“Wow, did you see that!? That was awesome! What was that?” I asked the skater sitting on the bench next to me. I had just witnessed the most amazing jump as he put my skates on in the lobby, preparing me to step on the ice for the first time after a hiatus of nearly a decade. The skater next to me replied nonchalantly, “Oh, that? That’s called the triple flip… David is a top level skater and he does it all the time. He shows off…”
I will never forget that day because until then I had never witnessed a jump this close and in person. I had only ever seen ice skating on television, where professional figure skaters seemed to perform jumps effortlessly, almost as if they were dancing, rather than racing across the ice at 20 miles per hour. And I have to tell you, nothing prepares you to see that kind of power and speed up close. What I also remember is seeing David’s skates almost at eye level with him when they reached the top of the boards that day, almost 4 feet off the ground! That’s what I call flying!
At that rink, I got to see a lot of cool skating like that all the time. It was my new skating rink and I was still an amateur skater, just getting to know the sport. Seeing the raw power of that jump and the perfect landing made me want to learn how to jump and spin and do all those tricks I saw the other skaters do, and I decided to do what David did that day…
But my skating career started much earlier, when I was about 9 years old. It all started one summer when my mom asked me if she wanted to have a hobby for the summer. She introduced me to the idea of learning to roller skate or ice skate because she thought that a hobby with an exercise aspect would be good for my health. Initially, I thought of skating, but the streets around our house were uneven and had many cracks, making it difficult to skate, so I chose ice skating because there was an ice rink near our house. It was that simple!
I returned to the sport at the age of 21 and since then I have learned a lot of spins and a lot of jumps and all the moves in between. And yes… me until the flip that I saw David perform that fateful day. Over the years I took new elements, practiced them, fell down quite a few times, got up and finally mastered them.
I’ll tell you, there’s no greater feeling in the world than learning to spin so fast it feels like you’re floating on ice, or the brief weightlessness you feel when executing a jump, it’s almost like flying. And learn to control the edges, nail the landing and move through the footwork like a tune played before you. Some of these moves have taken me years to master, but they have been the best years of my life, because not only have I learned the physical moves, but I have gained the confidence that comes with mastering difficult physical routines!
In addition to the learning elements, I have also learned other things along the way, such as discipline and perseverance, attention to detail and grace, strength and confidence, all of which have served me well on and off the ice. I spent many hours on the court practicing and working hard on my elements and I did it as often as possible, not because anyone told me to, but because I loved it! I even went as far as taking gymnastics and dance classes to improve body awareness and grace, and trained off the ice so I could become strong and confident. All of this spilled over into other aspects of my life and created the person I am today.
I should mention that I did almost all of my skating as an adult. I know ice skating as a sport can be intimidating, especially for adults, but regardless of your age, you can participate at whatever level you want. And the best part of learning to ice skate as an adult is that you get to choose how often to participate in this amazing sport. You can just do it once a week, recreationally and just have fun, or you can do it every day if you want for an amazing workout.
Another great aspect is that there is no learning barrier. You can take lessons from a professional trainer or just get a learn to skate program and practice on your own, at your own pace and comfort level. The most important thing for adults to realize is that anyone can learn (women and men) and no one is too old! Over my years I have met all ages and people from all walks of life on the ice and have formed great friendships and realized that anyone can learn to skate.
I have been teaching skating for over 15 years and I love passing on the passion for this amazing sport! Please join me on the ice and let me share the joys and personal development it can bring to your life!