Last Saturday Miri took a couple of free introductory classes at the Arkansas Skatium. The first class was "Learning to Skate" which was goes in the direction of figure skating and was pretty busy. The second class was a Hockey class which starts off with learning how to skate and, of course, goes in the direction of learning to play hockey. Miri was really excited about this in the morning, and we immediately put on her hockey skates that she got for her birthday and put her on the ice for the "Learning to Skate" class.
She was the only one out there with hockey skates on as everyone else had figure skates. There were probably 60 kids on the ice with instructors. Miri's excitement turned to intimidation and second guessing what she was doing as soon as she it the ice. She inched her way along the boards with the help of another girl to make her way over to her class. Once there they did a few things to try to get use to being on skates, like starting on your knees and getting up and tiny stepping along the ice.
There were a couple of times where I could see her get a little overwhelmed and start to teer up some, but both times she seemed to just put her head down and continue on.
Towards the end of the class she was able to do a little more by her self and seemed to have more confidence! Once the class was over they sectioned off the rink so the advanced classes would continue on one end and the younger ones could free skate for a while. I got to join her on the ice for this part. :)
Once the session was over we left the ice. To my surprise, Miri was gushing about the experience! Despite the intimidation and difficulties, she really loved the experience and was really looking forward to her Hockey Class trial. With 45 minutes to spare, we then went and fitted her with loner equipment...
This time, with all the equipment on, she wasn't as intimidated by how slippery the ice was. She was still taking it slow though and still has some confidence to build, but she never gave up!
After a while she got a skate aid to help and to also let the instructor give some time with the other kids. All the while on the other end of the rink, there were the much older kids doing drills with pucks and a goalie. Soon enough, Miri was pushing around a puck with the skate aid herself!
Rink side, I ended up talking with Miri's instructor when she realized I was her Dad and she asked if I'd like to join them on the ice and give Miri some more one on one with the skating. (I use to volunteer teach the basics with in-line skates, so in this case, I could be helpful!) I went ahead, laced up, and got out there on the ice to spend the last 30 minutes with Miri. We had a good time just slowly getting use to being on the ice. Soon enough, it was the small kids turn to play a game across the width of the ice. Before that started, I took these two videos of Miri in her first Hockey Class!
In the end, as we left the ice, Miri was through the roof! She LOVED it! So we immediately ordered her equipment and singed her up for a full set of classes (starts tomorrow morning too). The instructor even asked if I could help out too and teach skating for those that are just learning, like Miri. I'm really looking forward to that as I get to join Miri on the ice every time! (I also signed up for the D-League. I'll do some drop in drills this Sunday, a free drop in game this Wednesday, then the Monday after that is the first game of the season. All games will be on Monday nights.) Miri and I are both excited about our new hockey life and Miri's already asleep now to dream about tomorrows class! :)
