Sometimes this sport is so frustrating!

When we started, we happily went along with a coaching team that gave our kid some great skills, as well as a break on coaching costs. We're not in a big metro area or at one of those super training centers, just a little rural rink in a rural corner of the US.

Now my husband has the ability to relocate anywhere in the US, thanks to his job. Obviously, one of the many factors to take into consideration is skating. This is a rather delicate topic to bring up with the coaches, however, and I don't want to ask them for any suggestions (I have my reasons, just don't want to get into them here.)

Why can't there be some sort of "Consumer Reports" of coaches, rinks and training centers? Sure, there's word of mouth, but I can't go traipsing around the country "trying out" these places--not exactly in the budget! I look at places on the Internet, and they all seem wonderful, so that wasn't a big help.

OK, the question is--how does one go about selecting a new coach long-distance? Some parent here must have done it before! I would appreciate some advice--contact me privately if you prefer. Also, just to make this fun, who/what is your dream coach/rink/training center for your child?

Thanks a lot for any help you can give!

I'm afraid the time-honoured way is to tell your present coach/es where you are going, and ask them for recommendations and referrals to a good coach in the new area. There are no guarantees that your kid would get on with such a coach, but it's a starting-point. If you are unwilling to do that, for whatever reason, then I am not sure how you would go about it, other than going down to the rink and asking for an interview with the head coach, to whom you would explain your child's situation and ask for recommendations from him/her. And insist on a trial period on either side - mismatches happen through nobody's fault, and it's silly to get stuck into an unbreakable relationship too soon.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Here is a link to a SLAM article about a US training centre.
http://www.slam.ca/Slam020305/ska_tra-ap.html

I'm sure there are others but I just happened upon this one.

I'm from Canada and I know there's a good training center in Montreal. Also in BC, Alberta and Ontario there are several others. I don't know of any in the States. I think if my husband could move anywhere and skating is being taken into consideration, I would look at the top skaters in the country, find out who's coaching them, and do some research. Then narrow it down to a couple of choices; arrange a meeting and travel there for a weekend. At the same time, you could check out work, homes, schools, etc. Then I would discuss it with my current coach and give notice on departurue date.

Good luck with a finding a great center and coach for your little one. It makes such a difference when you feel you have the best you can afford and your child is happy.

Now if I could pick a coach for my skater and a training centre I would like Tataiana Tarasova and whatever training centre she likes. I know she's the best and she also seems like a nice woman. (IMO) However, I'm just dreamin'.

If you aren't able to specifically select *the* coach long distance, I'd say your best bet would be to select a city/area that is known for having lots of good coaches and lots of ice. Chicago has both; so does Minneapolis. Take into consideration what discipline your skater is in, & do a little research--you can find out who's sending kids to regionals & nationals at all levels. The more kids coming out of one club/city, the better the programs/coaches probably are. Obviously there are the BIG well known training centers (Detroit, Indy, Colorado Springs--great city, by the way), to consider as well (realizing you'll probably pay big bucks for coaching there).

It might help if you give us a list of cities you're considering--there may well be people on the board who know about them specifically. You have to take in mind things other than skating of course!! Where do *you* want to live?

Thanks for your replies. We definitely are NOT considering Texas, the deep south, Florida, Arizona, Pacific Northwest. High on the list is California, New England, DC/Maryland/Virginia area, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio. I love Colorado Springs, but I have concerns about the altitude there--had a killer headache when I visited there a few years ago, but maybe it was a one-time thing.

Like I said, skating is just one aspect of the move decision. Quality of life is most important, as well as access to good education.

Last year, my family sounded like your family except we knew we wanted to live in Southern California. It didn't matter to anyone else in the family where exactly we settled so I started looking for a great place for my child to skate. I pulled up a list of area rinks on the internet and then I researched the schools near them. When I narrowed my list down, I came to visit the surrounding communities and was knocked off my feet by one great little town. We ended up moving where the schools are top of the country, the coaching is the best there is and the community is friendly and alive.

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Babyskater's Mom

The frustrating thing about picking anyone long distance (or short distance for that matter) is that the scene changes. One day a training center is the best thing in the country and the other day it's a ghost town. Many places lose coaches for one reason or another or worse the rink closes down for financial reasons. Also take into account how much time is alloted for actual figure skating since MANY rinks in my area (South Jersey) worship hockey at the expense of FS. It could be a state of the art facility but NEVER give ice time to figure skaters because they would rather make money off of hockey.

