Skate Better, Fight MS  

The bulk of the workshop will take place on Saturday.  This will allow people that can only attend one day to get exposure to all the important concepts of the workshop.  Depending on how many people show up, and whether there is interest or not, we could also have a "social skate" or "informational session" on Friday evening.  Sunday is also another opportunity for a social skate, depending on the interest.  The key is that the real "meat" of the workshop is Saturday, so you don't need to worry about setting aside an entire weekend.

Saturday, we'll start bright & early at 9am.  The first thing we'll do is go over the basic components of "classic" skating technique.  We'll then do some drills with our shoes on (no skates yet) that will teach our bodies the mechanics of the various components without having to worry about staying up on our skates.  We'll have breaks between each of the drills so we don't get worn out!  There will also be plenty of time for Q&A during the breaks, and during the drills.  Attendees definitely should not be shy about asking questions -- some of the concepts aren't necessarily intuitive. So if you're wondering about something, odds are you aren't the only one!  These "dryland drills" will take us all the way to lunch, where we'll break.

After lunch, we'll do a quick review of the dryland drills, warm up a bit, and get our skates on.  We'll do some drills similar to the "dryland" drills from the morning, but this time on our skates.  Then, we'll add in a few more .  Then, we'll put it all together and see how it looks!  By the end of the day, you will have been exposed to proper classic skating technique, and have many drills you can work on to improve your skating.  If we have time left over (and people aren't worn out) we'll also touch on pack skating and other things people may be interested in.

I have a new video camera and I'll spend a few minutes videotaping each person skating, so that we can do some video analysis.

Saturday evening, we'll have an optional get-together where we can watch skating videos, have more Q&A, or just socialize...

One thing to note about the workshop is that the content will vary depending on who attends. There is so much material and so many different skills in skating, that it's impossible to fit it all into one (or two) days! So, the class is custom-tailored to meet the needs and interests of those in attendance. I like to spend a significant part of the class going over "classic technique" because I feel everyone can always improve there. But if people want to do crossovers, or agility drills, or braking, or even double-push we can incorporate the appropriate drills into the class.  So if you have a particular request for something you'd like to work on, don't be shy!  I'm sure we can fit it in...