Some figure skating questions (adult-related)

Hello, folks! I've only been ice skating for about a month. The reason I got involved in it is because my wife and I are homeschooling our five year old son and we take him to a 2-hour event each week to be with other homeschooling families. The interest level in skating has improved greatly for both our son and I. I became interested in it because I wanted to help him learn how to skate, and I enjoy the time with on the ice. The other reason I'm interested in this is that I love challenges and this 39 year old man's body is up for it. As far as my figure skating career goes, I have the *** of Johnny Weir (I do think he's gorgeous, don't worry, wife knows about that side of me, lol) and the feet of Bambi. My son became interested, for two reasons I think. One, he too loves challenges and he's a rough-houser of a kid. The other reason is that he saw Daddy really getting into it and my buying my own skates (rentals suck) -- figure skates through the shop at the rink, and hockey skates through the shop at another rink we visited -- solidified in his mind that "Daddy is serious about this, so it must be a lot of fun!". Today the guy who runs the rink that we've mostly gone to had me try on some old, rusty hockey gear, and then had me just get out there and skate as fast as I could and without fear. I think I set a world record with a 30 slide on my back. (on purpose to get the 'fear factor' out of the way).

Sorry for all the rambling. I have so many things that I want to talk about, but the most pressing issue for me right now is that I am looking for an adult learn-to-skate program and there just don't seem to be any. Here in Western Massachusetts we basically have these towns / cities to go to for ice skating:

Pittsfield, MA (where we live, it's a small rink)

North Adams, MA (the one we've visited mostly, it's a bit run down but they're trying to turn things around)

Springfield, MA (the Olympia Ice Center, folks we spoke to there were snobby, but they have 3 NHL-sized rinks there, shop is run by arrogant know-it-all jocks, the one time we went there was so our son could be in their Holy Name Hockey program, he was planted up against a wall for 15 minutes with no one bothering to help him, before he decided to take off skating across the rink with his 'walker' made of pvc pipe and shoving the walker and wandering around, where still no one bothered to help him)

Westfield, MA (Amelia Park, have heard that it's nice, but the girl who teaches private lessons there never responded to my email inquiry about lessons)

Greenfield, MA (heard today they have a rink, and that there is an adult learn-to-skate program, but it's a hell of a commute)

Troy, NY (heard they have a number of rinks, and they have adult learn-to-skate programs)

I have asked around and it seems that there are no adult figure skating competitions in this area, that there doesn't even seem to be any interest, and most of the talking heads say that "most adults are presumed to know how to skate" But, hey, I've been told that if I get into a men's hockey league that I will suddenly be taught how to skate and "they will give you tips and pointers". Yeah, a stick between the legs and a forearm to the cage :/ Is interest in figure skating, more precisely, interest in adult figure skating, this low in general or am I just in the wrong place? My luck would be moving to the figure skating capital of the world and a nuclear bomb landing just as I step onto the ice. The guy who runs the rink told me that if I play hockey it will greatly help me to improve in figure skating, but it's figure skating that would bring tears of joy to me, not scoring a goal.

Because I was in competitive marching band and concert band as a middle schooler and high schooler years ago I've ever since then had great interest in music, dance and choreography. In my mind I can just about listen to any good song and picture myself as Johnny Weir displaying all the elegance in the world. I can see myself spinning, skating backwards, doing all that stuff, balding head and all.

Today I was working on trying to skate faster, bend my knees more (I fell a lot less), keep my back straighter and my head up and to actually let my arms flow for balance. Yeah, I know I'm never going to win any real competitions (ice dancing, maybe), but I do think I would have a real advantage over those folks who execute well but display no emotion or sense of compositional balance.

I am just desperate to express myself, all these years I've wanted to do that. At one point in my twenties I had fantasies of becoming a drag queen just so that I could express myself to the rhythm of music. I feel that it's there for me in figure skating if someone will just give me a chance. Today I was wearing my tight jeans with a hole in one leg and an oversized shirt (I am not the most masculine man, for sure, wife is equally slanted the other way), and saw glance after glance from the other folks at the rink. I don't know if they just liked my new figure skates, or if I was just that unusual. I hope that some of you here will give me your thoughts on all of this.

Have you checked out whether there are any figure skating clubs close to you?

