Brand new skater!

[doubleoxer]

Hi everyone! I hope I'm posting this in the correct forum haha...

I guess I should introduce myself! I'm Kristin, I'm a 17 year old girl from good old Pennsylvania, I go to boarding school halfway across the state, and I'm a BRAND NEW figure skater! Well, sort of. I plan on starting lessons this fall when I go off to college, but for now I'm just going to stick to my occasional open skate sessions since I don't have access any rinks while I'm at school. We have an ice rink on campus which we use for occasional open skate, but no lessons. I've only skated maybe ten times or so in my entire life, so I'm still pretty bad at it. I CAN manage to get off the wall though, but it takes maybe ten minutes of so of holding onto it before I can adjust to the ice, and even then I still wobble a bit so I like to stay close to the wall. I do have my own skates but I'm actually not too sure if they fit me correctly as my feet just go all over the place when I skate anyways (I plan on getting some professionally fitted though when I go home next, hopefully, so that may help a bit!).

So, does anyone have any advice for a VERY new beginner? I don't really want to compete or anything as of yet but I do want to try and get all my singles down someday (I'm not in a hurry to do that though, first I have to learn all the basics!) so I'm definitely going to try and get lessons when I'm able. Also, what does everyone here do for their conditioning and stretches off-ice? I actually ride horses for my full-time sport, and I usually just run to stay in shape and do some cardio but I'm also trying to start actual muscle-building and getting more flexibility for skating, but I just don't know where to start. Any tips are good, I'm just trying to figure out how to get the most out of my limited skating time, so I think that some exercises off-ice might be helpful. Oh, and what ages did all of you start skating at, and were all of you stuck on the wall as well when you started? I don't want to be a lost cause! I'm not trying to be an Olympic skater (I'm trying for the Olympics with horses instead, that's more in my comfort zone!) but I do want to get pretty darn good someday!

Sorry for all of my rambling, I actually just got back from an ice skating party with my friend and I'm really excited right now, so I figured it'd be a good time to post a thread on here! Thank you all so much and I'm excited to get to know all of you!

 

[karne]

Hello and welcome!

It sounds like you've got a great plan in place. Always love to see someone come into the sport with so much joy and actually realistic expectations, ha!

My advice for a new beginner is not to rush things (though it sounds like you've got that idea down pat). It will take time to get used to this new movement. Also, it's going to get really frustrating at times, no matter how well you're going. You've just got to ride those patches out.

I started at 22, if that helps

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Welcome! I'm so glad to see a new person who is so excited to join our sport. I also love that you aren't going to rush yourself or have unrealistic expectations about progress.
My first suggestion is to just have fun, and listen and practice everything your coach (when you have one) tells you to. I posted some off ice training suggestions to another poster here last night here: http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...Conditioning&p=1631040&viewfull=1#post1631040 so you might want to go look at that.
Many of us started out holding onto the boards or by pushing upside down paint buckets around on the ice to learn stability(this is for very young kids). I started skating when I was 3 years old, but wasn't very serious about it until about age 6 and I just kept advancing from that point. I've competed for a long time now and still love my sport with everything I've got.

Good luck with all of your endeavors and if there is anything you have questions about while you learn or need any help, feel free to send me a PM.

 

[jf12]

Welcome! Looks like you have a great start so far, your riding should be great for your core and posture so you are already halfway there. There are a lot of people who do both sports, and I think they help each other. For stuff off ice that you won't get from other sports, try doing stability and balance exercises on one leg!

 

[Seren]

Welcome!

The best advice I have is to not rush and focus on the basics, but mostly have fun! It sounds like you have a really good plan. Getting properly fitted skates is a good first step. As for off ice, things like squats, single leg squats, and general leg and core exercises are helpful (but if you ride horses at an elite level you probably have the core training down pretty well!). There are a lot of good youtube videos out there for flexibility- if you search for videos for learning splits you will find several good options.

Good luck!

 

[doubleoxer]

Sorry for replying a day late, I got busy with volunteer work and stuff. Thank you all so much for your replies and advice! I really am excited to become better at this sport. <3 And it's good to know that I'm not the only one to start off by holding onto the wall for dear life!

