Teaching Beginners

What Do We Need to Do to become Skate Instructors?

In brief, get some training, experience, and get qualified.

Training You will need to learn how to do some key lerarn-to-skate moves (if you can't already) and then figure out how teach them to others.
Experience Get practice in teaching the skate moves until you are able to confidently do the teaching on your own.
Qualification This is formal recognition of your capabilities. It will be accomplished through the USA Roller Sports registration process that I will facilitate.

How I Propose We Get This Done

I'm proposing we put together videos for teaching an indoor learn-to-skate program for roller skaters.

Why?

I can put together the videos myself -- It's not hard to do -- and I think everyone would find it a helpful supplement to in-person learning and shadowing instructors.
It would be more fun to do this together, and it would speed up our learning.
We have all the expertise in our group to get this project completed.

Here are the things we can get out of the process:

Placeholder for The Skate Moves List

Click the icon to downlaod the list of skate moves that we'll need to learn. (Right now it points to our waiver.)

Placeholder for The Training Videos

Setting up a Safe Space

Setting up barriers and a carpet at Kraken Kourts and Skates.

Falling Safety

Making friends with the ground, how to get up and prevent falling.

Stride Development

The duck, the penguin, the sway, the knee squeeze and glide.

Footwork/Stopping

Learn the toe stop using a 3 step by 3 step breakdown.

Balance/Edge Work

Cones, swizzles, windshield wipers, and the slalom fish.

Sharp Turning

Add scissors to the fish, forward foot in the turning direction.

Overview/Class of 2024 ● Training Pathways ● Training Schedule

Overview

How to Become a Paid Skate Instructor

The distinguishing qualities of our skate school are our attention to safety and our thorough skill development process.We have come up with two pathways to include both qualities in your development as a new instructor based on your teaching appetite and the level of your skating skills.You can expedite this entire process if you are a seasoned instructor.

Made Possible by the Class of 2024

A big thank you to Ronnie Jade , Elisabeth and Destini for bearing with us as we set up our program.
We'll provide our class of 2024 all the support we can for becoming the best skate instructors ever!
Thank you for taking on this challenge.

Training Pathways

Here are the three pathways to beome a paid skate instructor:

The Starter Path

Fast and Beginner Friendly

Where You'll be Able to Teach as a Paid Instructor

Kraken Kourts & Skates

Who You Get Access to for Training

Andrew: Learn to Skate
Clare: Rollerdance

What You Can Potentially Teach

Learn to Skate
Rollerdance
Group
Private

Train to teach at Kraken Kourts and Skates

Register as USA Roller Sports STAR Skate Instructor.
Obtain safety training at the Kraken facility.
Get an an orientation of our unique teaching process.
Shadow an instructor until you are ready to solo.

Download and complete this workbook to qualify

Skate Instructor Training Instructions and Checklist, Starter Path.

● ● ●

The Thorough Path

Opens More Places to Teach

Where You'll be Able to Teach as a Paid Instructor

Who you get access to for training

What you can teach

Learn to Skate
Rollerdance
Trail & Street
Skate Park
Freestyle Slalom
Group
Private
Build Your Own

Certify as a SkateIA Instructor

Take a SkateIA Skate Instructor certification.
This can be done online or in person.
You can certify to teach general skating, skate park or slalom.

We Can Assist With the Following

Help you develop your skating and teaching skills.
Help you record video to submit for your online certification.
Provide a scholarship to help cover the certification costs.

Download and complete this workbook to qualify

Skate Instructor Training Instructions and Checklist, Thorough Path.

● ● ●

The Seasoned Path

If you Already Teach

For seasoned instructors:

Demonstrate your skate instructor skills by teaching a mock skate lesson.
We will reduce our training requirements accordingly.
If you already are a USA Roller Sports registered skate coach or a SkateIA certified skate instructor, this will considerably reduce your pathway.

Contact Lead Instructor Andrew for details.

He coordinates all the training.

Training Schedule

We offer experiential training where you build your skills to become a paid instructor while teaching at our skate classes with the help of our current instructors.

Classes Where You Can Train

Here are the weekly and monthly classes where you can shadow instructors and work with them to complete your training process:

Day/Time	Class Type	Instructor
630pm Wed	Learn to Skate	Andrew
6pm Thu	Rollerdance	Clare
10am Sat	Learn to Skate	Andrew
10am Sat	Outdoor Clinic*	Danny

* Danny will be teaching the Learn to Skate Clinic monthly at the Salvation Army gym. It is a learn to skate outdoors class taught indoors in cooler weather.

How to Do Your Training

The process of training to become an instructor includes:

Working with a current instructor to build up your confidence and skills to teach.
Teaching portions of a class.
Familiarizing yourself with and demonstrating the core "Learn to Skate" class skills.
Teaching an entire class under a current instructor's supervision.
Achieving the confidence and ability to teach solo.

The amount of training varies from person to person and you get to chart your own course in the resources we provide.

This is our Learn to Skate Lesson Plan that skate instructor Andrew follows for teaching beginner roller skaters at Kraken Kourts and Skates.The objective is to provide a baseline lesson plan for all instructors to be familiar with. You are welcome to adopt it as is, or adjust it to your teaching style, especially if you have been teaching for a while.