You can check here, on US Figure Skating's club search page.
http://www.usfsa.org/ClubSearch.asp

Clubs can usually put you in touch with what resources of all sorts there are in your area.

Check ISI as well as US Figure Skating programs.

Firtchburg, MA, has an adult learn to skate program. But it would also be a heck of a commute.
http://fmcicesports.com/public/hockey-skating-programs/learn-to-skate.htm

If you were on the other side of MA, you would find more adults to "play" with, in the Boston area. But I would think there are at least some adult skaters in your neck of the woods. There are only a few lower level competitions that are adults only. Even in So. Cal there is only one local adults competition each year. But many of the "regular" local competitions include adult events, both free skating and artisitic. Showcase competitions also have adult events, and there are adult theatre on ice team, but those are kind of rare.

Adults skaters in USFS usually start with group learn to skate lessons and then move on to private lessons. The major adult competitions are the sectional and national competitions.

So if you search a little harder you should be able to find a place where you can learn to skate, and there are competition opportunities. If your goal is to "express" yourself, maybe artisitic/showcase competitions would be a good fit for you.

Whoever told you adults already are presumed to know how to skate is completely misinformed (I'd use another term but it's worse than that). Many rinks have adult learn to skate or allow adults to participate in "kiddie" learn to skate (which, if you can participate in standard LTS, it would be better because the adult LTS program skips some vital skills that make moving on to the test stream hard without knowing) and then lead to private lessons (although some people go right to private lessons for either not liking the LTS progrm or want to progress faster than LTS process). If you are having issues finding someone to talk to, contact the Eastern Section Vice Chair for the adult committee who's contact information is here at the bottom of the page: http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?type=leadership&id=25040 He's a great guy and VERY helpful.

As it is, many of us compete at one or two adult comps in our section if we are lucky enough to have them and can travel to them without breaking the bank (So Cal has one, MI has one, OH has one, NC has had one, Washington DC has had one), then Sectionals and Nationals. A lot of us also skate at some of our clubs' competitions (we typically band together to ensure we'll have events by talking to a few other adults who may sign up for it), exhibitions, and ice shows because we want the experience of getting out in public. Some clubs in Massachussetts and Vermont have Theater on Ice programs and Boston's adult team is really awesome (one of the best and most entertaining).

I am unfortunately in the Midwestern Section so can't help you with your area, but if you have questions about adult skating in general, go ahead and PM me.

If you want to start with group lessons, to begin with you could join a class with teenagers (maybe try to find another adult who's interested in learning and can take class at the same time so you wouldn't be the only adult) and/or you could join a hockey-focused learn-to-skate class.

Once you have some basic skating skills down like forward stroking, forward and backward crossovers, simple mohawks, then you'd probably want to start focusing on figure skating skills so a hockey-oriented class wouldn't help you. If there are no classes nearby that welcome adults, what about private lessons? Or semi-private, if you can find another adult to share the cost with you? Or share lesson time with your son so you can both benefit?

As you advance in skill level you would probably end up taking private lessons at some point, first on public sessions perhaps and maybe later on freestyle sessions.

I second the suggestion to contact figure skating clubs in your area, if for nothing else to help find potential instructors. If you and/or your son end up pursuing the sport, then you might eventually want to join a club.

Thanks for the replies, you all! I'm going to run with the links you gave me, but so far I've been very frustrated. At the rink we've been going to (North Adams, MA) I was basically told that the learn-to-skate program that's only set up for children, is only welcome to children. Apparently, both the person who runs the equipment shop and the person who runs the rink talked to some of the girls who teach the learn to skate program, and the response was "we've taught adults, but right now were just set up to teach children, no thanks". The rink I'm going to is struggling greatly (financially), and after having talked to the guy who runs it and getting turned down on basically every suggestion, I'm not surprised. Kinda' hard to keep a rink floating when you have no customers.

The guy who told me that it's presumed that adults know how to skate -- more specifically, he said "it is presumed that men know how to skate" -- runs the children's learn to skate program in Springfield, MA at the Olympia Ice Center. It was at that facility that I ran into the super jocks running the skate shop. I do not exactly ooze with manliness (nor do I want to), and I must have made them nervous, LOL!!!! The rinks do look nice at Olympia, but what good does it do for me? The lady who does private lessons at Olympia never responded to my email.

