Author Topic: New skater  (Read 691 times)

CatherineEml

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New skater
« on: August 08, 2021, 09:07:23 pm »
HI
I've just completed a 6 week course and managed 9 units at the skate excellent course. But then I read somewhere that it's 6 weeks per grade? Does this mean I'm very far behind?
I'm 37 and never skated before in my life before these lessons. I want to be able to skate confidently so I can safely take my kids ice skating.
Also I was making really good progress so I decided to buy my own skates and now I feel useless again on the ice. I'm all wobbly and literally attached to barrier again.
It's quite deflating but the coach said it could take 3 weeks for my new skates to break in. I don't have a lot of time. I do my skate lesson and then go again for an hour to practice. I'm thinking of maybe more that 3 weeks to break them in with the time I spend on the ice?
Can anybody offer any help with the breaking in process.
Many thanks
Any tips much appreciated

transmissionoftheflame

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Re: New skater
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2021, 10:32:36 am »
I was hoping someone else would answer you as there are others on here who know more than I do about breaking in skates.


I would say hang in there, be patient, try to enjoy the process, skate as much as you possibly can, focusing on doing a few things correctly, as you've been taught.


Some people say to wear your skates off ice, with the guards on, at home - especially on carpet where they can't do any harm.  If they are heat mouldable you could put them in the oven.  Leave the top eyelet unlaced - you will get less support but more movement.


Any change in equipment will feel strange for a while, especially if you are a relative beginner.


Skating has been wonderfully rewarding for me.  I am a slow learner, but 15 or so years later I am still going and enjoying it more than ever.

WednesdayMarch

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Re: New skater
« Reply #2 on: August 12, 2021, 10:45:49 am »
Hello Catherine and welcome!

New skates are bound to make you feel like Bambi for a while, it happens to everyone but you should really be finding them easier to skate in than rentals. What did you get and were the blades sharpened before you started skating on them? Fresh from the box blades aren't ready to skate on, whatever the box says, and need to be properly ground before you can skate properly. A "factory grind" that is supposed to last for 2-4 hours of skating is absolute rubbish. They may feel sharp but if they haven't been ground properly with the correct radius of hollow, then you will definitely be skating like Bambi through no fault of your own.

Please don't ever be tempted to compare your progress to things you read or even other skaters. It's a journey and everyone experiences it differently. Kids typically progress really quickly and adults more slowly but really everybody takes a different time to learn and perfect the things that go into making a skater competent. When you get frustrated, try to remember that purely recreational skaters see anybody with their own skates who can skate backwards as practically a champion.  ;)
Returned to the ice in Sept 2017 after a major leg injury in 1999. Skating in Jackson Elite Pro & MK Vision Syncro. Still scary after all these years.



 

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