome. Even regulars were once new to the rink. And new faces have every right to be there along with regulars. And regulars do not own the rink, or do they have any right to gang up on new faces. Skating mums etc have no right to make new people feel unwelcome.

If your little kid was a brilliant skater, then people are going to look in awe....because some newbies are probably wishing they could do those 'tricks' too. Or if your little kid is a complete newbie and stumbling around, then people might watch too, just to see how the little kid is progressing. It's the same if a older age newbie comes to the rink. People often watch to see how they're progressing. But if regulars simply frown at newbies and make them feel unwelcome by staring and making no face expressions at all, then that kind of thing is unusual.....and those regulars probably need an education in manners and diplomacy.

actually, today at my lesson some annoying girl kept following me and my coach around and copying what i was doing, and let's jsut say it was unbearably annoying. Not only is it unnaceptable to eavesdrop on a lesson from such a close distance, copying me is jsut going wayyy too far.

Eventually i ended up wasting 10 mins of my class just waiting for her to get the hell away from me...and this is time that i was paying for.
Eventually we had the skate guard block off the middle with cones and he had to remind to girl to stay away form the circle like 10 times.

Yea, if you wanna watch a lesson from afar...your welcome to, but don't get too close and disturb.

just wanted to share that, because this is my first time having to deal with eavesdrooping b/c i had to ahve my leeson at a public.

Beachbabe- is there any reason your coach didn't tell the girl to take a hike? It's unacceptable for a coach to accept such disruptions.

Which of course, is why I indicated in my post that watching from a distance was acceptable.