I have another question. So when I start taking skating lessons, what would I be looking for? General group learn-to-skate sessions with people who are learning for other things like hockey too, or are there special group classes for beginning figure skaters? (I've looked on the website of the rink I think I'll be skating at but I think the only ones they have are for general skating lessons? I'm really not too sure right now.)

Or would it be best to just start with a private coach? I think it'd probably be frustrating for the poor coach if it's a private session because I would probably stay on the wall for most of the first sessions with them. My riding lessons have always been private but I'm absolutely clueless with ANYTHING when it comes to skating so I have no idea if that would be the same case or not! And to be quite honest, I'm actually really intimidated by figure skating coaches, I think..? They all seem so knowledgeable and I think I'd be scared to sign up for private lessons right off the bat, especially if I can barely skate forwards without constantly tripping over my toepicks or something.

I'm pretty shy when it comes to things like going out of my way to meet new people, and to add to it I'll be completely on my own when I go off to college... It'll a completely new territory for me to sign up for lessons. :O How would I go about doing that anyways? I get myself all nervous and stuff just thinking about it lol

Thank you all so much! I'm glad I found a forum where I can ask about these things without being embarrassed or feeling super dumb.

 

[karne]

Group learn to skate classes would not be a bad start. They don't have to be figure skating specific - before you can figure skate you have to be able to skate!

I started in privates, but I could already skate. You could start in privates, but they are generally much more expensive than group lessons so it's probably better value for money to do group at this point, at least until you can skate and have some confidence on the ice.

The rink you're going to should have information available about group lessons. If you're not sure, feel free to ask for the skating director. The local skating club might also know - I know ours gets queries about lessons every now and again. They should be able to help you make the right choice for you.

Try not to be too intimidated by the knowledge of others around you. They are there to help you learn. They didn't get all that knowledge by insta-download; they had to learn it too.

 

[doubleoxer]

Alright, thank you so much!

 

[treesprite]

Congrats on getting into skating! You sound so enthusiastic that it makes me want to run off to the rink right now, at 2:00am in my flannel pajamas.

 

[concorde]

I would recommend starting with group lessons. They are cheaper but more importantly, ypu can "test drive" a couple of coaches and determine which do or do not work well for ypu.

 

[doubleoxer]

Alright! Yeah, I probably will start with the group lessons. I'm still a bit unsure of how I'd go about doing that, but I'll ask my Mom for help closer to the time that I'd be signing up anyways!

I'm going to be going to college in Ohio and the only ice skating rink in the area of the school seems to be hockey-centered though (even the one by my house is hockey-focused.. what's up with that??), so I'm probably going to have issues finding a private coach after the group lessons. They have a figure skating club I think, but from I read, 18 is the oldest age you can be to be a member??? and I don't think my skills will be good enough at that point to actually join, if that makes sense?

Also, for group lessons, don't you usually just take a set course of classes over a span of a few weeks with a one-time fee or something? Because the rink near my college says that it's $40 per group lesson, but I'm not sure how many lessons I would need before advancing if that's the case? I don't know if they go by certain skill levels or anything in order to advance, either.. Ugh this is so confusing. I mean it's not like I'll be taking lessons RIGHT AWAY, but it'd be nice to know what I'm looking for so that this fall I'll be able to just start lessons without a hassle.

 

[karne]

I'm going to be going to college in Ohio and the only ice skating rink in the area of the school seems to be hockey-centered though (even the one by my house is hockey-focused.. what's up with that??), so I'm probably going to have issues finding a private coach after the group lessons.

Most rinks are in western countries. Hockey is the big money spinner for them.

They have a figure skating club I think, but from I read, 18 is the oldest age you can be to be a member??? and I don't think my skills will be good enough at that point to actually join, if that makes sense?

I've never heard of a figure skating club having an upper age limit to join. That would severely limit them and would be rather stupid.

