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New Ice Mom ISO advice

MiraiFan

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Disagree--at lower recreational levels, gymnastics is GREAT for building, upper body and core strength. Working muscles in different ways through different sports is only helpful at this point.
 

Nimyue

On the Ice
Joined
May 15, 2018
How does one find an ice dance coach? I assume that will come much later if do ever do go that route.

From your user name, I'm assuming you're actually in the Midwest? If you're in the Detroit area, the three rinks I know of out there all have wonderful dance coaches. But like Ic3Rabbit says, check the website for the skating club, and you should be able to find a coach with an ice dancing background. If you're in a major city, there can be multiple clubs within driving distance. You can find local clubs on USFSA.
 

ayb2

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 2, 2018
I have 2 skaters, 6 and 11 years. The 11 year old is a test track skater, working on her axel. She started in pre-K through learn to skate once a week, and really didn't get more serious about it until 2-3rd grade. The little one cried every time I had the older one at learn to skate because I wouldn't let her on the ice, so I started her in Snowplow Sam at age 2. At age 3, she started basic 2, at age 4, she was in basic 4 (they held her back several times because the local learn to skate coaches didn't want to teach a 3 year old crossovers). She started private lessons once a week at age 4. She started freeskate 1 and waltz jumping right at age 5. She started summer camp half days when she turned 5. Now in first grade at age 6, she skates 4 days a week, about 5 hours per week, 3-4 privates per week. She is high beginner and has all her single jumps except for axel and working on combo camel-sit-scratch-back spin. I would say that she has some potential but many things can happen - kids decide they like other sports, etc. When she was little, we mostly kept her in learn to skate a few times a week, and let her decide how long to stay at the rink. Small children don't go as fast and don't have as much body mass, so they tend to get cold quickly. At age 4, I'd probably increase the number of times per week skating, either public skate or learn to skate, and look for a good coach when in basic 4 or so, when technique and posture starts mattering more - and someone who is good with little kids. You can always change coaches later in life if you need different things, but at least someone who will teach solid technique at the beginning.
 

ayb2

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 2, 2018
I will also state that the 11 year old was a competitive gymnast for 3 years, which took away from her time skating. She really didn't commit to skating until 5th grade. I don't think it helped with her coordination on the ice, but her core strength and jumping height are great. She just doesn't have a good feel for rotations. She also has a tendency towards straight knee instead of soft knees, which I think also makes skating a little harder for her.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Disagree--at lower recreational levels, gymnastics is GREAT for building, upper body and core strength. Working muscles in different ways through different sports is only helpful at this point.

Lower rec levels is fine to still do gymnastics, but if you read what I was saying in my previous posts, if they decide to get very serious about it then that is when you drop gymnastics to build the muscles and core the proper way you need to for advanced levels of figure skating.
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Close! We are in Chicago. We live near Robert Crown in Evanston, if that means anything. Also close to Skokie Skatium, and we have an outdoor ice rink that is seasonally open. So I almost feel like it would be a sin to let that slip by, what with all these elite skaters driving many miles each day to practice.

- - - Updated - - -

My kids are definitely not serious about gymnastics. They are ok with it but not enthused.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Close! We are in Chicago. We live near Robert Crown in Evanston, if that means anything. Also close to Skokie Skatium, and we have an outdoor ice rink that is seasonally open. So I almost feel like it would be a sin to let that slip by, what with all these elite skaters driving many miles each day to practice.

- - - Updated - - -

My kids are definitely not serious about gymnastics. They are ok with it but not enthused.

Be careful with outdoor ice. If it's maintained with a Zamboni then you're ok, but outdoor rinks are rough on blades.
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Close! We are in Chicago. Near Robert Crown, not too far from Skokie Skatium also. Plus seasonal outdoor rink about 5 minute walk. So, really we can’t complain.
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Be careful with outdoor ice. If it's maintained with a Zamboni then you're ok, but outdoor rinks are rough on blades.


Yes they are pretty good with the Zamboni. I’m not too worried about the blades, we have pretty cheap skates at this point. I wa actually going to ask for your advice on choosing new skates for his figure skating camp this summer (about 10 hours on the ice per week, 3 weeks, maybe 4).
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Yes they are pretty good with the Zamboni. I’m not too worried about the blades, we have pretty cheap skates at this point. I wa actually going to ask for your advice on choosing new skates for his figure skating camp this summer (about 10 hours on the ice per week, 3 weeks, maybe 4).

