March 2004
Saturday March 6, 2004
Adventures in Group Lessons
Maybe this will sound petty, but I was deeply hurt by something that happened during my second day of coaching. While teaching my first group of the day, Donna**, the skating director, observed part of my lesson. This may be typical, especially since I am new. Her presence did not bother me. As my class continued, she approached me and warned about spending too much time with children who are behind. Kids who cannot keep up should be dropped back to a lower level group. According to Donna, last weekend a parent complained that I spent too much time with the slower learners. Gee, the first coaching experience in my life, and some grouch already bitched about me. I struggled to maintain my enthusiasm the rest of the morning. I was also very conscious of how I budgeted my attention. Although I may view this little bit of coaching as a hobby, it is also a job for which I earn a rather high hourly wage. While I realize I cannot please everyone and should not be overly sensitive; as a conscientious person, I make a sincere effort to perform my professional duties well.
I dragged my ass out of the rink and was a approached by a grateful parent seeking additional advice for her daughter, one of the least advanced students in my class. I spent a few minutes in the lobby talking to mother and child. The mother asked if I give private lessons. Of course, this question is inevitable, but I was surprised by how soon my first request actually arrived. I should have played it cool and told the woman I would get back to her, after finding out the particulars from Donna. But, like an honest fool, I told her I was not presently giving privates. I guess I should research this in case I decide to pursue it.
Before leaving the arena, I went into the office to sign the pro book, which provides an accounting of lessons and classes taught by each instructor. I asked the young woman who coordinates group lessons (and also teaches privates) where I should list my hours. She signed one of the pages herself, grunted, and shoved the binder in my direction. To provide clarification, this person is not a very good skater. She cannot do an axel, a double, or a flying spin of any sort. I would estimate her skating skills at the adult bronze level (or maybe silver if the panel of judges were generous or sympathetic). Perhaps this reeks of narcissism, but this younger woman, who earns her living as an instructor, may be intimidated by or jealous of my abilities. I cannot claim to be a great coach; however, I am still a darned good skater, even though I only enjoy one session of freestyle ice per week. I do not know this individual well enough to understand her behavior, but I realize coaching is a competitive and potentially nasty business.
Donna also offered me three more classes, all on one late afternoon during the week. While the schedule would mesh with my working hours, I wonder if I really want another commitment. I am usually tired and burned after working all day. But I like coaching and it provides an outlet through which I can channel my love of skating. I told her I would think about it and call her in a couple of days. I still have not decided.
** Not her real name.
Week of March 7, 2004
On the Circle
I had my very first figures lesson at the roller rink. In contrast to ice skating, figures is not a lost art in roller sports. Most freestyle skaters learn both figures and dance and may compete in multiple disciplines. Separate figures championships (as well as combined events) are held at national and world levels. My dance coach suggested a semi-monthly figures lesson to improve my posture. I never knew my posture was lacking, but I have not had an ice lesson since last spring. Certainly I have acquired bad habits, and some problems have probably languished uncorrected for years. Ironically, I discovered true “figure skating” on wheels and not on my native ice.
Figure eights and loops are painted on the wooden floor of the roller rink, and devotees circle them amidst dancers and freestylists. Since wheels leave no tracings, territorial behavior does not make practice sessions mutually exclusive. In fact, to record the placement of turns and edges, a dusting of chalk is placed at the intersection of the two figure circles. The skater’s wheels roll through this powder and leave evidence of the athlete’s path, confirming that the turns are indeed placed atop one another. As a novice, I did not need a pile of white residue to validate the perfection of my movement. Instead, Mrs. Scott**, a meticulous coach, physically positioned my body down to my fingertips. I am not exaggerating about the fingers either. She literally molded my hands into the most desirable conformation.
Figures magnify every sin of placement, posture, and sloppiness. I stood anxiously at the tangent point of the figure eight while my coach prodded me relentlessly. As soon as I pushed off, I had already done something wrong. My shoulders were out of whack, one higher than the other. And my free foot was misaligned. The toe should point down with the heel over the tracing. I made similar mistakes with the forward outside eight (Figure One) and the forward inside eight (Figure Two). My ability to hold an inside edge encouraged Mrs. Scott. This may be a common shortcoming among beginners, but I have spent over ten years on the ice.
