What to look for in a coach?

[GSK8]

What to look for in a coach?

For the beginning skater (child) what should parents look for and take into consideration when seeking a coach?

 

[lilicedancer]

Re: What to look for in a coach?

For a beginner you want a coach who is good with kids and can keep her/him in line but won't push too hard. Patience is important. How a skater is taught the fundamentals is very important, for instance my first coach taught me some of the basics wrong and then when I changed coaches I had to re-learn everything. Look at the coaches older skaters basic technique, and yellers are definitely not good for beginners. Most important is that the coach makes skating fun for the kid.

 

[Icestar]

what to look for

As a former skater and now coach I would look for these things in this order;
-Coaching experience and results from their students.
-Reputation around the area/skating world.
-PSA ratings
-Skating experience.
Get the best the club has to offer or go to a better club if there isn't top coaching at the club you are at. Even if it costs more, its better to take fewer high quality lessons. I thank my parents for doing this for me. Don't get low quality lessons because they are cheap and you can get one everytime you skate. I actually had to wait 6 months before the olympic level coach my parents wanted had an openning.

 

[LADSKATER]

Re: What to look for in a coach?

Good question. It's been so many years since I skated, I am reflecting on some of my coaches qualities. The coaches that I best responded to were kind, enthusiastic and encouraging. The ones I least liked were bossy and didn't communicate well or understand me.

It all depends on the level as well and how far your child wants to advance in skating. Of course, the beginning level is a lot different from the more advanced levels.

Credentials do say a lot about a coaches' qualifications, but personality counts too. How do you get a long with the coach? Parents are involved as well!!

Ladskater

 

[Littleskatersmom]

Re: What to look for in a coach?

As the mother of a 6 year old that skates 4 days a week, I have to say I have found the two most important things are: 1. you have to find the right personality for your child and 2. make sure the techniques taught are correct.

My daughter has been skating for 3 years - 2 of those in private lessons. She loves her skating and part of that I have to attribute to the fact that her coach knows when to push and when to step back and have fun with her. We're fortunate to have found the right coach (for my daughter) on the first try. I don't think you have to (for a young child) go for an olympic coach right off the bat. What I've found, as we work with her coach, that other coaches are brought in for certain things (like jumps, off ice, etc)... our rink seems to team teach a lot.

Recently my daughter was goofing off during a lesson with her "jump" coach... so I asked her why she's like this with him, but isn't goofy with her main coach... her reply "because I like him"... so I had to ask the obvious... do you not like your coach? "I like her, but she tells me to be serious and I am"...

Sorry for the long post...