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Or, Advice from
Instructors Much More
Qualified Than This
Physiologist
I stand corrected —
happily. Teaching
little kids how to skate —
or teaching them anything —
is just not my thing.
First, an example of my
qualifications to teach
anyone under the age of
social maturity: In another
century, I tried to teach
seventh-grade math — once,
and only once — and the math
that came through most
clearly from that experience
was that 10 years got
subtracted from my life
expectancy.
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I
walked into class after lunch one day,
and was bombarded with 25 squishy fruits
and vegetables. Of course I did
the only reasonable thing: I
retreated to the shower, clothes and
all. The students got their much-needed
break from my boring lectures, and the
boss was left wondering, “How could I
hire this guy?”
Somewhere along the line, I’ve confused
people about much more than just the
basics of seventh-grade math.
Between my physiological gibberish and
my attempts to help coaches run interval
skating practices, I’ve sent some
messages I didn’t intend.
So my
longtime friend, Laura Stamm, a
world-renowned skating instructor, has
helped me out. Laura asks,
rhetorically, “How can you teach a new
skill or technique going fast — at
overspeed?”
You
can’t, of course. Her point was
so obvious, it was meant to be finished
with an exclamation mark, not a question
mark. “It’s too much for the body
to accommodate,” she warns.
I
agree. I just didn’t know how to say it
clearly. I told you, communicating wtih
those little buggers is not my thing.
So, I’ll defer to someone who can.
Stamm
makes the sequence of learning steps
incredibly simple, because she doesn’t
try to throw in some physiological
gobble-de-gook, as I would. Laura
writes, “My approach in teaching is
this: repetitions are done:
1.
correctly,
2. correctly-powerfully,
3. correctly-powerfully-quickly,
4. correctly-powerfully-quickly with the
puck.
5. Same as 4, under pressure and in game
situations.”
Now,
why couldn’t I say that? For more
of Stamm’s wisdom and experience check
out the store at DP Hockey for books and
DVD's from Laura.
As I
travel around the country, I see how
fortunate we are to have experienced
skating instructors in Minnesota.
Some who can share a lot of knowledge
about teaching young skaters are Diane
Ness (Pro Edge Power: 651-695-3768),
Barry and Jody Karn, (952-831-2345), and
John Bazzachini (buzzhockey@comcast.net).
There
are many others available to help any
youth hockey coach who might feel as
inept as I, trying to teach these
initial stages of skating.
There
is no question the concept of “overspeed
practice” does not belong in a learning
environment — nor does endurance
training. The only physiology a
coach needs to know when helping
youngsters learn to skate is this: never
try to teach skating when the students
are fatigued. Never.
And I
might add one more thing every good
teacher knows very well: make it fun.
The
same advice could be shared with anyone
brave enough to step into a
seventh-grade math class. Never
try to teach when students are fatigued
from your boring routine. If I’d
known that on time, I could have saved
the expense of dry-cleaning my old sport
coat.
