How can I get figure skating coaching?

I want to go figure skating, but there is nowhere around here to go, and I may need a coach. Two questions...


1) How can I convince my parents to let me go?


2) Where and how can I go?|||Obviously, you're just starting out, so don't worry about hiring a private figure skating coach.


Group lessons will be fine to get you started. Add in a 2-hour practice each week, too.





1) Find the nearest rink: http:www.arenamaps.com


2) Ask if you can go skating at the rink, maybe with a friend or two.


3) Pick up a group lesson brochure and a skating schedule at the rink. (Or print out one if it's on their website)


4) Figure out a schedule and estimate the costs.


5) Talk to your parents about enrolling in lessons.








If you pick up around the house, help with chores, mind your temper, and get good grades, your parents will consider the lessons. Honesty is the best policy and stops all the drama that comes from trying to con parents.|||You don't just may, you WILL need a coach, and lessons, you just won't progress without that due to the nature of the sport - it's all about technique. Skating's also an expensive sport so I can totally see why your parents wouldn't want you to. Worst case scenario, you may have to wait till you can drive and make money for it yourself. Which, frankly, is not a big deal - if you're old enough to be able to write, you're too old to still go to the olympics (unless you're a guy, in which case there's more slack), it's really quite that simple these days. Everybody else skates cuz they love it, and that can luckily be enjoyed at 16 or 18 just as well as at 10 or 12.





As for the where - you'll have to tell us where you are approximately first. In some areas of even the western world, the nearest ice rink may be a day's travel away and you're out of luck if that's the case - in which case I'd suggest you explore "artistic inline skating" or "artistic roller skating" (similar sports, different types of roller skates) - youtube it, it's not unlike ice skating.|||Well, if there isn't any that are closer than an hour (two hours if your parent doesn't mind paying for the gas and time..), you're out of luck. :/





If you find an arena, ask to go public skate with a friend. Pick up a Learn-to-Skate group lesson brochure while you're there. Before springing the idea on your parents, do extra chores, don't be smart-mouthed, bring home an A on a big school project, et cetera.. and then show them a cost plan and ask them if you can take the lessons to see if you like it. If you have a job or get an allowance, volunteer to help pay for part of the lessons.





If you do a competition you will want to do a few private lessons, at which time you select your preferred coach.


-Do you seem to catch on to an element faster when that coach is helping you?


-Do they ever make you uneasy or handle you roughly? (big no-no)


-Do you find yourself hoping that coach is the one that is teaching your group today?





It's not the coolest/most fun coach you should pick. It's the one that makes you work hardest and is the one that you get the most out of a lesson with. Two coaches normally coached my group, they would switch back and forth, and they were equally good in terms of technique teaching. But one of them was very good at analyzing what I was feeling (toe loop, too scared to jump, scratch spin, frustrated with myself) and she really made me work my hardest, so I did a few private lessons with her when I had a comp coming up.





When you're very advanced (double/triple jumps) you might want to exclusively do private lessons and drop group lessons altogether. But group lessons will be perfectly fine for you for years and years.








Since skating is expensive, if you do find a rink and take lessons, don't ask for expensive stuff like Zuca bags (special skate bags that cost over $100), blinking light guards, special skate pants ($60 and up), sparkly dresses ($150-$400.) Asking (and getting) that stuff just sends the message to your parents that skating is too expensive. All you need is a pair of skates that are appropriate for your level, hard guards, soft guards, a bag, and a good skate sharpener.





Good luck!