I think your reasoning sounds fine, and your parents are obviously very supportive. You will do what's best for you.

If you have any interest in coaching--which you might since you said you want to be a teacher, here's what I'd suggest:

1. Stay in the States. Because--you could do yourself a great service if you took some tests in this skating year, to get some qualifications for coaching. In the US there are no official requirements to be a coach, but some rinks require a certain level of test achievement. If you're working on axel/doubles, you could work on your moves in the field tests, and FS tests through pre-juv at least to start. This would take awhile, perhaps the whole year, but you'd really have something to show for it. (I don't know if you've worked on moves elements or not). If you could pass 3 moves tests and 2 or 3 FS tests in a year--wow!! I don't know if that's realistic, not having seen you skate--you should talk to your coach about it.

2. If you stay in the States, and are looking for a great place to train, as someone else said, look for the coach. This will be a bit difficult, as it would be great if you could have trial lessons with a few to see who's the best fit. You might do better to target one or 2 areas (U Del, southern CA), and then ask people for referrals for coaches in those areas. (Plug for my area: Chicago has tons of rinks, and lots of very high quality coaching. And several clubs that offer test sessions pretty much every month.) Next learn-to-be-a-coach suggestion: talk w/ your prospective coaches & see if any of them might let you "apprentice" with them as well--tag along & listen in on their other lessons, so you can learn more about teaching and learn how to look for problems & how to fix them.

3. Along the same lines, see if any of the rinks you'll be skating at needs helpers for their group classes. Most do. You might not get paid, but you might get free ice time. And you can learn a TON about teaching.

I think the opportunity you've been offered sounds wonderful, and you could use it to start to develop what could become a part-time college job where you could make very good money, OR perhaps someday it could be a full time job if you love it. Coaching gives a flexible schedule and might suit you better if your illness continues. I don't think that sounds at all like wasted time--you're just continuing your education in a non-traditional way. Good luck!! Hope that's helpful.

Phoenix gave you excellent advice.
Also if you decided to go into academic teaching, your experience as a coach working w children will help you get your first job. Many rinks hire younger people to teach LtS. Sounds like you will be eighteen. If you have already passed some tests and have a recommendation from one of your coaches, you should be able to get a job. You may start out as a helper, but when things get busy (this time of yr), you might get your own classes. All of this looks good on your resume/college aps.

Good luck! Enjoy your skating year.

Kay

__________________
Visit my figure skating journal
http://www.skatejournal.com/

When and if you get there, UDel is a fantastic skating club with lots of great coaches! But there are plenty of others.

Presumably you'll be well enough to live away from home? If so, then do go as far away as you can, it's great experience. If your health is still a worry, you'll need to stay at or near home, though, within easy reach of the doctors who know you and know your problems - and, indeed, if you still need to be looked after a bit.

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

For any young ones out there in the UK have a look at Nottingham's Ice Centre & their academy, which is an academy & not just a club called an academy. If only I was still young, had been taking classes for years & still live in Nottingham lol

I suppose you'd have to live in the area. I think we need more of this type of place for all different sports in this country.

http://national-ice-centre.com//icesports/academy.htm

Is there anything like this is America?

__________________
Skate at: Lee Valley
Date started: October 2008
Level: 6 (UK skate levels)

Aiming for Figure club

If you want to see me skate you can go here: http://youtube.com/user/Emma7639 haha. I would actually love to coach skating, but I didn't think it was possible because I started so late. I am working through prejuv moves, I'll be testing preliminary this march along with preprelim fs. yeah I like your idea a lot.. haha.

__________________

Don't count yourself out entirely! After 1 year of skating (and finishing the Basic 8 classes) I was recruited as a helper for Snowplow Sam classes- due to my experience working with children. After a year of helping in classes I was given my own to teach, without a helper. I've since found out I actually prefer helping to teaching, and told the skate director such- but I still get my own classes occasionally.

You might have started to late to rack up the credentials needed to coach elite skaters- but even the little kids need coaches too- and you'd be suprised how many snowplow-basic 2 kids are out looking for private lessons! There need to be some coaches to specialize in this area! (Just don't think of it as easy money- I won't do privates because when I taught beginning adults I found that it was HARD to fill 30 minutes with Basic 1 skills, and it's harder to do games when the kids aren't in a group)

__________________
-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

If you'll have fairly unlimited time/resources for training/practice, I'd also highly recommend working on ice dance too--you'll get into a lot of the theory of skating, which will be helpful for coaching. As well as developing much stronger skating skills/ extension/ posture, etc. for yourself.

You can definitely work toward coaching, at least in the LTS classes and after more training/testing, beginners through low level FS and moves. At my rink, the more experienced instructors are paid $20.00 for a 40 minute class. Can't beat that at McDonald's!!

I watched your video. You've obviously come a long way in your short skating life, and should definitely keep going! Even now, I'd say you'd be fine helping out in group classes and starting to develop your teaching skills.

My daughter was going to attend UofDel but chose to enlist in the Navy. Her best friend is attending UofDel now. It is a good school. The rink is a very good training center, and The Pond is only a short ways down the street. Aston is just across the state line and there are a lot of things to do upstate (however traffic is just awful in that area).

If you attended school part-time you could skate at a pace suitable for you and keep an eye on your grades.

__________________
Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

I think the Europe idea is the best one. I would be a great opportunity to skate and grow as a person. It depends on what your priorities are. If it is mainly skating, then there are 3 or 4 places in the US that are top of the food chain. If the environment and location are part of the equation, then I'd recommend Lake Arrowhead (but only if you have a car). It's one of the most beautiful places to skate, has world class skaters and coaches, and is in throwing distance from L.A.

