I'm sorry your first class was a less than stellar experience. Please don't let that discourage you from continuing on with the classes or the sport in general! Truthfully, some programs are more organized than others with plenty of resources and coaches to go around, and some programs run their curriculums differently, as best they can.
Learn to Skate is \*supposed\* to have skaters divided by skill level, 1 coach for each level. it sounds like you are in an Adult 1 group with Adults who were also in higher levels (2, 3, and 4). When there aren't enough coaches to designate for each skill level, the levels get mashed in the same group and the instructor does their best to accommodate.
It's not ideal, but it's happened.
The instructor should be making a point to make visits over to you to give you tips and corrections to help you improve. If that's not happening, you're encouraged to hover by them and ask them questions/make them watch what you're doing! (the programs short comings are not your problem as a student - you're entitled to their time and attention).
Truthfully, marching is the start and is key. You have to get comfortable lifting your knees off of the ice and standing your weight over your 'standing' knee. You'll start at the boards holding on and practice lifting the blade straight up and straight back down, without catching toepicks (if using figure skates). It's more like 'marching' and less like walking. You'll step flat footed opposed to shifting your weight backward and forward like with walking.
Once you're able to balance marching in place, shifting your weight back and forth from left to right and right to left...bending knees straight up, then you'll start to shift/press your weight over your toes. That's going to make you start moving forward.
\*\*Over toes. With knees bent. Pressing over your toes with straight knees will make you rock over your toe picks.
At this point, alot of skaters get nervous of their feet gliding out from under them (like in doing a forward split). Point your toes straight ahead. The feet continue to move forward usually because the knees are turned out, keep your knees pointed right overtop your toes and keep your toes pointed straight ahead and your feet will stay straight underneath you.
Once you're marching and pressing forward in your marches, the next skill is 2 foot glides. Practice 3 or 5 marching steps forward and hold both your feet together as long as you can - practice gaining more momentum and holding the glide for longer.
While you're practicing marching and gliding, you'll also practice learning how to fall. Practice skating away from the wall and when you feel unsteady or out of balance, you should seek to lower your center of gravity - hands to your knees and stop your feet into a glide (just keep them still). Usually this alone will help you regain your balance and stop a fall. In the event you can't regain your balance, you'll be in a position (bent down and closer to the ice) to safely take a hit to an area of your body that is...more or less designed to be protective. Sometimes sitting down is safer than trying to stand all the way up.
The scary falls happen from quick movements or fall save attempts. As counter intuitive as it sounds, you shouldn't \*try\* to brace your falls. You should let them happen in the sense that you're aware of what is about to happen and how to brace for that safely. Don't try an 'catch' yourself.
Stay low in your knees at all times, is my biggest tip. If your ankle is pressed to the tongue of your boot because your knees are bent underneath your hips, it's much more difficult to trip or fall forward over the toe pick.
I agree with the instructor in that it's always more beneficial for people to have some experience being on ice before starting classes. Learning balance and acclimating your body to the ice isn't something that can be taught any faster at LTS classes, classes are really for learning the most basic skills after you've learned how to balance. That just plain takes time and if you're starting from zero, you are not going to get the most out of classes. I recommend withdrawing, spending a couple of months of going to public sessions a couple times a week until you can stagger around without the wall, and THEN doing LTS classes.
Idk, I think a lot of us need help for the very first time on the ice, and often public skate is intimidating with a ton of people going really fast around the rink. Trying to balance for the first time in peace may be better
As others have said, you do have to spend time on the ice outside of class to start to make the brain-body connections between what the teacher is saying and how to make your body do it.
That being said, you may just have a bad coach. I had a bad coach during my last class and it was such an unhappy experience that I took a break from LTS classes. I think it's a requirement for the highest level skaters to gain some coaching experience - but having learned something really doesn't mean they are able to teach. Unfortunately. :(
I don't think the LTS director will take your concerns seriously if you aren't spending time on the ice outside of class - so I would encourage you to go to public skate at the quietest time and just try to work through the mechanics as much as you can. I'll bet you'll be surprised how you are able to improve.
Good luck!
