Hockey players taking lessons with figure skating coaches

[ZilphaK]

This is getting to be quite the "thing" at our rink.

We have kids in hockey gear on freestyle learning edges, crossovers, etc. from the figure skating coaches.

Just wondering whether other people see this at their rinks.

 

[Clarice]

Yep. All the time.

 

[Debbie S]

We've had some kids in hockey skates but no other gear.

 

[ZilphaK]

We've had some kids in hockey skates but no other gear.

Yeah, some kids wear full gear; some just the helmet and gloves.

 

[purple skates]

Very common in some rinks here.

 

[treesprite]

It's routine here.

 

[WildRose]

Sounds like power skating classes.

 

[SherryL]

This is extremely common at 2 of the 4 rinks that my girls skate, and I've seen this since my kids started skating 9 years ago. There are several hockey skating coaches (both men & women) who were trained in figure skating, and coach hockey skating to hockey players (some coach hockey players exclusively now). These coaches teach group "skating skill" lessons at hockey clubs team practices as well as private/semi-private skating lessons (no puck or sticks) to hockey players of all levels and all ages (mostly youth). The private/semi-private lessons have been done on freestyle ice and uncrowded public sessions. One rink allows skaters in private lessons to wear full hockey gear, but the other rink only allows helmet, gloves, & skates on freestyle ice.

Of the 3 hockey skating coaches that my son had, two were women who were former competitive figure skaters, and one was a man who only did hockey. There are a lot of similarity between the hockey skating lessons and figure skating power & edge lessons, but there are also differences. My son’s hockey skating coaches do focus their skating lessons on what a player could encounter in hockey game situations. In private skating lessons that my son had, the coaches had taught not just power skating, but control, quick starts, deep turns, and strength.

 

[overedge]

FWIW Victor Kraatz (world champion and Olympic competitor in ice dance) only teaches hockey players now.

 

[WildRose]

Barb Underhill was the power skating coach for one of the US NHL teams, David Pelletier works with the Edmonton Oilers. It’s pretty common for figure skaters to coach these skills. In Canada, Skate Canada has a power skating program and many figure skating clubs teach power skating lessons as well as learn to skate programs and figure skating.

 

[Lanie]

Yup. Because they need to learn how to SKATE properly.

Also stops them from mocking us as much.

 

[clairecloutier]

I see it now & then here. Usually not with full gear, though.

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

This has been around for quite some time. Back when I trained in NYC during the late 1980s/early 1990s, we had several prominent NHL players take skating lessons from our coaches.

 

[DannyCurry]

Although I've skated in several different rinks in France, I've never seen hockey players taking lessons from FS coaches.
OT but what I can tell you is that whether they are kids or adults, their gear smells so bad. Every time I have a class before or after them and I have to pass by them, I'm like "Don't they ever wash their gear or what ?!!!"

 

[treesprite]

Although I've skated in several different rinks in France, I've never seen hockey players taking lessons from FS coaches.
OT but what I can tell you is that whether they are kids or adults, their gear smells so bad. Every time I have a class before or after them and I have to pass by them, I'm like "Don't they ever wash their gear or what ?!!!"

Try cleaning locker rooms after them!

 

[ZilphaK]

Try cleaning locker rooms after them!

Try living with one!

Thanks all! I was curious what it was like in other rinks. My son is a figure skater and a hockey player, but it's only been recently we've seen more hockey players taking lessons with figure skating coaches at our rink. There can be (or has been), unfortunately, a ridiculous "stigma" with taking lessons from figure skating coaches. Just wondering whether and to what extent that's changing.

I know Michael Weiss has at least one son who plays hockey and I think he only teaches skating to hockey kids, as well.

 

[purple skates]

I can tell you is that whether they are kids or adults, their gear smells so bad. Every time I have a class before or after them and I have to pass by them, I'm like "Don't they ever wash their gear or what ?!!!"

They often leave it in their bag, wet. That’s why it stinks so bad. When DS was playing, he dried his gear after every practitice and game - we had a place by our wood stove to hang and lay out stuff - and we would periodically wash everything except the helmet in the washing machine. The helmet we’d wipe down regularly. Made things much, much better.

But yeah. Some of them are unbelievably bad smelling.

 

[WildRose]

LOL, I used to make all the men in my family leave their hockey gear in the garage. Rink Dressing rooms after hockey players have used them are the worst.

 

[SmallFairy]

I used to play hockey, (girls team) and our equipment smelled a little, so did our jerseys, but not much, it was ok...until we had to borrow jerseys from our men's team, as we played an opponent with similar jerseys to ours. OMG!!! The smell of those male jerseys waere beyond description, I have no idea how we survived. They were probably never washed

 

[fan]

vanessa crone also only teaches hockey