The RinkFor the not so ready for prime-time players, coaches, referees, and the people that have to live with them. Discuss experiences in local leagues, coaching tips, equipment, and training.
Thanks. I actually think that's the one we just tried on a couple hours ago.
Is a cage that important? I see it as important, as they have poor balance and can fall face first.
But I see so many helmets and videos of kids with helmets with no cages?
If it were my kid, she would have a cage on. Might as well get em used to it early on, and it might even save a baby tooth or three.
Yeah I'm gonna get a cage. Just surprised so many people don't. Seems automatic to me at that age.
Agreed, even if it's for fun skating, it boggles my mind. It really annoys me sometimes when customers want to cheap out on a helmet/cage setup or question the necessity of a cage.
Call me crazy, but I let my boy go out there without a cage. I don't think I've ever seen a kid smack their face on the ice. When sticks and pucks enter the equation it will be a different story and he is already looking forward to putting it on. Good old reverse psychology Seriously though, I'm not opposed to cages or anything but I don't think a toddler necessarily needs one just to learn to skate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jarick
Think I might take my kid to get skates this week.
My kid takes about 2/3 nosedives per skate, a must. Though he's 3 and a couple months.
Update, pushing around one of those walkers has really been a turning point for kiddo. I make sure he keeps his hands on it, not lean on it with body. The big difference being he has to PUSH with his skates to make it move. Before he had good balance but was just walking on his skates.
The weight of the walker means that he has to use the blades of his skates to push around the weight of the walker. Now he's actually pushing and starting to glide.
And I don't know if I'm planting the seeds for a future Scott Stevens, but I made it a game for him to bump me ith the walker and then I take a pretend tumble. It gets him laughing and wanting to chase me. Which is a good indicator he's having fun.
Thanks again to tarheel who made the long list of things todo. It's helped make a big difference with a kid that got frustrated with skating and didn't wanna do it.
He also got a sweet Nugent-Hopkins jersey out of the deal.
Mine is going pretty good now. Try and let him go on his own a bit with my hands right by him, but I"m worried about him falling too hard without a proper helmet, and worried he's going to get discouraged. He lost his balance a bit a couple times today and said "too icy" lol. And wanted me to carry him after that. So I'm worried he's going to fall and not like it.
Debating getting the helmet now for him. But my dad said he'll buy it for him for Christmas. But I don't know if I want to wait another four weeks.
If you think he's getting discouraged, get him laughing and giggling on the ice. Don't worry about balance, skill, etc. If you can get him to laugh, then it's alot easier to avoid getting discouraged.
My kid got discouraged a couple sessions from harmless falls, then it got difficult just to try and go skating, even though we were trying to keep it fun. Ended up just pulling him on a sled most of the time.
I figured out that mine likes to bump me with the walker, see me take a tumble, then he will make himself tumble too. He's giggling himself silly on the ice at that point.
If you think he's getting discouraged, get him laughing and giggling on the ice. Don't worry about balance, skill, etc. If you can get him to laugh, then it's alot easier to avoid getting discouraged.
My kid got discouraged a couple sessions from harmless falls, then it got difficult just to try and go skating, even though we were trying to keep it fun. Ended up just pulling him on a sled most of the time.
I figured out that mine likes to bump me with the walker, see me take a tumble, then he will make himself tumble too. He's giggling himself silly on the ice at that point.
Yeah that's what I'm gonig to do today. We're going to go buy a helmet and go skating.
Quote:
Originally Posted by octopi
At that age, don't they have the supportive braced skates? Because that seems to be all I can see for the really little ones.
Wondering how long until I can get skates for my niece. She's 5 weeks old and when I saw her, her feet were the size of my thumb.
Kid is 3.5...would you go Lil' Champ or a tiny traditional skate? I'm thinking Lil' Champ as it'd be more comfortable and easy to get on/off. We had smaller Lil' Champs when he was a toddler and they worked okay but he was just too small to skate.
Can't believe it's been almost two months now.
We go once a week, usually for about 45mins. With breaks.
Carry him around a lot, spin him on the ice, just try to make it enjoyable.
He can now walk/skate slowly on the. usually only goes about 3-5 feet, then wants me. Doesn't feel safe on it. But it's going pretty good. It's neat to see him progress from not even being able to stand and not wanting to hang on the the skate aid thing, to now being able to walk on the ice, and push the skate aid.
Now I guess it's just getting him more comfortable on his own, and making him go further. Then learning to push off and glide.
After a couple weeks my back got used to it too, so that was a nice relief.
I was in the EXACT same situation you were in when I was a kid. My parents had me take skating lessons as they wanted me to play hockey. I loved the NHL but hated skating and I quit.
Only several years ago did I get back into it. If you want your kid to play hockey early, I highly recommend getting a one-on-one instructor instead. They teach pretty early for children basic skating and will help your child become a hockey player.
I took a public skating lesson when I was 15 and it didn't help alot. Took one on one lessons when I was 16 or so. I made a drastic leap in one on one skating. I can do tight turns and hockey stop and have fast acceleration and stride. I'm bad at skating backwards for the most part, but if I started earlier i'd be a pro at it. Unfortunately I didn't make my senior year since I started late, but I still play recreational and might try out for my college team next year. I never tried out for high school, which I regret just as much as quitting in the first place.
Go with a one on one instructor if they are available/when he is old enough.
Seriously though, I'm not opposed to cages or anything but I don't think a toddler necessarily needs one just to learn to skate.
