Are ice skating lessons worth it? Absolutely yes! Signing up for ice skating lessons gives you an edge and flattens your learning curve. It’s hard to make it on your own. That’s why you need to walk with a professional ice skating trainer to guide you along the way.
The best way to go about it is to enroll in ice skating lessons. Below is the quick rundown of why ice skating lessons are worth it!
- The Attention of a Professional Ice Skating Trainer Gives You an Edge
- You get to learn the Right Ice Skating Skills and Techniques Early
- You get to Correct Wrong Techniques that can be Problematic in the Future
- A Trainer follows up with you until you succeed
- Helps to Boost your Confidence when Ice Skating
- Helps to Improve your Commitment Level
- An Ice Skating trainer helps you stay away from Ice Skating Dangers
Are Ice Skating Lessons Worth it?
But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Below is a comprehensive view of why ice skating lessons are worth it. Guess what! You don’t want to miss out on this. You’ll be glad you didn’t! So, without much ado, let’s get to it!
1. The Attention of a Professional Ice Skating Trainer Gives You an Edge
It’s one thing to be a lone ranger and another to walk with others. Like it is in the old saying, ‘if you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to go far, then walk with others. The same is true for ice skating or learning other life skills.
There are several self-taught ice skaters out there. However, if you listen to what they’ve gone through to be where they’re at, you’ll see that the struggle isn’t worth it. Having the attention of a professional trainer goes a long way because it gives you an edge and flattens your learning curve.
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2. You get to learn the Right Ice Skating Skills and Techniques Early
In addition, you get to learn the right skills at the right time. Ice skating is a sport, so you can opt for figure skating, speed skating, hockey skating, or recreational ice skating. The first three disciplines are more professional and competitive than recreational ice skating that’s done for leisure.
If you want to be a professional ice skater, it’s important to learn the right skills early because it’s the only way to compete favorably with others. Most importantly, you need specialized trainers for each ice skating discipline to benefit from the coaching.
Why is this important, you ask? See, each discipline uses unique techniques and skills. So, it wouldn’t be in order to go for general lessons. Let’s take a look at this breakdown!
- Figure skating: is done in singles, pairs, and teams and follows strict rules of engagement. You can’t know these rules unless a trainer informs you. Also, the sport involves performing jumps, spins, spirals, and figurative dances. You need a trainer to teach you precision, proper balance, and control when performing figure skating tricks.
- Ice hockey skating: is a contact sport comprising six players. You need professional or basic level training lessons to learn the ins and outs of the sport.
- Ice speed skating: involves racing on racing tracks. Contenders cover fixed distances on long and short tracks. Speed skating also involves marathon skating. You need ice skating lessons to learn how to go about racing competitively.
Other cool ice skating tricks and techniques that you learn early include crossovers, flat spins, stopping techniques, speed control, and push and glide techniques. The truth is, you can learn these skills on your own. The problem is, it’ll take you time. But with the help of ice skating lessons, this should take you little time.
3. You get to Correct Wrong Techniques that can be Problematic in the Future
Wrong techniques are easy to acquire but a hassle to correct down the road. If you’re self-teaching yourself, there’s a high chance you’ll pick the wrong techniques. Since there’s no one to correct you, it’s possible to carry on with the wrong technique for a long time.
What is the right technique, you ask? The correct technique involves;
- Proper edge control. If you’re using the wrong technique, your feet will either pronate or supinate. However, the correct technique ensures your skates are standing straight.
- Correct body position. The correct ice skating position involves bending low. The knees should be above your toes and your shoulders over your hips. This helps to distribute your body weight to your toe balls give you balance and stability.
- Falling safely. Falling is normal when ice skating since accidents are inevitable. However, you’ll learn the correct ways to fall to avoid potential injuries when you have a trainer.
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4. A Trainers follows up with you until you succeed
Many trainers never rest until their trainees succeed. That’s why it’s important to have one in your arsenal. It’s a good feeling to know you’ve got someone that genuinely cares about your success in ice skating. That’s why you need to enroll in the lessons.
5. Helps to Boost your Confidence when Ice Skating
Besides teaching you how to skate, trainers also work on your mental well-being by instilling positivity. You only need someone to believe in you to boost your confidence and self-esteem. The good news is, you can find this by enrolling in ice skating lessons.
6. Helps to Improve your Commitment Level
Ice skating can be fun and challenging at the same time. Many times, life gets in the way because of many life commitments. Nonetheless, you still have to maintain a regular schedule to learn the techniques quickly.
Sadly, without a positive push, it can be hard to keep up with regular learning. The good news is, with a trainer by your side, you have someone pushing you to greatness even when you don’t feel like it.
7. An Ice skating trainer helps you stay away from Ice Skating Dangers
Ice skating can be dangerous because of the nature of ice skating rinks and ice skates. So, it’s essential to keep safe to prevent potential injuries like concussions, broken bones, and sore muscles.
Without an experienced trainer, it can be hard to know the potential ice skating risks and dangers to look out for and how to stay safe.
How much are Ice Skating Lessons?
The cost of ice skating lessons varies from place to place depending on the ice skating discipline (Figure skating, speed ice skating, hockey ice skating, or recreational ice-skating), rink admission, skate rental, and nature of lessons (private or group).
However, ice skating lessons’ costs range between $49 and $150 for a series of lessons. The hourly rate is between $5 and $200, with an average of $44 per hour. Lastly, rink admission fees will cost between $5 and $30 per hour per week, including skate rental fee.
Since there are two options, you can opt for either. The fixed-rate and series of ice skating lessons lasting between six and 12 weeks, or the hourly arrangements. The hourly plan is suitable for busy schedules and when you need a flexible learning mode.
Are Ice Skating Lessons Worth it? Wrapping Up
Are ice skating lessons worth it? Absolutely yes! It’s hard to make it out on your own. That’s why you need a professional trainer to help you out in your journey of becoming an ice skater. The lessons give you an edge to learn the right skills at the right time while avoiding wrong techniques that can be hard to correct down the road.
If you’re looking to get started in ice skating, I believe you found this post helpful. Also, if you don’t have a trainer in mind, you can find some online by using phrases like ‘ice skating trainers near me. Alternatively, you can visit your nearest ice skating rink to chat with a trainer.
