First lesson down ... not so good .... I heard "I hate you" for the first time from my "niece"
I laughed it off, she was mad because I wouldn't let her quit after 5 minutes
It was a public skating session, which is like the nightmare of skating teaching
For one, several of her classmates were on the ice ... oh, boy
I knew one of her classmates was approaching when Sophie suddenly yanked her hand out of my grasp
Yup, time to look cool for the homies
I managed to strike a compromise with her ... in other words , she got her way
She pointed to the milk crates another kid was pushing, and said " Either I get those, or we go home"
I quickly acquiesced, though if you ask me, the milk crates were in her way
She still was trying to walk in her skates, which made her skates just hit the milk crates and knock her down
She forgot to bring her helmet, so I had to be extra vigilante at catching her
For the 30 seconds I actually got her to glide on one skate and push sideways with the other, she rocketed the crate
across the ice... I'm quite sure she scared herself at how fast she went for those 30 seconds, and went back to the walking
I'm at an impasse, I'd appreciate any input from any members who've ever taught another to skate
I know she could be a demon on skates, I just don't know how to get her to trust her balance and edges
If I could get her to the basic level, I could teach her the powerskating easilly enough
I'm almost thinking we should enroll her in a Learn to Skate class, and then I can teach her Powerskating after that
Maybe (probably) they would know how to deal with the fear