Ice skating cross training

Hello there-

I was surprised and thrilled to hear that you have not only one, but two ice rinks in your area! That is outstanding, even here in the states, sometimes (ice) rinks are few and far between, depending on locale and cultural interests. The expected areas have rinks (north/eastern US), but there are also some surprising locations that have an ice rink/hockey culture, such as Southern California, and Dallas Texas.

I work part time at my local rink and coach hockey, so I thought I could give you some insight and answers to help you guys out.

But I digress, to answer your question directly: there are a few options for your daughter. I've found ice skating to be easier than roller skating. Ice skates have a dual edge on the blades to help grip in the ice. One can "dig" in and use them to stop, turn sharply, etc. Roller skates wheels when used on a smooth hard surface like a roller rink surface, don't have much in the way for grip as it's two smooth surfaces, with no mechanical means of stopping on the edge. (the toe stopper notwithstanding)

That said, if she has limited access to the ice surface, and she's taken a liking to it, I'd get the inline blades. They will balance more closely to an ice skate. She will learn to get used to the linear layout of the blade, and learn to pitch her body to keep balance in that configuration. She can learn that part of it off ice. Once on ice, that is where learning edge control, and getting the feel for the characteristics of the ice. How it's forgiving in some ways, and in others not. I hope all of that makes some sort of sense for you. But if she's learns the balance part of it off ice, on her roller blades, then she only has one issue to tackle once she get to the ice, that is learning edge control. It eliminates one less area of concern for her out there.

There is also, at an expense, (sadly, everything is nowadays) there is a such a thing called synthetic ice. It is nothing more than solid sheets of plastic, much like one of those white cutting boards found in kitchens, that can be used to practice ice skating on. It quickly dulls your blades, but if you get the right kind (there are literally 100's of different kids of plastic, I am a fabricator and machinist, so won't bore you with technical jargon), or buy a sheet from a distributor who sells the actual product synthetic ice, she could practice at home on it, and thus learn edge work as well. She would wear ice skates on this surface, to be clear.

I'd simply just start with a pair of inline skates, let her have at it, see how she likes it and go from there. Be sure to get a helmet and maybe some hard shell kneepads. And if you do wind up getting a pair of ice skates, or rent them again at the rink, make sure they are sharpened and have a nice sturdy boot. I've seen far too many people have a horrible first experience on ice due to those factors. The skates should do all the ankle supporting, there's enough to try and learn, let alone on dull blades and floppy boots on the skates.

It's great exercise, utilizing not only legs, but core as well. It's very fulfilling, as progress is evident in just short amount of time for most people who apply themselves to it. I hope some of this can be useful to you, have fun, and if there's anything else, please just ask!