Coaching options

[rd350]

Hi skaters!

I am just recently back skating about around 12 years off the ice.  I never had lessons as a kid and learned by watching others so my technique needed a lot of work and I'd say it's better now than ever before.

In April I signed up for Adult group classes.  First class they placed me in a group and I immediately demoted myself!  I had only had 10 minutes warmup and it was my second time skating coming back so it was all fear.
After 2 weeks the director put me more in the next level up and it was great.  I felt that push was right and I fell second lesson with that group (first time since 7 or 8yo??!) which I felt meant I was pushing my self appropriately and was in the right group, plus it was kind of good to get that over with.  In this case, I felt the PUSH was really good.

For the summer, they highly recommended I do the Saturday morning off ice/on ice class.  (30 minutes off ice followed by 30 minutes on ice - full ice for 7 students!, followed by 30 minutes 1/2 ice practice, followed by 90 minutes FULL ICE practice for the class so for 7 of us (class size to vary).  We have had 2 so far.  The ice time is amazing!
The first class was with a very well known coach who is tough but I really liked.  The students are very varied in skills but most are several levels higher than me.  Still, after this class, I could do swing rolls and cross rolls, which I absolutely couldn't get before it so I got something big out of the class and it was definitely enjoyable.  There was nothing I couldn't do at all or attempt, so the coach was "aware" of working with all our levels.

Second class we had a substitute and it was really not good at all.  I fell really hard, not because I was pushing myself to learn something but because I was trying to keep up when she wasn't instructing anything, just telling us to do what she did with little or no instruction and no help if we weren't getting something.  Actually a bunch of us fell at the exact same time (on 2 foot snow plow stops).  It was frustrating and I wished I hadn't gone.

This Saturday morning class has been off for the last 2 Saturdays so I took a couple of lessons.  A couple with a coach at another rink where I practice and it was okay.  I wanted to work on my edges and 3-turns.  She was not a sticker for technique and would say "just do it any way you can" for now.  I already knew how to do them any old way so as she was away this week, I took another lesson with a higher level coach at that rink who is a "figures guy" and very much about technique.  1 lesson and I could do nice, controlled 3-turns!  I'd been trying to do that the past 1-2 months.

Next week our Saturday class is back on and I am really on the fence about it.

PROS:

• Ice time - 90 minutes private ice!  After lessons and 30 min. 1/2 ice.

• Off ice training is hard but really great to do/know.  (I have a physical therapy background but this is all very geared towards skating, even with the arm positions, so valuable.)

• 2 very high level coaches that are supposed to alternate every week.

• This is a high level rink, and I really like that (though I practice elsewhere due to price and ice emptiness) and does all the tests.

CONS:

• Overall level in class is above my skills.

• Decreased attention to individuals.

• Substitute coach was terrible - will this happen again?  Who knows.  Nothing to stop that from happening.  I definitely felt I would've preferred no class to that one.

• Not the best time/day of the week but of course that is really a tertiary concern.

Sorry for the novel!  My question is, is it better to be pushed beyond your level, but not necessarily have to quality to detail?  Sometimes I think pushing beyond can be good.  For instance in our prior group classes, I had problems with 3-turns (at all, not just quality) but when they upped my level and I had to go into a half-toe (I think) from a 3-turn, I could do the 3-turn, because my mind was on the jump, not the turn.
Or stick with a coach that is very detail/technique oriented and of course focused 100% on me?

I think I just answered my own question!  But what are your thoughts on this topic?  Price is about the same actually, without all the great private ice time that the group has.

[icedancer]

Congratulations on getting back on the ice!

I am going to be brief but I would say that for group classes you have to pretty much take what you can get out of each lesson.  You are lucky to have a variety and of course it is great to have people that can teach technique (and are nice about it) but you will not always get that.

Private lessons are the way to go if you really want to learn to skate.

[rd350]

Thanks IceDancer!  I think that is what I'm going to do.

One more question.  I noticed you has something different in your profile here.  I can't figure out where to change the "Wearing Rental Skates" under my name.  Do you remember where/how you did that?  Thanks.

[amy1984]

It depends on what makes you feel comfortable.  Many adults seem to like to completely master a skill before moving on, but if you watch kids learning to skate, they often push ahead.  I think it has a lot to do with the enhanced self preservation instincts of adults

[techskater]

The title under your name is based on number of posts. 

[rd350]

Thanks!