My 4 year old DD Abby has moved this year from the learn to skate program offered by the Parks and Rec in our area ( Toronto, ON ) to a Canskate program offered by a local figure skating club. She LOVES to skate. Asks every night if her skating is that night, talks about skating all the time, etc. She was taking PreCanskate for a few weeks, once a week and is now doing the Canskate level 2 3 times a week ! Holy skating Batman. My older son plays Rep hockey as well so I feel like I live in ice rinks.
My question is : At what point do I consider having her work with a coach ? During her Canskate sessions there are coaches who work with kids for as little as 15 minutes at a time. Is this something to consider ? Should I just let her progress through the Canskate before I look into this ?
Looking for some guidance here. I want her to keep having fun and learning.
Thanks
Kat

It is wonderful that your daughter has found a sport she enjoys so much! There is no right answer to your question it just depends on a lot of different things. My daughter moved from the rec program to Canskate when she was 4 and also went from one session to 3 sessions per week - what a difference! You will likely see a big improvement in her skills. There are some great advantages to a short private once per week. It will definitely help keep the number of bad habits down. Group classes are fabulous, but one on one time will make sure your dd is practicing with the correct technique. As long as she is able for focus for a 20 minute lesson it certainly will only improve her skating.

The down sides are: first, that they are more expensive and once she starts she may not want to stop. You should consider your budget before for talk to your dd about it. Second, I have learned from personal experience that changing coaches - especially with a young child - can be very difficult. Take you time, talk to other parents, watch the coaches give private lessons, and talk to a few coaches before you make your decision. Ask if you can just book a test lesson without any further commitment to make sure you have made the right decision.

Finally, although you didn't ask, if your daughter is skating 3 times per week she should have well fitting skates with professionally sharpened blades. Most figure skate makers make leather boots appropriate for a Canskater. Riedell and Jackson have ones that retail around the $100 mark with blades included. Don't have the blades sharpened by the local hockey guy! A bad sharpening will only hinder her progess and make her frustrated. I'm sure there are a few reputable figure skating shops in the Toronto area. Plastic skates or the ones from Zellers and Canadian Tire may work for the rec program, but if you are putting out the money for 3 days per week plus a private she might as well have the right equipment. Also, don't underestimate the power of a skating dress. A little fleece dress with two pairs of tights will do wonders for her skills (I think it is a confidence thing.)

Good luck!

I teach privates to kids while they are on Canskate sessions. They stay with their group throughout Canskate, and depending on which station they're at, I either give one on one lesson for the skill that they're at, or I pull them out of the group and we work on something else. I do 10 minute lessons at the most - basically because that's how long the group stays at their station. I don't have any skaters as permanent "we're going to the Olympics" kind of private lessons, I offer enhancement via private lesson to the Canskate program. I get most of my students through the club office when parents call looking for extra lessons, and the lesson arrangement is usually for that season, if kids want more beyond Canskate, I feed to the higher level coaches. I'm not prepared to do the entire private lesson coach routine because I skate too much myself and don't have the time.

FYI, the club sets the rate I can charge, it's $6 for 10 minutes.

So I had her work with one of the club coaches today for 10 min. What an improvement. I like the coach, she likes Abby and Abby reveled in the one on one attention ( don't we all LOL ). So we will continue this next time she skates too.

I did get her a little practice skirt and some tights and she paraded around quite happily in that. She calls herself a ballerina skater. She is wearing a second hand pair of Jackson Artiste skates and they have been working out well. I will take them and get them sharpened at the skating store though. Last time was just a rink sharpen.

Thanks so much for the help and any and all advice is welcome !

Kat

And so it starts .....

That's sort of what I was thinking
Oh well. She loves it and we'll see where it goes.

Kat

Kat,
I'm in Australia but our LTS programs are probably very similar.
I can give you this. My daughter was 4 when she started skating too. This is a link to her first competition (she was 4 yrs old at the time) http://video.google.com.au/videoplay...25229387216987

You will notice a huge difference in her skating - which is largely in part to private lessons, if you watch the link in my signature below, which is her last solo skate in December 06 (aged 5).

When she started with them, she was having one 30 min private lesson, plus 2 group lessons per week. Alot for a 4 year old, but she sounds exactly like your Abby!

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AW1
mum to Miss Lil (6yrs old)
mum to be to #2 due in March 08

Wow. That is a huge difference. What a cutie. I don't think Abby is even at where your daughter was in the first video though. I should drag the video camera out though and film her. She would love to see herself skate and it would be fun to see where she ends up at the end of the season. I am trying to talk her into playing lacrosse for the summer because I would be hard pressed to find her anywhere to skate for the summer. I read on another forum that summer skating isn't really something to consider until she is older ?
Someone other than me should be the one to tell her that !!!! I don't want to listen to the fallout from that one

There's no reason not to skate in the summer because of her age. Nor any reason that she would need to. It just depends what you want to do with your (and your daughter's) time, and your money, during the summer.

That first competition, she had been skating for approximately 6 months. But I saw an almost instant change in her skating when she started with private lessons. Now she takes 2 private lessons and probably won't take the group lessons this year.

I was sceptical of their worth at first, but can honestly say they have made the world of difference to Lilly's skating.

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AW1
mum to Miss Lil (6yrs old)
mum to be to #2 due in March 08

ILacrosse is a great sport but i$f your daughter really enjoys skating and there is somewhere to skate why not let her enjoy it during the summer? Also if she likes skating she might like inlining too - and its an activity she can always continue and helps her skating as well.. my friend who coaches always inlines during the summer and tells her kids too! Trust me this is the time to enjoy it while she is little and cute and no 5am practice etc., its a precious time so video tape away and enjoy the journey

I loved those video's, I still have my daughters from when she started skating and its fun to look back.. make sure you enjoy the journey - I did ...

wow, just watched the video of the Christmas Show (Lilly's solo performance) and I've got to say, it's so good! She is great... keep up the good work!

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