Private coaching

[Backtotheice]

For those of you with private lessons, are your sessions 30 min or 60 min?  I seem to remember that my private lessons were always 30 minutes when I took them years ago. But maybe 60 min is more the norm? Just wondering.

Also any advice on choosing a new coach when you really don't know anyone at the rink would be welcome.

[mamabear]

Mine are 30 minutes and that seems to be the norm at my rink.  I have done a 60 minute lesson before and I had a hard time remembering all the corrections that we made.  Currently, I do the 30 minute lesson, then leave the ice and write down all my notes to work on for the week to come.  I think I would need to take notes as I went with a 60 minute session. 

As far as finding a coach, while both my daughter and I were taking LTS classes and found a coach that way, I think you could schedule trial lessons with several coaches and then make a decision based on who you felt you would work the best with.  One of our coaches is leaving and I know some parents have taken that approach-it makes a lot of sense to me.  At the point where I switched from LTS to private lessons, I felt like I had either had the coach for a LTS session, had the coach as a sub or worked with the coach on a show enough to make a decision.  3 people in my family skate and everyone has a different coach so I definitely don't think it's a one size fits all situation.

[lutefisk]

30 minutes.  Coaches at my rink cost roughly a buck a minute.  I wish I could afford an hour but 30 minutes per week is what I can pay for.  Some of the kids do 60 minute lessons with a private coach so I think coaches are flexible in that regard.  I sometimes wonder if my attention span would be 60 minutes long or if the last part of the lesson would be a waste.  I'll probably never put that to the test...

[dlbritton]

The coaches at my rink list 30 min/60 min rates with 60 minutes being slightly less than double the 30 minute rate.
A few actually do 15 min sessions, especially during noon skate when they already have a 30 minute lesson scheduled.

[tstop4me]

I currently take a 30 min lesson.  But my coach also gives a 20 min lesson.  For advanced competitive skaters, she gives longer lessons up to an hour.  Many moons ago when my daughter took lessons from another coach, her lessons were 20 min.

You should play around with what works best for you.  For me 30 min is now just about right; but in the beginning, I would peter out towards the end and should probably have started with 20 min.  I now practice for 30 min before my lesson, have a 30 min lesson, and then practice for 15 min after my lesson.  That's about the limit of my endurance.  I just couldn't last for a 60 min lesson.  I take a private lesson once a week.  If I wanted to up my training, I think I would prefer 30 min twice a week to 60 min once a week.  But a lot depends on your personal capabilities.

[twinskaters]

At our rink it's 20 or 30. My kids do 30, unless it's a last-minute squeeze-in and she only has 20.

[Query]

You don't have to know skaters to ask them which coaches they think are good. Do it.

But good for one person isn't good for everyone. Individual learning styles are so different, that you have to watch them teach to see if you are happy with their teaching style, and whether their students of about your age and learning style seem to be learning. Do you learn best through demonstration, word descriptions, physics explanations, being physically guided through a motion, or through some combination? E.g., some coaches have a nearly perfect visual memory, and assume you do too. They only demo once. Some coaches know intuitively which muscles to use to do what, and assume you do too - and they don't know what muscles they are using, so can't tell you.

(The same issues exist with all teachers, in all subjects. Good teachers adapt.)

OTOH, you can give coaches guidance on what type of help you need to learn.

For me personally, the coach still has to be a good skater. I know this is completely unfair to coaches who are too old to skate well, but while words, muscle usage, and physics explanations are very important to me, I also need good demos. I am so unintuitive at athletics that I need coaches who are good at everything. Regretfully, such coaches don't usually come cheap.

I ran into a problem with an ice dance coach who had competed at high levels. He and his partner were encouraged to skate in a very distinctive style, a fact that gave them higher scores. But it made it hard for me to adapt to other partners. It would have made more sense to pick a coach with the same style

Coaches specialize somewhat too. E.g., Freestyle, Ice dance, Synchro, Pairs, Moves, and School Figures. some extent  have different styles.

A lot of people take a few group lessons with many coaches, then pick the one whose teaching style they like best as their private coach. You might ask group lessons whether they are taking new private students of your age and talent level before taking their class.