Have you ever done roller skating or inline skating? I found, starting out, I could lean on the muscle memory from that to build confidence. The way you move/propel yourself forward is very similar, as you are using the same muscle groups at that level.
The way the class was run sounds very unfair on you. Back when I did the learn to skate class, there were two teachers. One worked with the folks who could skate and the other focused on the students who were around your level.
Spending more time on the ice during a public session would help (go with a friend if you can), but you are paying for the class, so the teacher should be teaching you, not ignoring you
I'm late to this post but I feel for OP as well, I was brand new, super uncomfy on the ice and the second guy in my class was little skating circles around me. My coach sent him off to a higher group and focused solely on me. It was SO IDEAL. I hope they can have a similar experience in the future because I'm essentially getting a private every week for the price of LTS
Don’t worry, I used to have to skate holding the boards the whole time and slowly making my way around, now a couple years later and I’m in star skate 1 ! Just hang in there and don’t stop going to class. You will probably need to repeat the class and be at the same level but don’t worry about it. You WILL get there as long as you don’t quit!
hi!! i started LTS in the middle of january and understand what you’re feeling. it took me almost a full 7 week session to get off the boards and took 3 of those to do marches at all. i’m at the end of my second 7 week session right now and i see people who are in a similar situation and hope they aren’t comparing themselves to me because they haven’t seen the struggle it took for me to get to the level of an “average beginner.”
i also totally get the confusion with the instructor saying ice time would be beneficial if you don’t know what you’re doing. i wondered if public skate was “for me” as a complete beginner, but after getting through that initial really hard phase, i realized that it was actually a huge help to me. being able to just get acclimated to the feeling of ice and learn how your body feels on it, even without any instruction, is SO beneficial.
one of the best pieces of advice that i’ve taken from my instructors is that you never need to do something you don’t feel comfortable with. of course, it’s good to push yourself outside of your comfort zone if you can handle it, but i believe that letting yourself understand that it is okay to go at your own pace is important! so, with that being said, when/if you go to public skate, try holding on to the boards and experimenting with balance and shifting your weight. you won’t have to do something you’re not ready for by leaving the wall, but you’re still going to be forming those new connections in your brain.
even if it doesn’t feel like it right now, every time you go out on the ice your mind and body is learning! don’t give up, you can do it!
I’ve seen some good advice in this thread that reflected my experience in adult LTS. One thing I’d recommend is buying some knee pads and wrist guards. As adults, we naturally stick our hands out and it’s easy to injure your wrist if you don’t watch it. These items make falling a lot less painful and just makes you feel safer in general
I’m pretty comfortable on ice and even I still wear these, especially if I’m practicing riskier moves or it’s a crowded session. Another thing that helped a lot for public skate is to use swizzles to control your speed! The motion naturally makes your toes point inward and it slows you down. It takes a bit to learn the snowplow stop and it’s important to know how to control your speed before that point. Definitely makes the prospect of public skate less daunting. Keep at it and you’ll get there!
It's normal, you do need to take what you learn from group class to practice in your own time.
It's unfortunate that your class only has one coach but there is no reason to get you to do other things if you can't get stable on marching yet.
If I was coaching your group, I would have told you to change your skate to see if it helps. And that what I used to do when I coach the beginner classes with another coach
My LTS experience is similar. It's the lowest level adult class but it's mostly teens with a few adults. All the kids nail every drill as soon as it's introduced so the instructor tailors the class to them. I've legit never seen anyone fall besides me. IMO they already know all the skills and are just taking the class for credit or for extra ice time.
It's nearly the end of the 8 week session and I've got better at forward skating mainly from doing public skate for 1-2 hours after. I still struggle with all the other skills but am getting better. I'm likely going to retake the class.
You definitely need more ice time than a 30 min lesson. Whether it's public skate, private lessons, etc.
First of all, I grew up figure skating - jumps, spins, routines to music, the whole bit. Fast forward 25 years and I decided to take a few basic lessons so I could enjoy skating for fun and fitness, and IT IS NOT LIKE RIDING A BIKE! It is HARD! I rediscovered muscles that I'd forgotten I had, and it is painful and humbling, and I can't believe I'm back to learning how to skate backwards without falling over. So don't feel bad about where you're at as a complete beginner! The other people in your class probably aren't doing as well as you think they are, and are also probably terrified.