I can help with that, my inbox is open, I'm at an event right now but will get to you as soon as possible. I usually only have breaks here and there to answer right now and then at night. :)
 

bunnybarista

If I risk it all, could you break my fall?~
On the Ice
Joined
May 27, 2018
Close! We are in Chicago. Near Robert Crown, not too far from Skokie Skatium also. Plus seasonal outdoor rink about 5 minute walk. So, really we can’t complain.

I'm going to send you a private message regarding ice dance coaches in the Chicagoland area :)
 

VegMom

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 25, 2017
If she is serious about skating, I would not recommend her staying in gymnastics because the muscles need to be worked and shaped differently for each sport.

Simply look at the body type formed by gymnastics training, and then look at figure skaters, it's vastly different muscle shapes and needs.

Body type is largely determined by genetics. Many many many children do gymnastics when they are young but no matter how hard they work they simply do not become elite gymnasts because they don't have the body type. You cannot look at body types of elite gymnasts and conclude that it's all just because of training. I, personally, was essentially kicked out of gymnastics around age 9 because I got too tall. I know a willowy 11 year old who was fantastic at gymnastics but also too tall. She does not have a 'gymnast body' so now she's trying figure skating and she's doing exceptionally well. Many kids just don't stay in gymnastics long enough to be seen by someone looking at body types 'created' by gymnastics. Remember, Surya Bonaly was competitive in gymnastics and there are plenty of figure skaters who did gymnastics as children.

Please, if your child loves gymnastics, keep them in it. It will help develop coordination, balance, etc. Current advice for all children to best develop their athletic talent, keep them interested in sports, and prevent burnout is to do multiple sports and DO NOT SPECIALIZE until after puberty.

Figure skating is a bit of an exception to this rule, as is gymnastics and other sports that require early specialization, BUT it's important to remember that the advice is generally that early specialization HINDERS childhood development. So don't even consider it until/unless your child shows remarkable talent and you're much farther along in the process.

https://changingthegameproject.com/lets-stop-early-sport-specialization-madness/

I believe you totally, I just find this this so incredibly counter-intuitive. I mean, don’t you need some ability to balance in order to skate? See, my son is amazingly graceful on and off the ice. My daughter is definitely on tn clumsier side in everyday life but she does ok, (not fantastic) at skating, and she truly has a hard time with the balance beam. She is very slow and careful on the ice, which I don’t mind.

Either way, I’m so thankful for the positive input!

Children develop the bulk of their coordination and balance skills until about age 6. This is why early intervention is so helpful for children who show muscle stiffness or clumsiness etc.
Also note that all children become more clumsy during growth spurts.

Many kids quit at this time, they burn out from spending all of their free time at a skating rink and want to move on to other things. This is why there is such a huge drop in numbers from Juv/Int at the regional level.

Skating can get quite expensive, that's for sure. But that's only if/when you're determined that you're going to try to create an elite athlete and go 'all in' on it. There are a lot of ways to cut costs here and there. Most skaters don't pursue it like a career.

Also, this age when lots of kids quit skating is the same age when the majority of kids in all sports quit. Why? It's not just the family's expenses, it's because this age is around puberty and this is when kids are growing rapidly and becoming less coordinated, more moody, more independent, and when this becomes more their choice than the parent's choice. This is particularly true for kids who have specialized early in a sport. So again, my advice is to avoid specializing until/unless it's apparent that your child is not only significantly gifted in this but also super passionate about it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-age-13/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.59b2554e6b56
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Body type is largely determined by genetics. Many many many children do gymnastics when they are young but no matter how hard they work they simply do not become elite gymnasts because they don't have the body type. You cannot look at body types of elite gymnasts and conclude that it's all just because of training. I, personally, was essentially kicked out of gymnastics around age 9 because I got too tall. I know a willowy 11 year old who was fantastic at gymnastics but also too tall. She does not have a 'gymnast body' so now she's trying figure skating and she's doing exceptionally well. Many kids just don't stay in gymnastics long enough to be seen by someone looking at body types 'created' by gymnastics. Remember, Surya Bonaly was competitive in gymnastics and there are plenty of figure skaters who did gymnastics as children.

Please, if your child loves gymnastics, keep them in it. It will help develop coordination, balance, etc. Current advice for all children to best develop their athletic talent, keep them interested in sports, and prevent burnout is to do multiple sports and DO NOT SPECIALIZE until after puberty.