I would ask any coach whether it is a problem for them if you occasionally go to another coach for help with something that you have trouble learning from them. Some coaches are very possessive
.
Don't ask the front desk. They either don't know, or they often play politics.

[Ethereal Ice]

My husband and I take private lessons and they are technically thirty minutes each, but our coach typically gives us an hour lesson together. When we first started talking about lessons, I really wanted to take lessons together, but I was a little perplexed as to how to approach a coach about it. Group lesson rates obviously are less and I did not expect to get that lower rate, I just wanted to be able to learn together and I was uncertain how coaches felt about trying to teach two people. I ultimately gave up on the idea and decided that we would just take a thirty minute lesson each. It was our coach who, when we explained what our goals were (wanted to eventually be able to do some ice dancing together)  suggested we stay together for the hour. I think it is challenging to teach two, we have different needs and abilities. She is very good at working with us individually on things and the other person will observe or practice something on the side. I think that thirty minutes is a good length of time, I come away with more than enough stuff to practice for a while.

[Backtotheice]

A lot of people take a few group lessons with many coaches, then pick the one whose teaching style they like best as their private coach. You might ask group lessons whether they are taking new private students of your age and talent level before taking their class.

Don't ask the front desk. They either don't know, or they often play politics.

Thanks for the reply. I am taking a bridge class which is taught in rounds by 4 different coaches, all who do private lessons. Maybe after a few more weeks I will find one that seems to fit well. I do need one that will not mind coaching an adult who wants to get back into (low level) competing.

[tstop4me]

Don't ask the front desk. They either don't know, or they often play politics.

At one rink I was at, lessons were booked entirely through an office manager.  For basic levels, you couldn't pick a coach based on other skaters' recommendations.  The office manager had a list of coaches, and you were assigned the next one on the list.

[tstop4me]

For me personally, the coach still has to be a good skater. I know this is completely unfair to coaches who are too old to skate well, but while words, muscle usage, and physics explanations are very important to me, I also need good demos. I am so unintuitive at athletics that I need coaches who are good at everything. Regretfully, such coaches don't usually come cheap.

I'm in the same camp.  When I started skating seriously a couple of years ago, I told prospective coaches that they had to be able to show me how to do the moves properly.  When I observe other students taking lessons, it surprises me how many coaches don't actually give demos; they observe and critique.

[Backtotheice]

I'm in the same camp.  When I started skating seriously a couple of years ago, I told prospective coaches that they had to be able to show me how to do the moves properly.  When I observe other students taking lessons, it surprises me how many coaches don't actually give demos; they observe and critique.

This is a really good point. I will have to keep an eye out for that.

[ARoo]

My daughter doesn't have a set lesson time. It's anywhere from 30-60 minutes. It depends on how much ice time we have and what they need to get done. A HUGE amount can be accomplished in an hour.

[celia]

I  take a 50 minute lesson once a week (sessions are 50 minutes).  I find I need the whole time to get through all the mitf, and sometimes we don't even get through them (I need lots of correction ).  Similarly 50 minutes is enough to get through all the jumps and some spins or vice versa.  And then there's the program.  So it takes me about 3 cycles to get through "everything." 

[ChristyRN]

I'm in the same camp.  When I started skating seriously a couple of years ago, I told prospective coaches that they had to be able to show me how to do the moves properly.  When I observe other students taking lessons, it surprises me how many coaches don't actually give demos; they observe and critique.

I love that my coach demonstrates. It makes it easier for my adult brain to figure it out. We have one coach that hasn't passed *any* MITF or FS tests. I'm not sure how she can market herself as a coach if she hasn't. She should do them to teach them. One of the bridge coaches is working on the same moves test I am, so I feel really weird if she tries to coach me.

We do either 30 or 45 minutes depending on her schedule (I'm usually the last morning lesson) and if she has to be somewhere. I know she does tennis M/W pretty soon after f/s, but other days we do 45.

[emitche]

I do 2 30 minute lessons a week. This summer I will try out one 45 minute session a week because our summer ice is more expensive.