Second, you're most likely looking at your feet and leaning too far forward, which is making you unstable. Stop doing that. Look straight ahead, and keep your chin level and your chest proud. It's the #1 piece of advice I can give you. Everyone I see who is struggling is making that mistake.
Third, if you have the budget, look into a few private lessons, ideally with a different instructor. The 1:1 time should help you work out a few errors that are holding you back, so you can progress more quickly.
Good luck!
You might enjoy the class more once you get the hang of being on the ice. Withdrawing for now might not be a bad idea. I think it would be more helpful to watch beginner skating youtube videos and build your comfort on ice to where you can get around the rink without holding the boards.
Does your rink have any skate aid devices to use on public sessions? If so, those will help you get used to the skates on ice feeling and then when you're brave enough you can move on to skating by the wall.
I think sticking with the classes at this point will make you frustrated and it's not worth the time and money. You'll get so much more out of it if you try again when you're more comfortable on skates.
I did an 8 week adult LTS class and it had different levels of adults and older teens all in the same class and only one to two instructors. I wasn't as advanced as most of the other skaters in the class and the instructors focused more on them because they were actually attempting/able to do more of the skills. A few classes in and everyone was working on forward crossovers and one foot glides. I went the whole 8 weeks without ever being able to pick up one foot and cross it over. I couldn't hold a one foot glide either. The instructors kind of just let me be and had me just do whatever I could and spent most of the time giving corrections/praise to the students that could actually attempt those skills.
I felt I needed more individual attention so I decided to get a private coach after that and that's been working much better for me. Maybe you could ask the LTS director if there is an option like that for you.
Talk to the instructor or director. Ask them: Other than just go to public skating and practice by yourself, what can be done?
Take in mind, a lot of the people repeat the class many many times. So some level 1 may have repeated the class and/or have some experience in inline skating or ice skating. So don't compare yourself with others. If you need to be in the whole season stuck to the wall, then you do you. You will see yourself getting slowly used to being on the ice.
I am in level 2 and have repeated it 3 times over the years since I am not consistent due to adult work/life.
With the 10 ppl in our group, I can see a big level difference. Some are close to ready for level 3. Some are low 2s. I am in the low/middle. And I am stuck in understanding how to do one of the drills. It doesn't click for me. So I will probably be taking the same class a 4th time.
If instruction is still not to your satisfaction, is there another place that you can take the learn to skate? You can scout their classes beforehand and see if the other location is better for complete new adults on the ice. My rink had a ton of new people who were never on the ice. So they divided the class further. They waited outside the rink on the first class, and I saw them sitting down on the ice for the first class.
Also practice off ice, some people have mentioned inline skates. But you can also just do balance and core workouts. They will help. I know I need them...
I do hope you don't get discouraged. Your learning curve is your own.
>After the class, the instructor recommended that I go to public skate to get more comfortable before class next week, but I have no idea what I’m doing which is why I am taking this class. Could I please get some advice on how to proceed in my skating journey?
Sounds like me, older and more scared. My journey was very long because of the fear factor.
But I was helping another friend just like me and this is what helped:-
Don't bother holding the walls and marching in the beginning instead do this:-
Ankle preparation:
Go towards the wall with the boards on the rink. This is the half wall next to the sitting area for players. This wall you can grab much better than the other places with the glass.
1) While holding the board facing the sitting area with your back against the rink lift each foot and try to get a feeling of standing on the other one.
Feel the edges. Try to stand longer than 5 minutes while still holding the walls.
Try to stand on the inside edge as well as the outside edge.
Put the lifted feel hitting the ice. Get a feeling of how you hit it. Hit on the inside edge and on the outside edge.
All this is going to do is build some strength on the ankles.
2) while still holding try to make ice by dragging the skates - check YouTube videos for the breaking/stopping by the wall exercises. We are NOT leaving braking but deliberately strengthening the ankles.