Also, for group lessons, don't you usually just take a set course of classes over a span of a few weeks with a one-time fee or something? Because the rink near my college says that it's $40 per group lesson, but I'm not sure how many lessons I would need before advancing if that's the case? I don't know if they go by certain skill levels or anything in order to advance, either.. Ugh this is so confusing. I mean it's not like I'll be taking lessons RIGHT AWAY, but it'd be nice to know what I'm looking for so that this fall I'll be able to just start lessons without a hassle.

If it's $40 per group lesson, I'd be looking at private lessons straight up. That's what I pay for my half-hour private lesson. Perhaps just clarify with them if this is for each lesson or session of lessons?

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I agree with @karne. I have never heard of a figure skating club with a cut off at age 18 for members. Also, you definitely need to ask if that price of $40 is weekly for group lessons or for the bunch of however many are in their set up of them.

If it's 40 dollars per week, definitely look for a private coach, you can do so by going to the webpage for the ice rink you will be skating out of and usually they have their figure skating coaches listed there somewhere and a little bio on them and how much they charge per 1/2 hr or hr.

 

[doubleoxer]

Sorry, I have no idea how to do the quotes like you did!

Yeah, I have no clue? They seem to be made up primarily of younger members, and the club's website says "Silver Blades Figure Skating currently has around 100 members, ranging between the ages of 4 and 18." And see, I don't even know if they offer private lessons there at the rink. It's just a public skating rink and I guess a community rec center or something during the off-season?? The only thing I see about lessons are the group lessons, and when I look at the figure skating club's website, coaching seems exclusive to only those who are in the club (well yeah obviously lol) but if I'm over 18 at that point I'm not sure if I'd be able to take lessons there.. I mean I can probably contact them somehow but I don't want to sound stupid for asking something if the answer is on their website already. I have a really bad habit of overthinking stuff so I'm probably not helping myself much here haha

Oh, also, the skating rink doesn't specifically have their own website, it's like a sub-section of the city's website? It's weird lol

Edit: And ah okay, I found more info on the group lessons. It's $40 per session and the sessions are over a course of 5 weeks.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Sorry, I have no idea how to do the quotes like you did!

Yeah, I have no clue? They seem to be made up primarily of younger members, and the club's website says "Silver Blades Figure Skating currently has around 100 members, ranging between the ages of 4 and 18." And see, I don't even know if they offer private lessons there at the rink. It's just a public skating rink and I guess a community rec center or something during the off-season?? The only thing I see about lessons are the group lessons, and when I look at the figure skating club's website, coaching seems exclusive to only those who are in the club (well yeah obviously lol) but if I'm over 18 at that point I'm not sure if I'd be able to take lessons there.. I mean I can probably contact them somehow but I don't want to sound stupid for asking something if the answer is on their website already. I have a really bad habit of overthinking stuff so I'm probably not helping myself much here haha

Oh, also, the skating rink doesn't specifically have their own website, it's like a sub-section of the city's website? It's weird lol

Edit: And ah okay, I found more info on the group lessons. It's $40 per session and the sessions are over a course of 5 weeks.

The thing that you saw on their webpage about members of the club ranging from 4-18 doesn't mean that the cut off is age 18. It just means that's the ages of the current members lol!

 

[karne]

Is it this one, doubleoxer? I can't see anything about an age restriction, I think they were just saying that's the current age-range of their members. I also note that it's an ISI club.

I'm glad you got that clarified about the group lessons. That's a good deal :yes:

 

[doubleoxer]

Ohhh okay!

And yes, @karne (is that how you tag people? lol), that's the one. Yeah I saw it was ISI, but I just can't seem to find any USFSA clubs anywhere in the area. I figured that would be better than nothing though.

 

[lynnems]

Bowling Green has a really big program, but it would be a matter of transportation for you. Probably not that far away.

 

[doubleoxer]

Oh, they do? I heard about that one when I was trying to search for places but saw "University" and assumed that it wasn't open to the public for some reason? Whoops. But thank you so much, I'll look into it! I can probably figure out something with transportation eventually so I don't think that'll be much of an issue. I just have to figure out how my schedule is going to look though since I'm going to be on one or two of the college equestrian teams. (Good thing practices are at 5 am for those though!) Hopefully I'll have a lot of free time then so that I can skate more, because I would love to be at the rink at least twice a week.