Figure skating is a bit of an exception to this rule, as is gymnastics and other sports that require early specialization, BUT it's important to remember that the advice is generally that early specialization HINDERS childhood development. So don't even consider it until/unless your child shows remarkable talent and you're much farther along in the process.

https://changingthegameproject.com/lets-stop-early-sport-specialization-madness/



Children develop the bulk of their coordination and balance skills until about age 6. This is why early intervention is so helpful for children who show muscle stiffness or clumsiness etc.
Also note that all children become more clumsy during growth spurts.



Skating can get quite expensive, that's for sure. But that's only if/when you're determined that you're going to try to create an elite athlete and go 'all in' on it. There are a lot of ways to cut costs here and there. Most skaters don't pursue it like a career.

Also, this age when lots of kids quit skating is the same age when the majority of kids in all sports quit. Why? It's not just the family's expenses, it's because this age is around puberty and this is when kids are growing rapidly and becoming less coordinated, more moody, more independent, and when this becomes more their choice than the parent's choice. This is particularly true for kids who have specialized early in a sport. So again, my advice is to avoid specializing until/unless it's apparent that your child is not only significantly gifted in this but also super passionate about it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-age-13/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.59b2554e6b56

Totally missed my point about figure skating. I'll just take my knowledge from being an elite skater and training/conditioning and having done gymnastics when younger as well as knowing former elite gymnasts and say: We'll just have to agree to disagree here.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
Please, if your child loves gymnastics, keep them in it. It will help develop coordination, balance, etc. Current advice for all children to best develop their athletic talent, keep them interested in sports, and prevent burnout is to do multiple sports and DO NOT SPECIALIZE until after puberty.

Figure skating is a bit of an exception to this rule, as is gymnastics and other sports that require early specialization, BUT it's important to remember that the advice is generally that early specialization HINDERS childhood development. So don't even consider it until/unless your child shows remarkable talent and you're much farther along in the process.

Lots of children only like one sport much or at all. There's nothing wrong with that and no reason not to specialize of that's the case.

Children develop the bulk of their coordination and balance skills until about age 6. This is why early intervention is so helpful for children who show muscle stiffness or clumsiness etc.

I don't know how true this is, and I don't by any stretch of the imagination mean to sound like I'm discouraging early intervention (I wish I'd had it!) but all hope is definitely not lost after age 6. There is still neuroplasticity at any age. Might I have improved more if I'd gotten my motor skills and balance problems treated before my mid-twenties? Maybe. But I improved beyond my wildest dreams. I'm not sure how common that is, but it does happen.

Also note that all children become more clumsy during growth spurts.
this is when kids are growing rapidly and becoming less coordinated, more moody, more independent, and when this becomes more their choice than the parent's choice.

Not all children have growth spurts. I just grew slowly but steadily and then stopped in my early teens. So did many of my relatives. Growth/puberty didn't affect my coordination at all, and I was certainly never moody.



All children are different, and while there are trends, there's no guarantee that any specific child will follow any of them.

To be blunt, my development was weird as (bleep), and I'd probably be thrown out of any study on child development for being too much of an outlier. But I'm here and skating better than ever, thank God. And I can't be the only person in the history of humanity to ever have developed like I did. So I don't think anyone should be making too many assumptions about how their children will grow/develop.
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Lots of children only like one sport much or at all. There's nothing wrong with that and no reason not to specialize of that's the case.



I don't know how true this is, and I don't by any stretch of the imagination mean to sound like I'm discouraging early intervention (I wish I'd had it!) but all hope is definitely not lost after age 6. There is still neuroplasticity at any age. Might I have improved more if I'd gotten my motor skills and balance problems treated before my mid-twenties? Maybe. But I improved beyond my wildest dreams. I'm not sure how common that is, but it does happen.




Not all children have growth spurts. I just grew slowly but steadily and then stopped in my early teens. So did many of my relatives. Growth/puberty didn't affect my coordination at all, and I was certainly never moody.



All children are different, and while there are trends, there's no guarantee that any specific child will follow any of them.

To be blunt, my development was weird as (bleep), and I'd probably be thrown out of any study on child development for being too much of an outlier. But I'm here and skating better than ever, thank God. And I can't be the only person in the history of humanity to ever have developed like I did. So I don't think anyone should be making too many assumptions about how their children will grow/develop.

What an interesting discussion! Honestly, I’m pretty sure that neither of my kids have a gymnast body type so to speak. My daughter is tall and, while by no means bulky, she is no waif. My son has a more classically athletic build. He does great with speed related sports and has amazing balance and grace. He is ok with gymnastics.
 
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