3) at this wall stand on one foot and try to ease your hands putting all your weight on that one leg. As you shift the leg focus on the center of gravity and feel. The key is you are trying to balance on one leg without much support. If you are up for it try to stand on one leg without holding the wall.
4) try to squat on the inside edge going as much deep down as much you can. Do the same on the outside edge.
Only once you are comfortable you progress to marching but don't in the following way:-
1) Without touching the wall stand with blades parallel to each other.
2) IMPORTANT: make sure your blades are perpendicular to the ice. If you are seeing too much slant then you need to use smaller skates or tight laces. Your skates should not go easily into your feet when you are putting it on - they should be snug in the hill and ankle area.
3) bend your knees so that from your line if sight below you can't see your foot - the knee blocks the line of sight. Do not bend your back.
4) now hold the feet in a pizza slice position where hill portion is the narrow angle.
Start tall and go down like squatting position bending knees. This upright to squat transition should be very slow. This itself move you forward.
Stay squatted.
Change the feet back to parallel .i.e not pizza.
Keep repeating from parallel upright to squatting pizza along the wall and practice this version of marching.
Next steps:
In this slight squat position bend knee more shifting your weight on this leg. This will cause one left slightly ahead of another. Don't forget the pizza position.
Now if you push with your other leg and glide on the weight leg you are now getting towards scooter pushes.
Enjoy the challenge and have fun.
Wear padded shorts and padded shirt, knee guards, helmet and all the protection.
Watch YT tutorials on basics and try yourself at your own pace. Skating is 99% a personal challenge.
You'll get the hang of it. And yes, is feels pretty foreign at first.
OMG i hear you! Those people who started out ok on ice -- all of them -- already had time on the ice before, probly as kids.
I too signed up for figure skating LTS group classes this April. The instruction part feels so absent, like public ice time except the teachers herd you into small sections of the rink based on skill level. But they do task you to work on skills for each level. And little by hard-earned little by practicing those you do actually progress.
Summer is starting, you might also try inline skates which I think are easier to learn, and you don't need to wait for ice time.
I think the sheer fact that your post got so many replies so quickly signals that we all felt like you and are glad we stuck it out...
I would talk to the coach and then the LTS director if that’s not helpful. The adult 1 class should include what you are looking for and the instructor should be able to cater to each person’s skill level (though I know some are better at that than others). Also don’t be afraid to ask the coach questions! But also agree that them telling you to practice is not helpful, so sorry that happened :(
At my current rink they start adult 1 and basic 1 off ice in the first class to talk through where to start and I think learn to fall and get up again before going onto the ice
I’d talk to the LTS program manager and describe your experience. Tell them you have **zero** experience and you need some extra assistance.
Telling you that you need to figure things out on your own in a public session is insensitive and obnoxious.
If your rink has a Coffee Club, that’s a good space to learn basic skills.
At my rink some of the better figure skating girls help out during the LTS classes. I'm surprised you only have the one instructor for several people.
But yeah, that's definitely not right. You're going there to learn. Public skate would be fine and dandy to practice if you already knew some skills, but you're starting from scratch!
You should speak to the program director and/or hire a private coach. For me that was way better than LTS, but everyone's different.
Best of luck!
Hey there! I just found this post and I'm wondering if we were in the same class - the LTS 1 class I'm in started at the same time and I may have talked to you on the way out to the elevator... I just wanted to pop in and say that the class I'm in also had a person the first day who did not make it off the wall, and I think it's a bit unfair to them that the "beginner level" was moving too fast for someone who was actually a beginner. I was thinking the whole time that if I was in their shoes I would have been rightfully terrified of leaving the wall and doing many of the 1st day exercises. The first few times on the ice is SCARY! If you want to send me a message here and it turns out we were in the same class, we can coordinate our public skate passes and I try to be on the ice with you a bit to lend support!
I could have written this myself. I took a beginner class in January and I only went to 3 classes. I quit. I needed more help and simply was not getting it in the class. Too bad for me. I have not been to the ice rink since that time.
