My daughter wants to take Learn to Skate lessons. There are two rinks w/in driving distance to us: the RDV Sportsplex (Maitland) and the Ice Factory (Kissimmee).
Is there anyone out there who is familiar with either of these programs or can recommend one or the other?
Thanks!

These two rinks are completely different so it all depends on your skater and what you are looking for. RDV is a beautiful complex with a variety of coaches and a whole bunch of nice kids of all levels, from beginning tots, to fairly high level kids who are beginning to break through on a National level. Kaitlyn Steward, who coaches with Brian Kader, won Juvenile girls at South Atlantics last year and continues to do well this year at the intermediate level. She is one of the favorites to medal. The coaches at RDV are primarily traditional, American coaches.

On the other hand, the Kissimmee program is pretty much a one-man shop, with a Russian husband and wife team running the show. They have a core group of committed kids who skate a lot and always do well at competition. Most of their skaters are homeschooled, so they put in many hours of skating and off-ice work. But, the effort they put in pays off, as they generally do well in competition. Their "star" skater at the moment is Sherry Barnes, who won intermediate ladies two years in a row at South Atlantics and also won Intermediate Ladies at Junior Nationals last year. Sherry is a fabulous skater--truly fearless, with huge jumps. Many of the kids in Kissimmee are Russian, and I hear that it is sometimes hard to fit in if you are not Russian. But, they do have some American skaters who are doing well.

I suggest that you skate at both rinks and get the feel for each place. They are very different. Talk to the parents in the stands--some have switched from RDV to Kissimmee and some have switched from Kissimee to RDV, so you may get some perspective on the situations. But, do the research yourself. Take everthing you hear with a grain of salt. Most people have their own agenda and you won't figure out what that agenda is until it's too late.

Thanks, Lenny2!
My daughter is 4 years old, so I am just looking into getting her into a tot Learn to Skate class that will be fun for her. She watches skating on TV with me, and told me she wanted to "skate with a boy" (guess she likes pairs). I told her that it would be fun to skate with Mommy, and that she doesn't need a boy in order to skate.
I think we will try RDV first, since it is a closer to us (with gas prices and all ).

Brian Kader -- wow - flash from the past. I used to skate with him when I was a kid in Detroit.

When I see stuff like this I always wonder where the people I used to know from skating are now -- I am sure some are still teaching, and others??

Didn't mean to bogart your topic -- I hope you have fun with your daughter. Skating is great and you can make friends for a lifetime! [or at least the memories of friends...]

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

I think you'll enjoy RDV. There is something for everyone there. It's a good place to start.

Hey Rudi... you my take on the subject! We have a great program at the RDV, and the new session starts this evening, and we would love to have your daughter out there. My daughter also skates with Brian Kader, and she started out with the learn to skate program with him as well. She's only been on the ice almost 2 years, and just competed in the non qualifying regionals this past weekend. We have some great coaches, Brian being one of the best!!

We started lessons this week at RDV.
The instructor was very nice and patient; I really liked the way she interacted with the little ones.
My daughter wants to go back next week, so that's a good thing.
Thanks, again, for your help!