How to choose a coach

Whether you are taking private lessons during LTS practice ice or moving onto club ice, choosing a coach can be daunting. When your skater is in LTS their choice of coach is limited to the instructors teaching during that semester. When your skater moves into a club membership, they are able to choose from all of the club’s staff pros. 

When choosing a coach for LTS private lessons, the best thing to do is go with an instructor that your skater has a good rapport with and you like their coaching style. Since availability for these lessons is limited, it may be challenging to get a lesson with the instructor you want. If that coach is full, you may ask to get on their schedule when a spot opens up. In the meantime you can choose a different coach or just hold off on taking a private lesson.

When your skater is ready to join the club they may choose to stick with the coach they chose for their LTS private lessons or try out one of the club’s other staff pros. At this point you should read through the bios of the staff pros on the website, talk to other parents and ask how satisfied they are with the services their coach is providing. Keep in mind that not all skaters and families are the same and what works for one may not work for another. You may ask a coach for a trial lesson to see if your skater clicks with that coach. The Skating Club of CNY does not employ any of our club staff pros so we do not make any coach recommendations. It is up to each parent to select a coach and make all arrangements with that coach. Some things to take into consideration when choosing a coach is: personality, teaching/learning styles, experience, technical knowledge and reliability. Take your time making this decision and don’t hesitate to ask the prospective coaches questions about themselves, their teaching styles, rates and policies, expectations for their skaters, coaching specialties, what levels they coach up through, what competitive levels are their current skaters, and how do they communicate with the parents.