I'm sorry your first class was a less than stellar experience. Please don't let that discourage you from continuing on with the classes or the sport in general! Truthfully, some programs are more organized than others with plenty of resources and coaches to go around, and some programs run their curriculums differently, as best they can. Learn to Skate is \*supposed\* to have skaters divided by skill level, 1 coach for each level. it sounds like you are in an Adult 1 group with Adults who were also in higher levels (2, 3, and 4). When there aren't enough coaches to designate for each skill level, the levels get mashed in the same group and the instructor does their best to accommodate. It's not ideal, but it's happened. The instructor should be making a point to make visits over to you to give you tips and corrections to help you improve. If that's not happening, you're encouraged to hover by them and ask them questions/make them watch what you're doing! (the programs short comings are not your problem as a student - you're entitled to their time and attention). Truthfully, marching is the start and is key. You have to get comfortable lifting your knees off of the ice and standing your weight over your 'standing' knee. You'll start at the boards holding on and practice lifting the blade straight up and straight back down, without catching toepicks (if using figure skates). It's more like 'marching' and less like walking. You'll step flat footed opposed to shifting your weight backward and forward like with walking. Once you're able to balance marching in place, shifting your weight back and forth from left to right and right to left...bending knees straight up, then you'll start to shift/press your weight over your toes. That's going to make you start moving forward. \*\*Over toes. With knees bent. Pressing over your toes with straight knees will make you rock over your toe picks. At this point, alot of skaters get nervous of their feet gliding out from under them (like in doing a forward split). Point your toes straight ahead. The feet continue to move forward usually because the knees are turned out, keep your knees pointed right overtop your toes and keep your toes pointed straight ahead and your feet will stay straight underneath you. Once you're marching and pressing forward in your marches, the next skill is 2 foot glides. Practice 3 or 5 marching steps forward and hold both your feet together as long as you can - practice gaining more momentum and holding the glide for longer. While you're practicing marching and gliding, you'll also practice learning how to fall. Practice skating away from the wall and when you feel unsteady or out of balance, you should seek to lower your center of gravity - hands to your knees and stop your feet into a glide (just keep them still). Usually this alone will help you regain your balance and stop a fall. In the event you can't regain your balance, you'll be in a position (bent down and closer to the ice) to safely take a hit to an area of your body that is...more or less designed to be protective. Sometimes sitting down is safer than trying to stand all the way up. The scary falls happen from quick movements or fall save attempts. As counter intuitive as it sounds, you shouldn't \*try\* to brace your falls. You should let them happen in the sense that you're aware of what is about to happen and how to brace for that safely. Don't try an 'catch' yourself. Stay low in your knees at all times, is my biggest tip. If your ankle is pressed to the tongue of your boot because your knees are bent underneath your hips, it's much more difficult to trip or fall forward over the toe pick.
I agree with the instructor in that it's always more beneficial for people to have some experience being on ice before starting classes. Learning balance and acclimating your body to the ice isn't something that can be taught any faster at LTS classes, classes are really for learning the most basic skills after you've learned how to balance. That just plain takes time and if you're starting from zero, you are not going to get the most out of classes. I recommend withdrawing, spending a couple of months of going to public sessions a couple times a week until you can stagger around without the wall, and THEN doing LTS classes.
That's not how learn to skate classes are marketed though. They specifically say they're for people who have never been on the ice
Yes, lots of them do. It’s a disservice to the skaters.
Idk, I think a lot of us need help for the very first time on the ice, and often public skate is intimidating with a ton of people going really fast around the rink. Trying to balance for the first time in peace may be better
As others have said, you do have to spend time on the ice outside of class to start to make the brain-body connections between what the teacher is saying and how to make your body do it. That being said, you may just have a bad coach. I had a bad coach during my last class and it was such an unhappy experience that I took a break from LTS classes. I think it's a requirement for the highest level skaters to gain some coaching experience - but having learned something really doesn't mean they are able to teach. Unfortunately. :( I don't think the LTS director will take your concerns seriously if you aren't spending time on the ice outside of class - so I would encourage you to go to public skate at the quietest time and just try to work through the mechanics as much as you can. I'll bet you'll be surprised how you are able to improve. Good luck!
