I'm taking a page out of Patsy's book and starting an ongoing thread for coaches. I'm not sure how many coaches are on this board, but it seems like there are a lot of them. Here's a place to discuss our teachings, sort of like the weekly Good/Bad thread in the "On Ice" section. Try to be discreet, so no one recognizes their children.

Tell us the good, the bad, and the ugly. What did you try that's new for you? Did it work? Why / Why Not? Vent if you need to, but again, be discreet.

Enjoy.

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I had a lot of fun today. One of my twins' friends had a skating party at my home rink, so I volunteered to help out with the rookies. (They didn't plan to hire an instructor.) I had a blast! I basically wandered around, helping and teaching. I showed a few kids how to do a two-foot spin, then I realized a bunch of them weren't even with the birthday party group! They were just so thirsty to learn, how could I turn them away? Not me.

I taught one little girl how to skate forwards and backwards. Just marching, gliding and wiggles, but it was astounding how well she did because it was her first time ice-skating! Oddly enough, another little girl came up to say a big hello to me. It was a darling girl who I had for Mommy & Me a few years ago. Kid's a prodigy, too: DBNY had her doing swizzles by the end of her first lesson! (DB's pretty good, too.)

Several people asked about private lessons, but I feel like I'm fishing in a barrel: they're all parents with kids in my children's classes. Could be a problem if we have a conflict. What do you think?

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Good one~ just came home crippled from 5 hrs of instructional skating...

The good:
Yesterday one of our little boy in the program called my head instructor #1 "Mrs. Furyboots", refering to her fury boot covers! How cute!!!

I got a good bunch of kids this year who were always listening and asking questions.

The new:
Head instructor #2 skated by when I was teaching backward inside edges and told me a way to cheat on a it -- just to get a start.

Instead of facing away from the path and doing that "awkward" T-push to start with, you start with doing backward double scullings, and then you lift one leg up and you get the backward inside edge!!!

(Yes, then she got the not fair complain from me coz she used to coach me over 10 years ago and I was never taught to cheat!)

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Reach out for the sunshine ~*

That's a great tip to get them started on back edges. How do they hold up their free foot? I teach them to "present" their free foot by stretching it out to their front but they struggle with it at first.

I sort of "cheat" when I introduce backward skating. I start by having them line up on the wall, bend their knees, then "blast off" by pushing with their arms. Then, they just glide. Beginners never go more than a foot or two and I "spot" the scared ones. To keep them from "splatting" forward, I tell them to push off and point at their nose in the glass with both arms. For tiny ones, I put a sticker on the wall as a "PUSH AND POINT" target since they can't see in the glass. They take the sticker with them later.

After they've mastered the back push/glide, I tell them to "blast off" and "do the twist" which gets them wiggling across the ice! That little boost makes it so much easier to get them going. After a few tries, I take them to the middle and do the wiggles without the push. It's still hard, but not too bad.

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great tips on getting them going backward!

We started a new 8 week session yesterday & I have a class of beginning adults that are going to be a ton of fun! By some miraculous divine intervention, all 8 of them are very similar in level, even though a few have never set foot on the ice before. They all learn fast, & all did very respectable bkwd swizzles, forward skating & gliding, & standing 2 foot turns by the end of class. I also introduced 1 foot glides & a few are already doing those quite comfortably. I love the adult classes!

One of my little private students is starting to learn mohawks--any one have any good tips for teaching them? I usually draw on the ice but right now we've been banned from using markers due to an upcoming speedskating competition. I have her doing a small spread eagle & then lifting up the back foot, because she totally was not understanding how to turn the foot & set it down backward. (she's 6 btw)

Today was the last week of classes, so I won't get to see a lot of the kids again. I had some adorable kids in some of my classes, and only 3 kids out of my 4 classes did not pass. Yesterday I was actually working at the ice rink as a cashier, and we kept getting asked if anyone could teach their kid a private so I had to keep clocking out and ended up teaching an hour and 15 minutes worth of privates! Woohoo!

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- Ashley

It is always tricky to hold up their free foot.

The way I do it is to have the kids first practice backward one foot glide. I tell them first suck in their tummy to stand up straight and pretend there are magnets on their knees. When they hold that free leg up after a C-push they will "snap" their knees tightly together and stretch it plus point their toes.

A very helpful way to balance to through all the edges and backward one foot glide is to put their weight on the skating leg, lean on it, and sit on the hip of the skating leg just like a chair.

Then for the hands part on all the edges, I usually let them experiment a "no change of hands" and go out of whack. Then I tell them their shoulders are their steering wheel. When they feel they are skating away from the circle (at the third count), steer their shoulders to where they want to go, ie. into the circle.

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How about tips on beating the "Skater Shuffle Syndrome?" You know - where the kids REFUSE to take their blades off the ice.

