The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
CanPowerSkate coach Ray Donaldson is excited and ready to help kids improve their skating. This year, Donaldson would like to have 15 to 20 skaters. "I'm hoping the kids from last year come back because over the history, the more you do it, or the more you come back, the better you get, and the easier everything is," Donaldson says. "Things can fall into place when you're teaching kids how to do something in particular, they've done it before in the past, then they see the progression." Improvement is something that he has noticed. "It takes three or four years, but at the end of that time, there's a big difference in their skating skills and they are confident now." He added that what the kids are able to do becomes second nature. The best way that Donaldson is able to instruct kids is individually. He doesn't feel it's good for kids to be competing against each other. "If you're not as fast as the guy beside you, don't try and compete with him and be discouraged," he says. "Compete at your own speed, and I will tell the kids that." Kids are grouped depending on age and skill level. Donaldson explained that if you have an eight-year-old that can skate as well as a 11 or 12-year-old, then you can't leave him with other eight-year-olds because he's above that talent level. "If you challenge kids, they seem to work harder," says the National Coaching Certificate Program coach. Classes start on Oct. 5 at Whitney Forum with power-skating class on Wednesday nights, which accommodates hockey players. Late registration for skating will still available, as is the case for figure skating.