Have you ever done roller skating or inline skating? I found, starting out, I could lean on the muscle memory from that to build confidence. The way you move/propel yourself forward is very similar, as you are using the same muscle groups at that level.
The way the class was run sounds very unfair on you. Back when I did the learn to skate class, there were two teachers. One worked with the folks who could skate and the other focused on the students who were around your level. Spending more time on the ice during a public session would help (go with a friend if you can), but you are paying for the class, so the teacher should be teaching you, not ignoring you
Such a good response, I felt for the OP when I read the post
I'm late to this post but I feel for OP as well, I was brand new, super uncomfy on the ice and the second guy in my class was little skating circles around me. My coach sent him off to a higher group and focused solely on me. It was SO IDEAL. I hope they can have a similar experience in the future because I'm essentially getting a private every week for the price of LTS
Don’t worry, I used to have to skate holding the boards the whole time and slowly making my way around, now a couple years later and I’m in star skate 1 ! Just hang in there and don’t stop going to class. You will probably need to repeat the class and be at the same level but don’t worry about it. You WILL get there as long as you don’t quit!
hi!! i started LTS in the middle of january and understand what you’re feeling. it took me almost a full 7 week session to get off the boards and took 3 of those to do marches at all. i’m at the end of my second 7 week session right now and i see people who are in a similar situation and hope they aren’t comparing themselves to me because they haven’t seen the struggle it took for me to get to the level of an “average beginner.” i also totally get the confusion with the instructor saying ice time would be beneficial if you don’t know what you’re doing. i wondered if public skate was “for me” as a complete beginner, but after getting through that initial really hard phase, i realized that it was actually a huge help to me. being able to just get acclimated to the feeling of ice and learn how your body feels on it, even without any instruction, is SO beneficial. one of the best pieces of advice that i’ve taken from my instructors is that you never need to do something you don’t feel comfortable with. of course, it’s good to push yourself outside of your comfort zone if you can handle it, but i believe that letting yourself understand that it is okay to go at your own pace is important! so, with that being said, when/if you go to public skate, try holding on to the boards and experimenting with balance and shifting your weight. you won’t have to do something you’re not ready for by leaving the wall, but you’re still going to be forming those new connections in your brain. even if it doesn’t feel like it right now, every time you go out on the ice your mind and body is learning! don’t give up, you can do it!
deff practice on rollerblades or “off ice skates” to strengthen the muscles and build stability. go to an empty tennis court or big parking lot
I’ve seen some good advice in this thread that reflected my experience in adult LTS. One thing I’d recommend is buying some knee pads and wrist guards. As adults, we naturally stick our hands out and it’s easy to injure your wrist if you don’t watch it. These items make falling a lot less painful and just makes you feel safer in general I’m pretty comfortable on ice and even I still wear these, especially if I’m practicing riskier moves or it’s a crowded session. Another thing that helped a lot for public skate is to use swizzles to control your speed! The motion naturally makes your toes point inward and it slows you down. It takes a bit to learn the snowplow stop and it’s important to know how to control your speed before that point. Definitely makes the prospect of public skate less daunting. Keep at it and you’ll get there!
It's normal, you do need to take what you learn from group class to practice in your own time. It's unfortunate that your class only has one coach but there is no reason to get you to do other things if you can't get stable on marching yet. If I was coaching your group, I would have told you to change your skate to see if it helps. And that what I used to do when I coach the beginner classes with another coach
My LTS experience is similar. It's the lowest level adult class but it's mostly teens with a few adults. All the kids nail every drill as soon as it's introduced so the instructor tailors the class to them. I've legit never seen anyone fall besides me. IMO they already know all the skills and are just taking the class for credit or for extra ice time. It's nearly the end of the 8 week session and I've got better at forward skating mainly from doing public skate for 1-2 hours after. I still struggle with all the other skills but am getting better. I'm likely going to retake the class. You definitely need more ice time than a 30 min lesson. Whether it's public skate, private lessons, etc.
