Saturday, November 06, 1999
Skaters learn by baby steps
Tots slide, glide at Goggin Arena
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
OXFORD — Laughter. Squeals. Chills and spills.
Three groups of preschoolers march and maneuver across the rink during “Tiny Tots” classes at Miami University's Goggin Ice Arena.
Several beginners count as they march across the ice: everybody can make it for five steps; trying for a sixth always sends a couple of youngsters sprawling. Instructors Megan Elasky and Alyssa Owen next introduce a game of “Simon Says” to coax the children back across the rink. When a bucket of stuffed animals appears, each child chooses one and Ms. Elasky places the toys some distance from each fledgling skater.
“Now, I want you to go pick up your toy,” Ms. Owen said.
“We did this before,” said one child.
“Yes, but we're not using the buckets this time,” Ms. Owen said.
The class is being weaned from using overturned plastic buckets to steady themselves while skating. Shakily at first, each child independently negotiates the ice to reclaim the animals.
Another class, a bit steadier on their skates, practices touching their toes together, then their heels.
A third group is working on a simple routine that they will perform just after Thanksgiving. Skating both forward and backward, they try out simple body movements to the Chinese Dance from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.
“Group skating lessons is basically the grass-roots program that feeds into all the other programs here at the rink,” said skating coordinator Marcia Williams, citing the Oxford Skating Club, youth hockey, precision skating and competitive freestyle programs offered by the Goggin.
“They come here first and after they go through the lessons and learn how to skate they can branch out,“ said Ms. Williams. “Kids that stick with these group lessons have an advantage in the other programs because they are the better skaters.”
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