After my lesson, I interspersed figure practice with basic dance steps. I became comfortable with the first two figures and sped around the circles with confidence. Mrs. Scott informed me that “we do not skate figures that fast” and corrected a free foot problem. I spent the rest of the session trying to slow down.
The techniques I am learning on wheels can only benefit my ice skating. Figures will improve my posture and control. Whenever I get up early to drive to the roller rink, I wonder if I am crazy. However, once I get on the floor, I have a wonderful time and would not willingly abandon this sport. It provides an excellent compliment to ice skating.
** Not her real name.
Week of March 7, 2004; Part Two
During the Week
I decided to accept an additional group lesson teaching assignment during the week. On one afternoon, I teach three half-hour group classes. I took over for someone who could no longer manage the responsibility. I think the person is a college student. My first day was the last session of a six-week course. I handed out achievement badges to all of the kids in my classes. For the first time in my career, I worked with very young children. I had two classes of tiny tots. Contrary to what I might have predicted, I really enjoyed working with little kids. They respond wholeheartedly to their teacher and display tremendous eagerness. I played games with them and picked them up when they fell. I pushed them around on the ice and praised their smidgens of progress.
After working all day, I got to the rink and had forty minutes of a freestyle session to enjoy before I started teaching. Another benefit of this situation is free ice time. Not only has my income increased; my outgo has decreased since I no longer pay for ice skating. It had been a rough day on the job, and I drove to the rink wondering why I had made this commitment. I only wanted to go home and curl up like a vegetable in front of the television. Since my young students deserve an enthusiastic coach, I pushed my real-world concerns to the back of my mind and smiled. Unfortunately, I was too tired to take full advantage of the free ice time, but I fooled around and got a little exercise. After teaching my three groups, I felt exhausted and famished. My back ached from lifting little ones to their feet. I wondered how on earth would I survive the six-week course that loomed in my future.
I stumbled tiredly into the lobby planning to remove my skates, sign the pro book, and get the hell out of there as soon as humanly possible. A parent intercepted me and shook my hand. After introducing himself, he paid me the nicest compliment I have probably ever received as a professional (not just as a coach or skater, but as an employed person). He said: “You were the most awesome teacher out there. My kid really responded to you. When I saw you working with that class, I knew you were special. I had been dissatisfied with the other teachers, but then you started teaching my son’s class.” I was absolutely floored! I honestly told the man that I had had a hard day and his kind words meant a lot to me. It ended my day on a happy note. “You deserve it,” he added then proceeded to ask when I work at this rink.
I wish I received that sort of generous input from my fulltime boss. I may feel unappreciated and abused at my day job, but seem to making positive progress as a skating coach.
Week of March 14, 2004
Skating All the Way to the Bank
I have completed yet another week teaching group lessons. And I got paid! For the first time in my life, I received a paycheck for ice skating! It may not have been the largest chunk of financial compensation I have ever earned, but it was definitely the most satisfying.
With only two weeks to go before completing my Saturday course, I face the unpleasant dilemma of deciding whether or not to pass some of my students. Many of them cannot handle the skills in the curriculum. They especially struggle with the spiral and lunge. According to Donna, the skating director, this is because previous instructors passed these kids to the next level before they achieved competence. While this is probably true, I look at the situation from a skills standpoint. The children obviously lack an ability to glide on one foot, an ability critical to ice skating. They can perform decent swizzles both forward and backward, but once I ask them to lift one skate from the ice, they falter. Since I have worn skates since childhood (if only a cheap pair of rollers in a driveway), I may not be able to appreciate the difficulty of balancing on one thin blade. I do it without thinking. Only one of the children can perform a movement that would be recognized as a lunge. This kid also has an acceptable spiral. She is very eager and can probably handle more advanced elements. She will pass without a doubt.