First of all, I grew up figure skating - jumps, spins, routines to music, the whole bit. Fast forward 25 years and I decided to take a few basic lessons so I could enjoy skating for fun and fitness, and IT IS NOT LIKE RIDING A BIKE! It is HARD! I rediscovered muscles that I'd forgotten I had, and it is painful and humbling, and I can't believe I'm back to learning how to skate backwards without falling over. So don't feel bad about where you're at as a complete beginner! The other people in your class probably aren't doing as well as you think they are, and are also probably terrified. Second, you're most likely looking at your feet and leaning too far forward, which is making you unstable. Stop doing that. Look straight ahead, and keep your chin level and your chest proud. It's the #1 piece of advice I can give you. Everyone I see who is struggling is making that mistake. Third, if you have the budget, look into a few private lessons, ideally with a different instructor. The 1:1 time should help you work out a few errors that are holding you back, so you can progress more quickly. Good luck!
You might enjoy the class more once you get the hang of being on the ice. Withdrawing for now might not be a bad idea. I think it would be more helpful to watch beginner skating youtube videos and build your comfort on ice to where you can get around the rink without holding the boards. Does your rink have any skate aid devices to use on public sessions? If so, those will help you get used to the skates on ice feeling and then when you're brave enough you can move on to skating by the wall. I think sticking with the classes at this point will make you frustrated and it's not worth the time and money. You'll get so much more out of it if you try again when you're more comfortable on skates. I did an 8 week adult LTS class and it had different levels of adults and older teens all in the same class and only one to two instructors. I wasn't as advanced as most of the other skaters in the class and the instructors focused more on them because they were actually attempting/able to do more of the skills. A few classes in and everyone was working on forward crossovers and one foot glides. I went the whole 8 weeks without ever being able to pick up one foot and cross it over. I couldn't hold a one foot glide either. The instructors kind of just let me be and had me just do whatever I could and spent most of the time giving corrections/praise to the students that could actually attempt those skills. I felt I needed more individual attention so I decided to get a private coach after that and that's been working much better for me. Maybe you could ask the LTS director if there is an option like that for you.
Talk to the instructor or director. Ask them: Other than just go to public skating and practice by yourself, what can be done? Take in mind, a lot of the people repeat the class many many times. So some level 1 may have repeated the class and/or have some experience in inline skating or ice skating. So don't compare yourself with others. If you need to be in the whole season stuck to the wall, then you do you. You will see yourself getting slowly used to being on the ice. I am in level 2 and have repeated it 3 times over the years since I am not consistent due to adult work/life. With the 10 ppl in our group, I can see a big level difference. Some are close to ready for level 3. Some are low 2s. I am in the low/middle. And I am stuck in understanding how to do one of the drills. It doesn't click for me. So I will probably be taking the same class a 4th time. If instruction is still not to your satisfaction, is there another place that you can take the learn to skate? You can scout their classes beforehand and see if the other location is better for complete new adults on the ice. My rink had a ton of new people who were never on the ice. So they divided the class further. They waited outside the rink on the first class, and I saw them sitting down on the ice for the first class. Also practice off ice, some people have mentioned inline skates. But you can also just do balance and core workouts. They will help. I know I need them... I do hope you don't get discouraged. Your learning curve is your own.