One little girl told me that Grandma said that her feet were supposed to slide, so she was determined to keep both feet on the ice at all times. I tried to reason with a four-year old (dumb idea) and told her that real skaters don't do that, watch the big kids or the TV shows and you'll see that. Nada. Kid was a bit bratty anyway, I think she just liked getting my goat. Too bad, though. I couldn't pass her out of Snowplow Sam 1 -- Marching's a required element.

So, what causes beginners to shuffle along without lifting their feet?
What can we do to combat it from the start?
How do you change the behavior permanently?

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I'm teaching two extremes this year - Kids Just Off Cones and an Beginner Adult class. The first is pretty much of a Monkey-See-Monkey-do group - they'll copy whatever I do regardless of what I'm asking them to do. The Adults are mostly moms of kids in the program with a wide array of abilities - everything from First-time-wall-clingers to I'm ready-for-back-crossovers. But they're a fun group and it's nice for me to be able to explain WHY something is done the way it is.

Never tried a spread eagle for mohawks.

I usually teach mohawks off-ice or along the wall for beginners, so they get the "toes go here" thing without too much danger.

They really have to check the turn, both before and after. I teach the arms and shoulders as "use a balancing pole while you change feet." The "pole" keeps them from swinging their arms all over the place. I have a modified hockey stick handle I use for teaching this and three turns. If they hold the ends, you can give them support while they check their arms. An imaginary one works pretty well, too.

Emphasize that the free foot "slides" into place near the instep of the skating foot, heel first.

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We're nearing the end of our first group lesson session, so I did testing this week. They love getting the USFS Basic Skills books with the stickers, but they can never find them for the next session! (The idea is to keep the book as you move up and have the instructors sign as you master each level.) I told them to keep the books in their skate bags. Next session, I'm printing up labels that say that and sticking them right on the envelopes!

My Snowplow Sam 1 class did well; everyone passed that level. Two of the kids are absolutely wild and fearless; they should really move up to SS2/Basic 2. I made notes on my test sheets and the attendance sheets for the Director.

My Basic 4/5 class, which includes two girls that belonged in a Basic 5/6 class, all moved up. The stronger skaters had to repeat some of the lower-level maneuvers, but they had really mastered them by the end of the class.

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Ugh I'm dreading my adult class tonight, & usually I look forward to them. While my Saturday class is great, the Sunday one has 3 people, a wife/husband/father trio, who obviously have no interest in learning anything. I don't know why they bothered to sign up for LESSONS when they didn't listen to a single thing I did with the class last week, snickered at me as I was talking to the class, and openly talked to each other---about me!--when I was standing right there. Not to mention that this is an adult 2/3 level, & none of them knew how to skate backwards!

I really don't care if adults in a class ignore me & want to go off & do their own thing, though it's an abysmal waste of money, but I've never ever had anyone be so downright rude before. I was so flabbergasted I didn't even know what to say. So I've had a week to polish my little "speech" they're going to get if they pull it again today. Not to mention that I'm not going to waste my time w/ them when there are other people in the class who actually are there to learn. Geez, if these were kids I'd be talking to their parents. The one guy has to be at least in his 50's--grow UP!!

Yuck, phoenix, that sounds frustrating (I'm not a coach, btw, just reading). I used to be a teacher and during a back to school night, two mothers sat there and talked the entire time I did. And it was a small class, and not everyone's parents came, so it was maybe 10 parents - so the talkers could definitely be heard - they weren't even whispering! They didn't seem to be talking about me, but it was kind of annoying when I standing up there explaining the curriculum and the textbooks, etc, and they're just going off.

And these women's kids were also "talkers". Sheesh, you can figure out where they got their respect for others from.

I've taught computers as an adjunct instructor in Continuing Education classes, so I can sympathize. I've had people in their 40's blatantly mock me, view porn sites, and hold instant-messenger conversations during classes. Sadly, these were people who held "real" jobs such as firefighters, teachers, and EMT's.

Keep your head up and try to separate the troublemakers. There's strength in numbers, so keep 'em apart. Try doing some relay races and put them on separate teams so they have to compete. And, be sure to make the races have backward skating in them, so they're blown away by the others.

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I have a great private student that's really starting to take off. He's a boy, so he's kind of reluctant to learn any spins or jumps, so I've focusing on speed, turns, and stops. Kid's got great balance and coordination. Hopefully, he'll stick with skating after his birthday party next month.

Yesterday's groups were great! It was the last week of the session, and I did all my testing and handouts last week, so we just played. I used a variation of the "all fall down" on my beginners. I held their hands, one at a time, and had them sit on the ice to practice falling. Then, I gave them a boost as they were about to touch the ice, so they slid a few feet. The laughs and giggles were so great! We called it "Sit and Slide!" and did it for a good five minutes. I mainly did it to help out the stiffest beginner - this child is going to break something if she falls. I think it's real fear, but she doesn't have a bent joint in her whole body. She's a shuffler, even with good skates, but it takes her the whole 1/2 hour just to get moving on her own. She really didn't even pass Snowplow 1 because she just won't march for me.

