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Skating Newsletter Article Inline
Skating Newsletter Article A few skate seasons ago, I attended Camp Rollerblade as a paying customer. It turned out to be a killer way to expand my own skills and try a variety of new experiences on skates. (Teaching the basics every weekend can be a bit limiting.) Not only did I get to play on a halfpipe without sharing it with a bunch of little boys, I also made lots of new skating friends who are now an important part of my personal network.
Unfortunately, Camp Rollerblade and its successor Camp Santa Rosa no longer exist. But have no fear, the millennium brings camp and clinic options for everyone! Participating in an intensive skate camp or clinic will advance your skating skills like nothing else. Allow me to describe the two options I can recommend from recent personal experience (no halfpipes, though!).
Eddy Matzger Workshops
This spring I attended one of the 3-day weekend clinics offered nationwide by our sport's infamous speed skating ambassador, Eddy Matzger. Many participants love it so much they've gone back for repeats. My main goal was to brush up on fitness skating teaching methods to improve my value as a guide for Zephyr Inline Skate Tours. And I really wanted to unlock the mystery of the double-push technique used by pro speedskaters.
Here's a shot from Eddy's omnipresent video of me practicing proper skate recovery. See more photos on his Workshop page from which I borrowed this image.
Eddy is a wonder at teaching the most complex moves to every level of skater. With great humor, enthusiasm and kindness, he took us methodically through a graduated series of drills that formed the building blocks of a powerful and efficient stride. Even the two advanced beginners who enrolled gamely tackled every skill, from rolling on one foot in the "ampersand position" to "popping the balloon" to gain power in crossovers. I learned a lot by watching Eddy's teaching style, and was most impressed at how this gifted skater and instructor can work magic when teaching his entire curriculum to a group with widely differing abilities and balance. And yes, I did learn the double-push, not to perfection, but at least to a level from which I can continue to progress alone.
Zephyr Skate Camps
The inaugural Zephyr Skate Camp took place from July 15 to July 19, and I was totally there! The tables were turned for me in Lanesboro, MN, because I am Zephyr's camp Instructional Director rather than a paying customer. This session, referred to as Camp 1, was an all-women, first-timer's introduction to inline skating. Less than a week after camp ended, I can now safely write that those 18 mostly middle-aged women not only learned how to go, stop (on hills!), and enjoy the spectacular Root River bike path, they had a fantastic vacation and bonded in lifetime friendships.
Like the Matzger clinic, our 5-day skate camp also enticed participants with a wide range of balance and dexterity. But it was a challenge that fellow guides Andrea and Mike helped me handle with aplomb. As the organizational director, Mike was our advance man, handling not only his share of instruction but all the details behind the scenes involving food, shelter and optional activities. Those efforts earned him an "Honorary Female" award from our participants -- represented by a Barbie doll! Andrea's surprising Root River tubing guide expertise (an optional activity), and fun-loving ability to make every new skating skill seem like child's play endeared her to all of us. My special talent is a joy in patiently thawing out those skaters who are literally frozen by an extra strong survival instinct. At the end, every participant thanked each of us for the attention that helped her conquer her sticking points. I truly believe all these women will continue on in their new inline lifestyle.
I have seen proof of how valuable the combination of time on wheels, patience and motivation is to a new skater. The day before I headed off to camp, I taught a middle-aged man who was so tense on the pavement that sweat streamed out from under his helmet and he was breathless after only a few jerky steps. Now I know that if he attends this year's September Beginner's camp, I can get him rolling, turning and stopping just like we did with our inaugural campers, the self-proclaimed Roller Diva Babe Warriors.
What campers have to say about Zephyr's Camp I
In-line skating Camp Teaches Much-Needed Basics (archived--darn!)
article by Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune (Minneapolis / St. Paul)
Comments or questions? Ask Liz