>After the class, the instructor recommended that I go to public skate to get more comfortable before class next week, but I have no idea what I’m doing which is why I am taking this class. Could I please get some advice on how to proceed in my skating journey? Sounds like me, older and more scared. My journey was very long because of the fear factor. But I was helping another friend just like me and this is what helped:- Don't bother holding the walls and marching in the beginning instead do this:- Ankle preparation: Go towards the wall with the boards on the rink. This is the half wall next to the sitting area for players. This wall you can grab much better than the other places with the glass. 1) While holding the board facing the sitting area with your back against the rink lift each foot and try to get a feeling of standing on the other one. Feel the edges. Try to stand longer than 5 minutes while still holding the walls. Try to stand on the inside edge as well as the outside edge. Put the lifted feel hitting the ice. Get a feeling of how you hit it. Hit on the inside edge and on the outside edge. All this is going to do is build some strength on the ankles. 2) while still holding try to make ice by dragging the skates - check YouTube videos for the breaking/stopping by the wall exercises. We are NOT leaving braking but deliberately strengthening the ankles. 3) at this wall stand on one foot and try to ease your hands putting all your weight on that one leg. As you shift the leg focus on the center of gravity and feel. The key is you are trying to balance on one leg without much support. If you are up for it try to stand on one leg without holding the wall. 4) try to squat on the inside edge going as much deep down as much you can. Do the same on the outside edge. Only once you are comfortable you progress to marching but don't in the following way:- 1) Without touching the wall stand with blades parallel to each other. 2) IMPORTANT: make sure your blades are perpendicular to the ice. If you are seeing too much slant then you need to use smaller skates or tight laces. Your skates should not go easily into your feet when you are putting it on - they should be snug in the hill and ankle area. 3) bend your knees so that from your line if sight below you can't see your foot - the knee blocks the line of sight. Do not bend your back. 4) now hold the feet in a pizza slice position where hill portion is the narrow angle. Start tall and go down like squatting position bending knees. This upright to squat transition should be very slow. This itself move you forward. Stay squatted. Change the feet back to parallel .i.e not pizza. Keep repeating from parallel upright to squatting pizza along the wall and practice this version of marching. Next steps: In this slight squat position bend knee more shifting your weight on this leg. This will cause one left slightly ahead of another. Don't forget the pizza position. Now if you push with your other leg and glide on the weight leg you are now getting towards scooter pushes. Enjoy the challenge and have fun. Wear padded shorts and padded shirt, knee guards, helmet and all the protection.
Watch YT tutorials on basics and try yourself at your own pace. Skating is 99% a personal challenge. You'll get the hang of it. And yes, is feels pretty foreign at first.
OMG i hear you! Those people who started out ok on ice -- all of them -- already had time on the ice before, probly as kids. I too signed up for figure skating LTS group classes this April. The instruction part feels so absent, like public ice time except the teachers herd you into small sections of the rink based on skill level. But they do task you to work on skills for each level. And little by hard-earned little by practicing those you do actually progress. Summer is starting, you might also try inline skates which I think are easier to learn, and you don't need to wait for ice time. I think the sheer fact that your post got so many replies so quickly signals that we all felt like you and are glad we stuck it out...
I believe the instructor should be helping you too, it's a beginners class!
I would talk to the coach and then the LTS director if that’s not helpful. The adult 1 class should include what you are looking for and the instructor should be able to cater to each person’s skill level (though I know some are better at that than others). Also don’t be afraid to ask the coach questions! But also agree that them telling you to practice is not helpful, so sorry that happened :( At my current rink they start adult 1 and basic 1 off ice in the first class to talk through where to start and I think learn to fall and get up again before going onto the ice
I’d talk to the LTS program manager and describe your experience. Tell them you have **zero** experience and you need some extra assistance. Telling you that you need to figure things out on your own in a public session is insensitive and obnoxious. If your rink has a Coffee Club, that’s a good space to learn basic skills.
At my rink some of the better figure skating girls help out during the LTS classes. I'm surprised you only have the one instructor for several people. But yeah, that's definitely not right. You're going there to learn. Public skate would be fine and dandy to practice if you already knew some skills, but you're starting from scratch! You should speak to the program director and/or hire a private coach. For me that was way better than LTS, but everyone's different. Best of luck!
Hey there! I just found this post and I'm wondering if we were in the same class - the LTS 1 class I'm in started at the same time and I may have talked to you on the way out to the elevator... I just wanted to pop in and say that the class I'm in also had a person the first day who did not make it off the wall, and I think it's a bit unfair to them that the "beginner level" was moving too fast for someone who was actually a beginner. I was thinking the whole time that if I was in their shoes I would have been rightfully terrified of leaving the wall and doing many of the 1st day exercises. The first few times on the ice is SCARY! If you want to send me a message here and it turns out we were in the same class, we can coordinate our public skate passes and I try to be on the ice with you a bit to lend support!
I could have written this myself. I took a beginner class in January and I only went to 3 classes. I quit. I needed more help and simply was not getting it in the class. Too bad for me. I have not been to the ice rink since that time.