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Latino International Skating Coalition

If there is any interest in synchro, my area in New England is in the middle of it all...

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Keeping School Figures Alive!!

The Detroit area is very figure skating friendly, with top coaches in the area. There are no less than 8 rinks within a 20 minute drive of my house, most of which are open throughout the summer. PM me if you want more info.

I forgot to mention that we researched and found out who coached where. We came up with a short list of coaches and made appointments with them. When we visited potential areas to live, my daughter took trial lessons with the coaches we were considering. We gave ourselves a couple of months of looking around for a coach before we decided who worked best with our child. We ended up making great choices.

If you are coming to Southern California feel free to PM us if you want specific info about our area. We also have a ton of rinks you can access.

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Babyskater's Mom

Here's a list of cities that have lots of good rinks with good coaches (that way you avoid going to ONE training rink that can become a ghost town if coaches leave, because there are no other rinks around) I personally know the Philly/DE, MD/DC/VA, and Chicago areas very well:

Philadelphia / Wilmington, Delaware area
Maryland / DC / Northern Virginia
Detriot / Ann Arbor
Chicago
Colorado Springs
Los Angeles / Lake Arrowhead
Boston


I hesitate to add Northern New Jersey because of all the upheaval there lately, but that's a possibility?

Anyone else care to add?

I do not know what your husband does for a living, so I don't know if $ is a concern. You said you are in a rural area. If you move to a metro area be prepared for lessons and ice time to cost a lot more than they do where you live now. Be prepared for bigger crowds and more high level skaters. Where the cost of living is high, the cost of skating is also high. I have lived in rural America as well as a big metro area. The difference is shocking.

Kay

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If you decide you want to take a closer look at the DC area, let me know and I can help - I've lived here MOST of my life and I'm constantly looking at different rinks to make sure the rink I have my daughter at is the best one for her.

I don't live there (I'm from Ohio), but I really like Ann Arbor. It's a nice college town with a lot of different things going on in it, and 3 (I believe) rinks in the city and quite a few in the nearby area. The club sends a fair amount of skaters to Nationals. The AAFSC website is at http://www.annarborfsc.com

The Detroit Skating Club is the Detroit Skating Club!! One of THE places to go to become a champ. www.dscclub.com

We can't forget the Saint Clair Shores FSC, which is where the Czisny twins, who are absolutely stunning on the ice, train. http://www.scsfsc.org (read about the Czisny girls here: http://www.detnews.com/2003/sports/0.../f01-58579.htm )

Let us know what you decide!

edited to add a list of Michigan skaters at Nationals: http://www.sk8stuff.com/f_michigan/m...snats_2003.htm
and at Junior Nationals: http://www.sk8stuff.com/f_michigan/m...rnats_2003.htm

You didn't say what level your child is, but keep in mind that some coaches with several elite-level skaters/teams may not take on skaters below a certain level, without a certain jump, etc. I remember readin somewhere that the first time Naomi Nari Nam approached John Nicks, he wouldn't take her because her axel wasn't consistant.

No, but presumably he could, and did, recommend someone else to her. All the same, it's always a bit of a gamble, as different people learn differently, and what suits one skater may be totally meaningless to another, and vice versa.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Depending on where you are moving from, the Upper Midwest has reasonably priced housing, quality schools, and, in the major metropolitan areas (Chicago and Mpls), a rink at practically every corner. What's nice in both of these areas, you can skate at various rinks, call local coaches to "try out" (just telling them you are thinking of relocating there) and generally get broad impressions in order to make an informed decision. You'll actually be able to see some of the skaters and the overall quality of the programs, as well as talk to the parents of the skaters who may be able to warn you off any potential problems with clubs and/or coaches. In each of these cities, there are so many rinks and clubs that you should be able to find a good fit (recreational vs. "serious" skating).
More importantly, the cost of living in each of these places are much lower than either coast, so budgeting for skating is easier and ice time coaching are less expensive. And there are excellent seamstresses in every burb to make fabulous outfits.

I'd say go for the coach of your dreams. You might just get exactly who you want!

