Teaching a Young skater...help

[iceholes 0]

I have the daunting task to teach a 3 yr old...4 in March ...to skate.. He wants to learn, asks to go to skating, and loves the Zamboni!

Any suggestions on quality of skate?

Too young to learn?

use a Chair or something similiar?

I dont want him to

"have a bad experience". I want to make it fun so he will continue to want to skate...

any suggestions will be helpful...

[Shtrsdad 0]

You're on the right track. Use a chair or one of those learn to skate things made out of PVC pipe.

At that age, skates are skates with one qualifier. Do your best to get them to fit and (my opinion) don't get the 'Lil Devil' skates. They have what I would describe as a tail on the blade similar to a figure skate. My son became very dependant on that tail and when we went to his size 9 CCMs he had trouble getting his balance for a while.

I shoulda kept those skates. the boot wasn't any bigger than my fist :lol:

[CHIEF22 0]

When my son learned they had those skate aid devices. Like Shtrsdad said, except they are made of steel, like a walker for the ice. I have heard of using 5 gallon pails stacked to do the same thing. Most importantly, get him a helmet of some sort and maybe some elbow pads. They might be built low to the ice, but to them it still hurts like hell. I watched a kid with only a hat on fall one night and hit his head, and I heard the noise through the glass. Don't know why he didn't knock himself out.

As far as starting him at "almost 4", when my son learned there were 3 or 4 kids in his group that were that age, so if he is showing an intrest, let him go for it.

Biggest thing - Have Fun!!

[Icedog03 0]

Its easier for kids to start in figure skates then once they get the hang of it moving to hockey skates.

[scubafrogman 0]

My son could hardly stand in figure skates but can run in hockey skates. He just turned 4 and just started lessons.

The main thing is to let them learn when they are ready. It sounds like you are off to a good start. My son wanted to skate at 3 but was afraid of falling. I gave him time and after seeing daddy fall a lot at his rec. hockey games he over came his fear. :D

My son is in a group of about 4-5 boys learning to skate and the ones that have difficulties with standing use the metal walkers.

Good Luck and have fun!

[iceholes 0]

Thanks Guys... I called the LHS for advise on skates...My friend there recommended ccm 452's (he knows I am a CCM guy) not the lowest on the rung but decent quality... I am not sure that they are a bit much skate @$60 for size tiny 9..

forgot about the helmet... definately grab that...

[ktang 34]

Don't forget some padding for the rump / tailbone, wrists, and elbows.

[Jason Harris 31]

And a back brace for you. ;)

Little kids love to skate: "Again, Daddy! Again!" they would say as I was leaning over to hold them up.

[Cage 0]

And a back brace for you. ;)

Little kids love to skate: "Again, Daddy! Again!" they would say as I was leaning over to hold them up.

That's for sure!

:lol:

[J-Shera 0]

Just make sure the kids got lots of padding and isnt to cold and the experince should be enjoyable.

[scubafrogman 0]

My wife picked out a pair of CCM 52 skates in size 10 for our 4 year old. $49.99 plus tax. A little expensive but my son liked them. They are pretty cute on him.

[sonsplayhockey 0]

My oldest started at 3. He was with us 4 times on a public session then we signed him up for "lets play hockey" classes. 2 sessions into that we put him into skating lessons. All the time he was in figure skates. After about 3 weeks we put him in hockey skates and it was like he never knew how to skate. That only lasted 2 classes. He ended up being the top in the classes. Playing hockey and chasing the puck really modivated him but he is a real go getter. My second son, we had him wearing figure skates on the matting in the lobby of the ice rink while the older one was in his lessons. Gett him used to standing up and falling and getting up on the mat made him really stable. Neither of them needed a walker. One trick I was shown was drop small stuffed animals on the ice and they slowly scoot to pick them up. Doing that they learned stability. I put the second son in 3 skating classes before he played hockey last year at age 3. Oldest is now 6 and second one is now 4. Both play in a rec league hockey for kids ages 5-8. Key thing is do not yell at them or get them to do more than they want. If they get turned off by it, they may never come back. If they want to stop, let them stop and maybe watch other kids. Even in public sessions, they wear thier hockey pants and at least a bike helmet. Nothing is worse than getting hurt. Even elbow pads can help them from the fear of falling. My youngest is not even 2 years old and I had him today for the first time in skates downstairs on the carpet. I'll let him get used to walking in skates first before trying him on the ice.

The rocker on thier first skates (what my 4 year old now wears) is rather flat for hockey skates so it made it really stable. Owning the skates allowed me to make sure they stayed sharp too.

Here is some modivation:

my 4 year old:

http://home.comcast.net/~dditch/crdskate.mpg

My 6 year old:

http://home.comcast.net/~dditch/jedcoast2coast.mpg

[Eazy_b97 1]

The last poster had some great advice. Be aware that your kid(s) will probably listen to a coach/instructor better than you. DEFINATELY work with your kids, but be aware, they view you in a different light because your their father. In addition, make it fun for them. The stuffed animal idea is good. Use the lines on the ice to your advantage once he gets going. Make him do jumps, dives, rolls, etc at the lines and get him to pretend he is somehow in his favourite cartoon. My dad taught Hockey school for years and this was very helpful for him. Back in my day it was Ninja turtles and Ghost Busters.

[jrhky36 1]

i'm thinking about taking my 2 year old skating for the first time also. your advise is great. my wife is very nervous because she has bad knees and i've had my acl replaced. the helmet is a must, i was planning on that. when we get on the ice i was planning on holding my son's hands while he skates between my legs. but i never thought about putting his skates on and letting him walk around the house, thank you sonsplayhockey. all of you have given great advise.

[sonsplayhockey 0]

Easy hit a main point right on the head. I know my kids tend to listen to others better than I. They will also be less likely to give up or shut down. Each kid is different. In a USAHOCKEY coaching clinic they suggested that parents who coach kids should try to swap kids on the ice. That works pretty good if you can get another coach to agree to it.

Above all, make sure they are having fun and use alot of words of encouragement.

[iceholes 0]

wow..great words here... who is available for lessons next week?? ...lol :)

Thanks everyone

[MissConduct 1]

anyone have advice for girls? lol.. last year we took our 2yr old daughter out (3 now) and she hated the "sliperyness" and Dad had to carry her..

help! :D

[Eazy_b97 1]

Work on the basics at home, try and make it fun for her there, then try and get her out to a public skate with a friend (preferably older) who is capable of staying on her feet. It may help motivate her seeing someone around her age, who she knows, doing it.

[ktang 34]

anyone have advice for girls? lol.. last year we took our 2yr old daughter out (3 now) and she hated the "sliperyness" and Dad had to carry her..

help! :D

Same with my son at that age. He was frustrated because everybody was zooming around, and he could only weeble and wobble. Stupid, stupid ice!!

We made it a point to only go to public skating sessions that had skating scooters small enough for him to use, and he started getting the hang of things.

[sonsplayhockey 0]

anyone have advice for girls? lol.. last year we took our 2yr old daughter out (3 now) and she hated the "sliperyness" and Dad had to carry her..

help!  :D

On my son's Atom (1999-2000) team, the best player is a girl! Of the 3 girls I've coached, they all were the best teqnique skaters. I hear they learn faster at that age maybe because they pay attention better.

With both of my boys, I made sure the skates were sharp. Nothing worse than the dull edges of rental skates.

With my 2nd and now my third, I have them wearing skates and walking on the padding at the rink or on the carpet so they get used to getting up and not trying to cross over the feet.

Get them to work on just standing up before making them move.

[finkster 0]

sonsplayhockey, nice videos!