I've left a message with the person who runs the learn to skate program in Pittsfield at the Pittsfield Girls and Boys Club, and have yet to hear anything back. It's really puzzling as to how there is supposedly no interest whatsoever in the western half of Massachusetts, but I'm done complaining about that.

I'll be sure to post back when I hear something more, thanks again for taking the time to help me out.

Thanks again for all the replies! I have found a program at UMass-Amherst that offers both skate to learn for adults and private lessons. There is even a lady (she and I talked for about a half hour over the phone) who, though she won't get back on the ice after a face-first fall in the parking lot, said she would love to meet me and help me from the hockey box. Its' still going to be a big commute, not terribly as far as going to Fitchburg, MA. There just isn't anything out here in Western Massachusetts.

Since my last post I've settled on a figure skating coach in New York. It's not too far of a drive from where I live in Massachusetts. She's really nice, definitely knows her stuff and we just 'click' as far as teacher and student go. She's really surprised that I'm learning so quickly (today was my first lesson), she said that it helps that I never went through any 'group lesson' program and that I did not have coaching in the past. This is something that I've been wanting to learn how to do, on and off, through the years, and now I'm super excited that I'm actually doing it My big goal for the time being is to pass my first test as an 'adult figure skater' within a year or two. The coach said that it would probably take me a year (I am now realizing just how much goes into learning and mastering the mechanics of figure skating) before I would be ready for a test, but I didn't ask what kind of skating schedule the average person might have in order to accomplish that.

Congratulations on finding a coach! I wonder what test she was speaking of? I took public classes and was in Learn to Skate and it took 8 months for me to master Adult 1. I know, that sounds really slow, doesn't it? But speaking with the other women my age, a little older or younger, it's quite normal to take some time certain levels and find that you go on faster at others, or you find something that you have a hard time mastering. For me it's forward and backward crossovers, which, when I was a junior skate, I EXCELLED at! When I was 16, sigh, a former US champion saw me skate and said I had really good junior crossovers. Welcome to the world of adult skating!

Probably PreBronze MIF and FS test. Valiant, that's cool you found a coach.

I have left a message with my coach, and asked her to pass it on to the lady (who, along with her husband, are formerly very successful figure skaters) who runs the skating shop at the rink that the relationship between my right boot and the skate is not a 90 deg angle. I noticed the other day that as I was gliding that my right ankle was leaning inward. I immediately left the ice and in front of my wife I placed both feet together and attempted to straighten them. The left foot? No problem? The right foot? The inward side of my boot was pressing tight against my leg while the outwards side was noticeably loose (even with the skates laced tightly). Tonight after I got home from a meeting I took out the right skate and looked at it under a light. It is clear as day that the blade is bent slightly toward the outside of the leg. No wonder I have been having problems trying to do left crossovers (is that what they are?) where I do clock-wise circle. I feel that I should not continue skating with these skates as both my coach and I feel that the skates are getting in the way of progress (they were my first skates, only $75-80), and I don't want to risk some kind of physical damage to my foot, ankle or leg due to unneeded stress.

thevaliantx said:

I have left a message with my coach, and asked her to pass it on to the lady (who, along with her husband, are formerly very successful figure skaters) who runs the skating shop at the rink that the relationship between my right boot and the skate is not a 90 deg angle. I noticed the other day that as I was gliding that my right ankle was leaning inward. I immediately left the ice and in front of my wife I placed both feet together and attempted to straighten them. The left foot? No problem? The right foot? The inward side of my boot was pressing tight against my leg while the outwards side was noticeably loose (even with the skates laced tightly). Tonight after I got home from a meeting I took out the right skate and looked at it under a light. It is clear as day that the blade is bent slightly toward the outside of the leg. No wonder I have been having problems trying to do left crossovers (is that what they are?) where I do clock-wise circle. I feel that I should not continue skating with these skates as both my coach and I feel that the skates are getting in the way of progress (they were my first skates, only $75-80), and I don't want to risk some kind of physical damage to my foot, ankle or leg due to unneeded stress.

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Good thing you caught that! It's a good habit to be extra-cautious about your skates.
See if you can figure out the cause of the bending. It could be a factory defect, or maybe you caught it in a rut in the ice once, or maybe you put too much pressure on one side and the skate wasn't strong enough. The last might be possible if you pronate deeply on one foot and not the other--you definitely want to make sure that's not the reason; if so you may need much stronger and custom-fitted/modified skates to prevent a similar problem in the future.