Speaking from our own experience, not knowing better or following any particular protocol, we called the rink where a great coach worked. Having learned our lesson about how hard it can be to change coaches, we decided to really pick carefully and go for exactly who we wanted from day one. We took tryout lessons with a few coaches. We knew we were interested in this particular coach and since we weren't in a hurry we waited until the timing worked out and my daughter was able to get in. It was a great match, although my daughter was just 9 years old and only tested to preliminary at that time. Not knowing that there was "no way" this coach would accept a skater at that low level, we asked him and he immediately agreed to be my daughter's head coach. He also got my daughter on the schedule of the coach he teams with for his elite skaters. We've been here less than a year and in that time, my child has moved up to the juvenile level. The improvements that have occurred for her as a result of having a great match with a great coach are mind boggling. My daughter is really becoming a wonderful skater and is showing talent even we who are biased by our love for her did not see. My child's love for the sport has increased exponentially, too. All because we didn't know that we weren't supposed to be able to get on with this coach.

Good coaches know what they are looking for. They see things others may not see. If they connect with a skater, they can bring things out in them most people would have never expected. In the case of my child, her low level, young age and inexperience worked in her favor. The coach felt he was getting her at the beginning of her skating career at a time and stage where he could really have a positive impact on her. He just liked her and saw something in her he knew he could work with. My daughter is his youngest, lowest level skater and this top coach treats her as if she is a champion.

I say Go Fo It! It worked for us.

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Babyskater's Mom

Dropping in to add that I live in Wisconsin (Milwaukee area), and there is NOT a lot of skating here, nor do the rinks support figure skating. At present, between 6 rinks (which are pretty far-flung), there is a total of 1/2 hour of dance ice per week. Extremely talented skaters get to a certain point, & go somewhere else for higher training & more ice time. I go to Chicago for my lessons.

They just broke ground to build a (rumored) 4-surface facility, & have (reportedly) hired a BIG time coach to run the skating program, but there's no telling how that will actually pan out. I'd put Wisconsin closer to the bottom of your list, if skating is a big consideration (assuming you have rather big plans for your skater).

Before any Wisconsinites read this & get mad, you know it's true! We do have some good coaches here, but not much ice time & very little rink support.

I would take into account the area. Like if it's a heavily populated area how long is it between the rink, school and home and how long do you have to drive back and forth. An area with a couple rinks would be good so you're not limited if you can't find a good coaching match with one club.

I wouldn't settle on a coach before you move, for me it was always important to click with the coach. Someone else mentioned trials and that's really the best way. I would certainly ask for recommendations from current coaches or otehr parents. But don't commit until you've tried out a few coaches and observed the atmosphere at the rink. In some cases a coach might pop out at you, don't hesitate to see if that coach would take on a new student. Before you select or even try a coach out sit down and figure out the criteria you want, like how much do you want them to push your child, what sort of personality and then look for it in the coaches you see.

Recomendations are great but your child needs to be comfortable with the person. The coach with the most stars isn't necessarily the best coach for you. When one of my coaches moved away she really wanted me to skate with a particular coach, this coach is a great techincal coach and eventhough I never got a good vibe from her but I started with her and those were the worst two weeks of my life.

Good luck.

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* Marcoux & Buntin * Miller & Moram *

Definitely consider the Detroit or Ann Arbor area. Lots of good options for both ice and coaching. The Onyx at Rochester Hills is another great rink. Nice area, wonderful ice and great coaching staff. It would get my vote.

My family (two parents and skater) moved half-way across the country for skating. We were able to do so because we have an only child and my husband, who travels constantly, could live anywhere with an airport. In our case, we moved for a specific coach. It has worked out fine, at least from a skating perspective. Had I been able to choose freely, these are other factors I think I should have considered: relative cost of living (look at state income taxes); climate; willingness of school to accomodate skating; preferably, some friends or family in the area; availability of ice during the hockey season.
I have seen a lot of rinks over the years, and my current favorite is Ice Works in Aston, PA. Four surfaces, great coaches.
Good luck.

OK this is a bold move but I'll try a consumer reports for you:

Here are some good coaches:
Southern Cal: You have Scot Williams, Charlene Wong, Christy Ness somewhere around there I think, Frank Carrol
Colorado: Broadmoor FSC--you can't go wrong--plenty of good coaches
Deleware: Jeff DiGregario
New York: Peter Burrows, Tracy Doyle, Tommy Litz, Slavka Kohut
Mass: Mark Mitchell, Peter Johansen
Mich: Ann Arbor FSC
Illinois: Cindy Watson

Hope that helped a little

oops forgot:

New Jersey: Craig Maruzi, Wendy Weston
Mass (Cape Cod): Evy and Mary Scotvold

Christy Ness is about 400 miles away from S. Cal in Oakland (N. Cal)

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Babyskater's Mom