My Basic 4/5/6 class was fun. We just played with lunges and spirals - I taught them back spirals, which was great. We worked on Toe Taps, which the higher level girls mastered in a heartbeat. Most of the lower-level kids picked it up by the end of class. I also had three of the four do a decent waltz jump for the first time ever! Love it when things go right!

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Yesterday a girl fell on her wrist when we were learning the 2-foot spin. It was swollen up like a big ball and her mom was taking her to a X-Ray clinic. I really hope that it was going to be a sprain and not a break, with my fingers crossed.

Then today I got this spoiled 4 years old who talked S**T to us. He said to my Head Instructor, "I don't like you so I'm not going to skate." Then 15 minutes into lesson he "TOLD" me to open the door so he could go to his mom. Of course I'm not giving in to him. When it was time to go, he yelled at me, "it is ALL your fault that I can't go home." CRAP! What a spoiled and rotten kid!!! Next week I won't sweat if he fall flat on his face! And if he wants to go home, he is going to skate to the door and open it up himself. I ain't gonna help!

[Edited 6/15/2006 to remove profanity. Isk8NYC]

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Oh, don't you hate it when parents tell the kids the wrong thing? I saw parents who tell their kids to skate with their toe picks, stop with their heels, and shuffle on the ice. (Why don't you take my job smart-axx~)

I think sometimes this is a security issue.
What happened when you hold their hands? Are they willing to pick their feet up?
For some kids, I think it takes some time to get over the fear. I found most of the kids will eventually grow over it.

Yesterday I told the kids that we are having a contest. You have to tap the loudest to win. It worked some how, at least two who weren't picking up their feet were taping their toes, but when I'm not loooking they started shuffling again.

Another time you'll find them flying on this ice and doing a good job is when you tell them it's home time.

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I have a 9yo boy who's just starting out. His parents BOTH took lessons from me this past Saturday, along with a friend of theirs. I loved it - it's fun teaching adults, although the Dad has over a foot of height on me!

Our Sunday general sessions are pretty empty, and I'm hoping to start picking up some more lessons on that day. I (finally) found my insurance paperwork, so I'm going to set up privates at another rink nearby on Saturdays.

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You're probably right: it's a security issue. I had this yesterday with a nine-year old girl. I tried retying her skates (loose to start with) and holding her hands. Still shuffling along unless I nagged her to pick up her feet. If no one held her hand, she would pull herself along the wall where the ice is at it's worst.

The worst part: whenever she lost her balance, she just PANICKED and started flailing around. She gave me such a kick in the knee, I'm black-and-blue!

On the other side of the coin, I had a new 4-yr old who was skating just fine, thank you, while wearing Modell's specials. She was absolutely delighted to be skating (first time) and she was absolutely delightful. Just did everything I asked, somethings before I even demonstrated or explained. Love the child, hope her Mom decides to stick with the lessons.

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Does anyone have any tricks and tips for getting brand-new skaters to keep their arms still? Some kids just can't manage to keep them still, which result in lots of falling! Any tips?

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- Ashley

This is what I always said to the kids, especially the beginners/walkers.

"Let's rub some super glue on our hands."
"And then we are going to stick our hands to the table and push the table forward."
"Hold on tight to the table or else you'll fall."
"If your hands are moving, it means that you didn't put enough glue on your hands! Let's rub in some more."

My students always find the "super glue" idea very funny.
Um... in the mean time, excuse me for talking like a 6yo.

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Some kids just like to flail when they fall or even just moving forward. I think a lot of it is tied to weak/poorly fitting/loose skates: if their feet can't move easily, they use their arms and upper body to go forward. If they're old enough, tell them that their arms are making the fall worse. The key words I use with older kids is "keep your hands where you can see them, on the table." For little ones, try telling them to push a shopping cart or ride their scooters.

For a drill, try putting small beanie babies on the backs of their hands and see who can get across the ice without dropping them. Some people recommend coins, but they freeze to the ice instantly. You have to scrape 'em out before anyone gets hurt!

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Stiff knees: yeah, you tell 'em again and again to bend their knees and still some kids look like stick figures. One little girl who just returned to my group yesterday looks like she hyperextends her knees: it makes my knees hurt to watch her. She's not afraid of falling, as far as I can tell.

She can do a dip, and even a two-footed shoot-the-duck. But, she has to be constantly watched for those stiff knees. Could it be her skates? They're Modell specials and they look a bit big. What do you think?

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I use that when I teach them to little jumps, when I want them to put their hands on their knees!

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- Ashley

Just curious, what is a dip and a two-footed shoot-the-duck?

I'm not sure if this will help but may be you can give it a try for stiff knees, tell the kids to put their knees together and keep their hands on their knees while skating forward.
(I also do it for backward skating because I find this very helpful to keep their upper body squared.)


Spend the whole week at the rink and today is the worst of all.

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Reach out for the sunshine ~*