Good catch on the skates. Is the blade actually bending or was it mounted crookedly? I have to get new skates soon..so not looking forward to that.

Also yay for finding a coach you click with. And for what it's worth, a woman at the club where I skate who started lessons about a year ago just passed her dutch waltz the other day. So there's no teling what you can accomplish once you get out there with a good coach and start learning.

UsedtoDance said:

Good catch on the skates. Is the blade actually bending or was it mounted crookedly? I have to get new skates soon..so not looking forward to that.

Also yay for finding a coach you click with. And for what it's worth, a woman at the club where I skate who started lessons about a year ago just passed her dutch waltz the other day. So there's no teling what you can accomplish once you get out there with a good coach and start learning.

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My coach is really nice, she's very patient with me. Right now it's way too soon to say whether she's a good fit or not. I do wonder if I might do better with a male coach, preferably one who can get inside my head and help me to be as expressive as I want to be (but am holding back). The coach I have right now I feel may not be taking me very seriously. It's been two days since I called and left a message with her about my skates, and I haven't heard back from her. Two days isnt' much, I know. The male coaches that I have seen at the rink I'm taking lessons at seem to be very serious about what they are doing. Their students seem to be top-notch. I wonder, should I become a lot better at this, how far she can take me.

I looked the right-foot skate and the blade itself is fine. We verified by placing just the side of the blade on a flat surface and there was no 'rock'. It appears that the blade is mounted crookedly.

Do you have a good skate sharpener nearby? They should be able to look at your blade and remount it. You will learn it's good to have a good rapport with your skater sharpener. I have never skated on blades sharpened by anyone other tham my sharpener or his dad (back in the day). But ya get them checked out, they can be fixed.

My coach told me that there are only two places that she knows of that sharpen skates with any decency, another rink (that she probably coaches at) and her friend (the husband of the lady who runs the skate shop at the rink where I take my lessons). I'm starting to feel skeptical about all of this. My coach, after three days, still hasn't gotten back to me after I left a voicemail (and even texted her yesterday) about my skates. I have a lesson this upcoming Thursday and I have this sinking feeling that she is going to drop me as a client. I hate to say this, but after having watched the other coaches at the same rink, they seem to have a master plan in everything they do, and with me she's just really nice and kind of skipping all over the place. She did tell me that she mostly teaches children so maybge she doesn't feel comfortable teaching adults? In the back of my mind I'm kind of hoping that she does drop me so that I can approach the other coaches (the ones I have talked to and think highly of are male) about starting over and WITH A PLAN. It will be bittersweet if it happens, I don't like the idea of bad blood, but maybe this is best?

Why not have the discussion during your next lesson with her about developing a plan and what your long term goals are?

Some people are more comfortable with children because children don't usually question their instructors' teaching practices.

I hope that I have not given the impression that I have questioned her teaching practices, to her face. At this point, unless something has happened to her in the past three days or so, I have this feeling that there isn't going to be a next lesson. I did tell that I would like to ice dance and even compete in figure skating at the adult level, and her only response has been "that is a couple of years away". I took her word for it. She did mention the idea of my keeping a notebook when I practice alone so that I don't forget the stuff I have learned in lessons, but that's all she has said.

She could see those as oppositional goals (ice dance and FS) because of time constraints as an adult. What I meant by my statement is, that after every Adult Nationals, I sit down and develop a list of things I want to accomplish and learn in the next 12 months (and longer term) on the ice (it's a little easier for me because I've been skating awhile and kind of know what I can accomplish in a year and I know what my ultimate goal is). I then send that list via email/text to my coaches and we discuss it separately at each lesson and kind of map how we will get there. Some things are stretch goals "I want to pass X test by September" and some things are "I'd like to get to through the learning stage of X, even if it won't be competition ready this year" or "I'd like to get a level 3 on my change combination spin this year". That helps my coaches plan for the season. For example, this past year the major goals, with one coach it was "I want to get L3 on my change combination spin and a L2 on my layback" and the other coach it was "I want to learn the loops for Novice MIF to passing standard and I want better flow in this program"