To find a coach, our club lists contact info for coaches on its website and other clubs in the area do the same. I reached out to other coaches via email, but received no response. When a new junior coach was announced on the club's website, I reached out to her because her skills seemed like a good fit. Lessons with my coach have worked out really well.

One 30 minute lesson seems to offer plenty of time to cover a lot.

[riley876]

30mins lessons on ice.   For which she fits 4 lessons into a 2 hour session.

60mins lessons on wheels.  I think she normally does 30 min lessons, but I wanted more intensive, plus making sure she has an economic reason to drive over.   

Pretty much you can negotiate anything, but be prepared to pay if you want anything unusual.

[fsk8r]

We have one coach that hasn't passed *any* MITF or FS tests. I'm not sure how she can market herself as a coach if she hasn't. She should do them to teach them.

Can they actually skate?
I quite like that we have a minimum test standard before you're allowed to teach privates which is set by the national body, it makes it a lot easier for a new skater coming in as they don't have to worry about how good a skater the coach actually is.

[nicklaszlo]

There are perfectly good coaches who cannot skate at all.  There are also former world champions who are terrible coaches.

[rd350]

I do 40 minutes usually.  Just how it's working out with the coach right now since she is doing a school class smack in the middle of coffee club on the other rink.

When I last coach moved he gave me a couple of names of coaches he thought would be good for me and my plan was to do 30-minute trials with each but I liked the first coach so much I stuck with her.  (She very quickly corrected an element I'd struggled with for months in a few minutes.)  Trials are a good way to test the waters and see how you connect with a coach without having to commit.  Just let them know you're doing a trial.

[TreSk8sAZ]

I have three, 15 minute lessons with my primary coach per week. I have one 30 minute lesson with my Dan e coach per week. And I'm adding one 15 minute lesson with a moves coach per week. I generally skate between 7 and 10 hours per week.

As for choosing a coach, group lessons are a great way to meet coaches. Also, go watch some freestyle or higher level sessions. Watch the coaches - what teaching techniques look like they might work for you, how are their skaters progressing, are they having fun? How are they interacting with their students? How are they interacting with other coaches, or other skaters? And find out which coaches are willing to take adults - not all are. Maybe even watching some with their adult students would give you a good idea.

You can always do trial lessons with coaches, just be up front with them and tell them you'd like a trial lesson or two and that you are taking trial lessons with other coaches as well to find the best fit. But find out your rinks rules about this, too.

[Query]

At one rink I was at, lessons were booked entirely through an office manager.  For basic levels, you couldn't pick a coach based on other skaters' recommendations.  The office manager had a list of coaches, and you were assigned the next one on the list.

My opinion of that requires words forbidden in this forum.

[fantasyfen]

At my rink, lessons are available in 15-mins slots, but the standard lesson is 30 mins per lesson. We book lesson timings through the rink admin. I guess it's easier for the coach to manage back to back lessons that way. But then, some advanced skaters usually do 45 mins or 1 hour. 

But from July, we all have to take at least 1/2 hour lessons, not to mention the price increment  it is already expensive as it is... $60 per 30 minutes...

I decided on my current coach because she used to teach my LTS. I took one LTS, and back then I feel that her teaching style is suitable to my learning style.

[amy1984]

I take 15 minute lessons usually but often have a couple in a 2.5 hour session (so one freeskate lesson, one dance lesson, etc.).  Sometimes I'll do a longer 30 minute freeskate lesson but I find I max out around there.  I get too tired to make use of any time longer than that.

[AgnesNitt]

The only time I see 15 minute lessons is for very, very young skaters, because they don't have the ability to focus on the coach much longer than that, even if they have the stamina. There are exceptions, I've seen occasional kids with the stamina and the focus for 30 minute lessons. Usually, with 15 minute lessons I see two skaters sharing the block of time.

On the other extreme, my old dance coach has a 7 year old who shows up on public with her little list of skills she's working on from LTS. She's asked me a couple of times to demonstrate something to her because it's on her list and she doesn't know what they want.  This time next year, she'll be in Freestyle and she's only in Basic 3.