Figure Skating without a coach or classes.
Hello there! Today Iâm here to talk about starting out as a figure skater WITHOUT hiring a coach or paying for classes.
This post is for those who want to learn and become accomplished* but simply donât have the means for classes/coaches. Â
*Accomplished- meaning: progressing by learning new moves, challenging yourself and feeling accomplished about your progress as a skater- if you want to go to competitions this post probably wonât help as far as learning at a competition level but it will help you get started in the right direction.
Now.. for those who have taken classes and think Iâm out of my mind- hear me out. Not everyone has $100+ bucks to shell out on classes or the money for a private coach.Â
This article is for them- this article is NOT to urge beginning skaters to avoid classes/coaches- this is for those who want to learn to skate without them for whatever reason and are wondering how to start.
Iâve met plenty of people at my own rink who have bought $15 thrift store skates and skate daily and rather well too! Theyâre not professionals but they have a passion for skating- just not the money for it.Â
Thatâs PERFECTLY OKAY!Â
Myself-? I skated for almost a year in rentals and learned up to Basic 6Â on my own until I couldnât progress further in the rentals and had to buy my own skates.Â
By then, I had saved up for months to afford them. Whenever people ask who my coach was or what class Iâm taking, they donât believe me when I tell them I learned these skills on my own.
 Very few were impressed- most told me I was stupid for not attending classes, probably learned all wrong and would have to re-learn everything.Â
I suppose it depends on your goals and what you want out of figure skating- but if youâve recently started and feel discouraged, like thereâs no way to learn because EVERYONE and their cousin is telling you to take classes and you just canât-- this is for you.Â
So to begin let me start by saying this: No, youâre not crazy. Yes, you CAN learn to figure skate beautifully all by yourself.Â
A coach/classes would help- but you can learn on your own and see great results from doing so.Â
Donât let anyone tell you different!
First, figure out your Goal.Â
Do you want to perform jumps? Spins? Skate backwards? Do you want to just feel comfortable on the ice? Do you want to go into competitions? Are you just doing it for fun or exercise?Â
Iâm a very goal oriented person- so in order to keep skating interesting/challenging, I pick a goal and work towards it.Â
For me, when I started, I wanted to feel comfortable on the ice. So I learned the basics. I learned how the skates were suppose to fit, how to tie them correctly and how the edges worked etc. I practiced falling and getting up, marching forwards, balance, etc.Â
I only had rental skates to work with- but that was okay! You can learn how to balance/how skates work on rentals just fine.Â
Do they suck? YEAH theyâre usually old and crappy- but theyâre skates, and itâs better than no skates at all!Â
Once I felt comfortable, I set my next goal- forward crossovers.Â
In order to reach it, I had to first learn outside & inside edge work, one foot glides and so-on. My resources were Youtube and this list.Â
This list has a great variety of skills to learn- by googling any of these terms 99.9% of the time you can find a Youtube video that demonstrates how to perform them!Â
For example: I typed âBackwards two foot glideâ into Youtube and it gave me this video:Â
(This Youtube Playlist has training videos for every step of every level (Basic 1-8) according to the USFSA list I posted above! Awesome sauce.)
By doing this, youâre teaching your own class where youâre also the student.Â
So, start off by picking a skill to practice thatâs IN YOUR LEVEL.
If youâve just started skating donât pick âForward Lungeâ! As your first skill to learn. You (might) be able to master a skill far outside your level- but usually you wonât be able to, and you may get badly injured for trying.Â
So for example, you pick a basic spin as your goal- you find it on Youtube and get to practicing-- after a dozen tries or 8 dozen tries you (finally!) succeed.
Now- aside from being your own teacher/student combo- you can also be (with the help of a smart phone, a friendâs smart phone or any video camera..) your own coach too.Â
Take your camera and set it up on either the wall of the ice rink or somewhere where you can get a clear shot of you and the ice. Try to keep your camera/phone in a durable case to protect it in case of falls. Be careful and aware of other skaters.Â
(If thereâs no ledge to perch your phone on, you could buy one of these Phone car mounts and stick the sucker to one of the windows around the ice rink! Just get a durable case so if it falls off it wonât break!)Â
Now... record yourself doing your spin!
Now compare it to the youtube video you watched. Does it look EXACTLY the same? Are your arms in the same positions? Do you look fluid enough? Not enough speed? Bad posture?
If you truly want to coach yourself for improvement- donât settle!Â
Take notes in a notebook about what you think you did incorrectly and try again- change up your posture until it looks right, change your arms etc. make it look exactly like the example!
NOTE: Keep track of your progress in a notebook and how many hours you skate each week.
This will help remind you that youâre improving and also help you to know when to sharpen your blades! (If you own your own skates) When theyâre dull, look at the # of hours (or weeks) you spent on the ice- thatâs about how long you have before you have to sharpen them again!Â
Lets say youâve run into a rut- where you just canât seem to pinpoint what youâre doing wrong and need guidance.Â
Take the video of yourself attempting whatever skill you canât perform- go online and find a skating forum. Thereâs tons out there-- just pick one (or five!) post your video and explain your problem.Â
âI canât do crossovers- based on the video, please tell me what Iâm doing wrong and let me know how to fix it? Thanks!âÂ
By doing these steps, with the right discipline- you can learn almost any skill-- given that you have the correct boots/blades! (Higher level skills require stiffer boots and sharpened blades. High-level skills will be extremely dangerous and mostly impossible to preform in rental skates.)
The above applies to all skills EXCEPT jumps.Â
Jumps are a whole different ballpark-- usually when learning jumps a coach will strap you into a harness so if you fail you wonât fall and badly hurt yourself. The harness speeds up the time spent learning the jump immensely.
 If youâre dead-set on learning jumps- by yourself.. youâre a brave soul. Itâs extremely dangerous and no, I donât recommend it.Â
If youâve progressed so far in skating that youâve gotten to jumps and really want to learn them- then youâre serious enough about skating that you probably should have a coach.Â
But-- you live your own life!Â
My only advice if youâre taking on jumps is to practice OFF ice as much as possible, and wear full body protection- I mean- everything.Â
Helmet/hip/knee/shoulder/wrist/butt/every kind of guard you can buy or wear and be careful- get as much advice as possible and take it easy.Â
Thatâs all I have for now, best of luck! If you happen to record anything I would personally love to see it! I adore that kind of thing. :) ††††â€
Till next time! - C
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