First skating lesson done!

[Sam_Bryant]

After all my questions on here. I just wanted to share that my initial lesson went VERY well. Its clear I used to skate, but I am definitely a bit rough. Does any have any drills/practices I can do to improve my skating? We did stuff like Bubbles, Forward Crossovers, Switchbacks (Endless spinning T.T), Stopping (Which I'm VERY rough at. Any tips?), A bit of backwards skating, Stroking on outside and inside edges to get a feel for it. It was a lot of information right up front to kind of get a gauge of where I was.

I've certainly got sore legs but I haven't smiled that much during a hobby in a very long time!

And evidently the club intends me to skate amongst their sessions with the other skaters as well. Which was a surprise. I thought I was just rocking private lessons.

Any tips? ^_^

[icedancer]

Go to those sessions~

Practice. Practice. Practice.

[Sam_Bryant]

@Icedancer

Will do! Although again, I'll work up to the actual 'sessions'. I imagine it's a bit beyond me at the moment.

I will get in all the practice I can ^_^ I grabbed a schedule regarding all the public sessions and such that I can make use of.

[skategeek]

Congrats!  Glad it went well.  And icedancer is right- just practice, practice, practice.  Some of it is just building muscle strength, which will take time.  You'll probably find that one side is stronger/better than the other; make sure to practice both sides!

[Sam_Bryant]

Congrats!  Glad it went well.  And icedancer is right- just practice, practice, practice.  Some of it is just building muscle strength, which will take time.  You'll probably find that one side is stronger/better than the other; make sure to practice both sides!

Thank you! It was a lot of info to take in all at once but a lot of fun. Weird being the only guy out there though! I'll definitely have to work and build up my muscles. They are most definitely out of shape. As for the stronger side. When we were doing crossovers I was definitely a bit shakier when skating to the right around the circle. So I imaging that's my weaker side.

[Ethereal Ice]

I am new to skating because the amount that I skated as a child was really minimal, I only got to Beta level and then went on to other hobbies so I am not nearly as experienced as you are, but I may have a helpful pointer or two.

The first is that I keep a skating journal. The kind I have is actually a planner, but any notebook will do. My journal has my notes from lessons, individual pages for elements I am working on, and daily entries from what I worked on each time I skated and also any off ice training I do. If I have some sort of revelation that day I put a little exclamation point next to it and I also add that tip under the corresponding element section. My tips come from my coach, group lessons, my friends, or something I just realized about myself that makes the element easier or better. My journal also keeps track of my hours on the ice (you can use this to remind you that you will be due for a sharpening soon) and where I skated (public, adult coffee club or freestyle). I tend to work the hardest on freestyle, though I skate longer on the public sessions I do tend to socialize more (not a bad thing if I am getting some cardiac in)

So whether you keep an actual journal or not, make some goals for each skate (sounds like stopping is an issue now for instance). I have to actually force myself to practice elements that are harder or scary a certian number of laps or circles. It gives me something to aim for. I don't always reach the goal, but if I come close I am happy. Also, another thing I did was rather than just saying something like "practice stroking" I add things I want to work on specifically (holding extension, toe point, edges etc.)  Especially with elements I am more comfortable with I try to be specific about what I am perfecting.

[Sam_Bryant]

@Ethereal Ice

Well either way. Any input is appreciated!

Regarding the journal. That is a really smart idea. I think I'll incorporate that into my blog and use that as a 'journal' for such things! That'd actually help me get organized and visualize my goals a little bit better.

Stopping is definitely an issue, it's what I intend to practice the most in the next week. Thanks for all the pointers. This is actually a really useful idea ^_^

[davincisop]

Sam, you can do what a lot of us do and make checklists.

This is mine:

[Ethereal Ice]

Sam, you can do what a lot of us do and make checklists.

Wow, love the checklist. I am going to incorporate it into my journal, thank you so much for sharing!

[davincisop]

Here's one you can fill out or edit yourself.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kzeziqvssd6rkne/practice-lettersize-EDITABLE.pdf?dl=0


And one that's half size if you use a small binder:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzjwomp7jj3jy72/practice-checklist-blank-EDITABLE.pdf?dl=0

[lutefisk]

Sam, you can do what a lot of us do and make checklists.

This is mine:

Out of curiosity, what software app do you use to set this up?

[Sam_Bryant]

I love the checklist! I shall definitely make one up when I have all the right terms and stuff enough to fill out a halfway decent one ^_^

[Ethereal Ice]

I love the checklist! I shall definitely make one up when I have all the right terms and stuff enough to fill out a halfway decent one ^_^

I just made one today, handwritten, top half is warm up stuff, bottom is elements I am currently working on. I made sure to include the number of laps/circles/minutes and cw/ccw direction. Today was my first day to use it and I gotta say, I worked my butt off. I completed most everything but did not get quite as many circles of some things, so in the box instead of a check mark I wrote the number I did get done, that way I can see where I spent less time next skate. The other thing that is cool is that I used a piece of lined journal paper and got six days worth of boxes. I can reevaluate after six skates and change what I need to and I can also show my coach at my next lesson so she can see where my focus has been. I still wrote in my journal my skate time and what I was weak on along with some pointers from my coach. Thanks so much for the idea, I think it is great for any level skater.