Wow, I just saw your U-tube video on Lyme disease. You are an incredible young lady. I admire your spirit and strength.

As someone pointed out, your posts show no evidence of major cognitive problems. You could do fine in college. If you are worried, do a light schedule and pick distance learning or other classes with flexible schedules. You skate far better than the majority of people who go to ice rinks, so you are more coordinated than the majority when you work at it. Someday there may be a cure. The world is still open to you.

The greatest bar may be no driver's license or car at your age. Otherwise the ideal is to live right next to a rink with lots of inexpensive uncrowded daytime public sessions, and commute to your coaches.

I sometimes skate at one near DC which has 10/15 daytime public sessions/week with 1-10 skaters, all for 2 or 3 hundred dollars/year. Coaches with world class reputations prefer places where they can find more students, though they sometimes come for an uncrowded session. Some of the coaches that teach there regularly are pretty good nonetheless, and once in a while you see a triple jump.

Another more expensive rink in the area has lots of equally uncrowded but expensive ($10/45 minute) freestyle/dance sessions; at some sessions, all of the freestylers do triples, and most of the coaches have world class reputations. But it's public sessions are crowded, and you can't join to go to all of them at low cost.

The DC metro area has over 40 ice rinks within a couple hours drive, most of which lie somewhere between those on the cost / coach reputation / frequency of uncrowded session scales.

There are a few coaches [with carefully cultivated Russian accents] in the area that would be incredibly fun for an athletic person to take from, because they do stunningly gorgeous and dramatic choreography. There is a USFSA skating club which might have a few thousand members, that is constantly sending people to nationals, and smaller ISI and USFSA ones at most rinks, as well as curling, hockey and speed skating clubs, on and off ice. There are lots of specialty classes where they teach off-ice dance to train skaters, style, choreography, theater on ice, some synchro teams, etc. The area has hundreds or thousands of places to dance off-ice, a very active marine community (flatwater, class 1-5 whitewater, sail craft, motor craft), lots of hiking clubs, a few ski clubs (you have to travel for that), gymnastic clubs. It has incredibly classy and varried museums, some great hosptials, scores of colleges and universities, and restaurants and cultural centers for every ethnic and national group. You can even shop. It is a uniquely easy place to get involved with or affect politics - as I suggested before - if you want to influence national policy on lyme's.

It has a high cost of livings (about $1000-$1500 for a small apartment near DC, around $500 for a room in a group home). It has little smog, but awful traffic. Our public transportation system is a mess that takes too much time to get most places.

More to the point, it has attracted hundreds of coaches, some world class, that are willing to take on students that will never be nationally competitive, though a few won't. Most charge $60-80/hour. Group lesson coaches earn roughly $45/hour. Several local rinks take on volunteer assistant coaches without certification, and possibly mentor them towards becoming the real thing.

In other words, it is a classic example of a "cosmopolitan" city, as are most of the other skating centers, because such places have the wealth and numbers to support skating and all the other things.

I'd bet NYC, closer to your home, has almost everything too, along with a first class public transportation system that bypasses the jams, and eliminates the need for car and license. The cost of living is a bit closer to infinity, and they have smog (so do LA and Chicago).

You might find out whether there are many coaches that would be available to you at the U of Delaware, if you don't get into their skating program (I'm not sure if someone with physical problems could). You really have to find and contact the coaches to get a feel for this. In fact, that is a good idea anywhere, if you are picking specific locations and can't drive.

I have a car and will be getting my license in 8 days. And my cognitive issues are remembering facts, being able to read a novel, and write an essay about a chapter of history, when I can't even remember any of them. Which is why, you could understand, it would be hard for me in college with the constant pain added on.

what place do you have in mind for the paragraph I bolded?

__________________

Just an aside...when looking at colleges, make sure you talk to the people in the Disability Services Office (or whatever title that office has on the campus). With the Americans With Disabilities Act, the school is required to make REASONABLE accommodations for students with disabilities (learning or otherwise). This is meant to level the field, not to make things easier, and you would still need to work hard (as any college student needs to), but it will also make sure that you are not set up to fail based on the issues brought about by your lyme disease.

Fivebyfive-

Query is referring to the Washington DC area as a whole. Bowie Ice Rink offers $300 unlimited season pass subscriptions and there is a multitude of rinks/coaches in the area. The Washington FSC is very active and sends skaters to Nationals every year (Ashley Wagner, Kristine Musademba, Derrick Delmore, Parker Pennington, and Armin Mahbanoozadah all represented Washington and trained in the area) but there are also other small ISI and USFSA clubs in the area. The skiing here is offensively bad but The Gardens Ice rink in Laurel offers curling and white water rafting is about a 3 hour drive away. As far as the political bend is concerned, if you are interested in politics. This is the place to be. I couldn't tell you how to get you involved in them because I have no interest whatsoever but the majority of the area makes their income working for the federal government and there are many active lobbying groups. The DC area like the entire northeast and mid atlantic coast is a Lyme's hot spot and you will find many people who understand what you are going through. I commend you and everytime I read your story find myself very lucky. I was one of the lucky few who while my personal Lyme's disease was not caught early (2 years of misdiagnoses) was sucessfully treated without long-term effects. Good luck to you.

__________________
Happily defying the laws of physics when I skate...and not in a good way

If I could meet ole Axel Paulsen, I would kick him in the teeth

President and Founding member of the I hate Toe-Loops Club

Still a member, but trying to get out of the Pre-bronze peanut gallery.

Visit my skating journal

To avoid hyping specific people to the general public, I will reply to you by private message, which you can see at this forum by clicking on "Private Messages".