Since the rink participates in a training program that awards badges for passing each level, I do not feel comfortable handing out badges to some children and not others. I will have to talk to parents next weekend if I believe their children should not progress to the next stage. In my opinion, there should be another system for giving out badges. If mailing them is too cumbersome, maybe the parent should pick up the badge from the front counter, so the instructor is spared the awkward situation of giving prizes to some students and leaving others with nothing. I may mention this to Donna.
Donna asked if I would be interested in teaching a few more classes on another weekday afternoon. Of course, I was interested. Unfortunately, I cannot handle the commitment. Now that I work fulltime, I am too exhausted to spread myself any thinner. A fellow adult skater/group instructor told me about another new rink that opened in the area. It is also desperate for coaches. Since she works fulltime also, she cannot handle an additional skating assignment. Why did these opportunities not exist when I was home and could have filled my plate with coaching duties? By now, I might have established a private lesson clientele. I am grateful to have this experience now, but it sure would have been nice if it came along when I could have taken full advantage of it. It might have also motivated me to pursue testing. At the time, I decided not to test because it made me nervous and I saw no point in it. If establishing coaching credentials had been a realistic goal, I might have tackled my nerves and focused my efforts. I hate to say it is too late, but for now it is just not possible to concentrate on testing.
Sunday March 28, 2004
Serpentines
Last weekend, I chose not to roller skate. I emailed my coach to cancel my lesson. Sometimes I am so busy during the week and exhausted by the weekend that I really cannot handle another obligation. The last thing I want to do is get up early and drive for over a half hour to a roller rink when I could just stay home and relax. Now that I am coaching, going to the ice rink on Saturday is no longer optional either. I have to be there to teach my two classes. This Saturday, I was particularly weary and preferred not to bother. In fact, I arrived late and only skated about forty minutes for myself. Once there, I managed to enjoy myself and felt satisfied with my teaching. I received another nice compliment from a parent who hopes her child will be placed in my class for the next session. Similarly, once at the roller rink, I am glad I dragged myself out of bed.
This weekend, my roller figures coach, Mrs. Scott, reviewed skills I have not practiced since my last time on the floor two weeks prior. She was surprised by how adeptly I stayed on the line with so little practice. It must be all of that ice experience. Of course, I have never skated an ice compulsory in my life. Rinks no longer support true figure skating. Just try to find a patch session! All available ice is either filled with hockey players or public skaters. It is hard enough to scare up a freestyle hour. I guess if I could still skate during the day, I might carve out a little slice of frozen heaven for myself, but that point is moot.
I did not expect to like roller figures. However, I find them very challenging. Circling those painted lobes allows quiet meditation and purges other thoughts from my mind. Today, I found this particularly comforting. During our last lesson, Mrs. Scott taught me a basic change edge figure. Today, she moved me up to the next level, the forward serpentine. A serpentine is skated on a set of three circles and may be initiated with an outside or inside edge. To begin the figure, the skater stands at the tangent point of the first and second circle and pushes off onto the second circle. The pattern consists of a half lobe skated on one edge, a change of edge at the intersection of the second and third circles, then the third circle is completed on the opposite edge. Upon returning to the junction of the third and second circle, the skater pushes to the opposite foot to repeat the pattern on the second and first circles. This complicated skill requires coverage of 1.5 circles from a single well-controlled push. It is not easy to get all the way around. I came to a dead stop balanced on one foot a good meter from my goal. Other times, I barely crawled to the intersection to force my next clumsy push. Maintaining flow around the entire route and thought the change of foot is essential to achieving a smooth serpentine.
Since I have not skated ice figures, I do not know if Mrs. Scott’s advice about weight distribute will translate. However she told me to center my weight over my back wheels when gliding forward. Placing weight forward on the skate reduces speed. Similarly, when skating backward, weight should be placed over the front wheels. Now I have to learn how to ride the back wheels without leaning backward. So many challenges.
I enjoyed practicing roller compulsories after my lesson, but cannot allow myself to vegetate on the circles for too long. Figures are not aerobic exercise. After skating compulsories for a few minutes, I stroke around the rink and try some dance steps. I plan to drag my lazy, tired butt to the roller rink next weekend.
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