Instructor Demos

There are two mandatory sections for you to demonstrate to become an instructor with us.

The Safety Protocols Section which covers setting up a safe teaching area and teaching falling safety.
The Toe Stopping section which models our three step by three step breakdown for teaching new skating skills.

Videos with pink titles are mandatory to learn and demonstrate.

Safety Protocols

Striding and Stopping

Balance, Edgework and Turning

Status:
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🟠 (0 of 6) poor content
🟢 (0 of 6) good/finalized content
👤 (0 of 6) video includes a guest skater

(Move to overview.) The point of this website is to take all this modern technology we have lying around us and to use it as a tool to speed your understanding for what you need to do.It's a little bit of a brochure for our Skate School, a checklist of what you need to do and an eLearning platform to teach our beginner lesson plan at Kraken Kourts and skates.We also have our class schedule where you can shadow our instructors to get hands on practice and feedback for actually doing your teaching.

Locations ● Indoors ● Outdoors ● Skate Care

Providing inline & roller skating classes + community events in Washington DC.

Locations

Kraken Kourts & Skates Bryant Street ● at the indoor roller rink 514 Rhode Island Ave NE, Washington, DC ● across the pedestrian bridge from the Rhode Island Ave Brentwood metro station on the red line.

Salvation Army ● Sherman Avenue Corps Parking Lot, 3335 Sherman Ave NW, Washington DC ● five blocks south of the Georgia Ave-Petworth metro station on the green line.

Rock Creek Park ● Carter Barron Amphitheatre Parking Lot and Entrance Circle, 4850 Colorado Ave NW, Washington DC

Indoor Lessons

Contact us if you have any trouble registering online to guarantee instructor availability. Then arrive early to register at the door.

Skate Lessons at Kraken Kourts and Skates

Register via the Kraken website
630pm Thursdays
& 10am Saturdays

Learn to Skate at a Roller Rink ● Covers getting comfortable on skates, rink safety and basic skating skills.This class can be repeated for a progression of skills including: basic stride, balance, turning and stopping.

Register via the Kraken website
630pm Wedns
-days

Rollerdance ● for non beginners ● Take your skating to the next level, learn some skate moves to show off at the rink, and choreograph it to the beat of the music.Coach Clare teaches Rollerdance on select Wednesdays an you can reach out in advance to make sure she will be there for your session.

Register via the Kraken website

Private Lessons ● Get one on one time with a skate instructor to provide you coaching customized to your skating needs.● Skate Coach Jennifer offers beginner to competitive artistic coaching 9am Saturdays.● Skate Instructor Clare offers beginner to Rollerdance coaching 730pm Wednesdays.

Instructors

About Skate Coach Jennifer

Jennifer is trained in artistic skating with a background in coaching and competing on a national level.

Her roller skating journey began with skating at age 3 and starting as a skate instructor at age 10.
She has successfully taught hundreds of adults and children of all levels.
Jennifer peviously ran her own skating club in a roller rink in Massachusetts.

Jennifer's credentials

USA Roller Sports certified Competitive Artistic Skating Skate Coach.
Competed on a national stage and has coached students who have competed nationally as well.

About Skate Instructor Clare

Clare's adventures have taken her into dance, choreography, gymnastics, circus arts and also teaching skating.

She has immersed herself in the DC area "snap city" style skating scene.
Clare has been roller skating and sharing her knowledge since the beginning of the pandemic.

Clare's certifications

SkateIA Level 1 Skate Instructor.
USA Roller Sports recognized Skate Coach.

Outdoor Lessons

We have loaner skates and protective equipment available for free at our outdoor lessons.

Group Lessons

Learn to Skate Outdoors ● Covers proper use of protective equipment, falling safety and prevention, basic stride, turning and stopping.

Private Lessons

Outdoor Private Lessons ● Available for adults, children and families, beginner to advanced skaters, covering the skills of your choice.

Instructors

About Skate Instructor Danny

Danny has been tirelessly teaching beginners at the learn to skate clinic, which originated in Rock Creek Park, over the past 20+ years.

He started on inline skates and teaches both inline and roller skaters.
Danny is a SkateIA Certified Level 1 Skate Instructor.

About Lead Instructor Andrew

Andrew has been street skating, trail skating, teaching and organizing events for 30+ years.

He learned to skate on the streets of Manhattan and routinely organized and led group street skates with hundreds of participants safely.
Andrew skates and teaches on inline and roller skates, indoors in rinks and outdoors on the trails.

Andrew's certifications

SkateIA Certified Level 2 Skate Instructor, with a roller fitness endorsement.
USA Roller Sports recognized Skate Coach.

Community Page

Join us this summer and fall as we make new friends and get more people into skating.

Free Learn to Skate Clinic ● Saturday mornings at the Salvation Army on Sherman Ave NW and Rock Creek Park.

Start with the clinic if you are learning to skate or need a refresher. We have loaner skates & protective gear available.

Introductory Rollerdance ● Learn skills to show off when you skate. Select Tuesdays, pay what you can.

Skate Lab ● Skate sessions range from skate fitness to exploring a trail, on select Mondays outdoors and indoors.

Rink Night ● Our Salvation Army fundraiser is coming and we are looking for skaters who can help.

We operate a free "Learn to Skate" clinic as a service to the community to promote safe skating and make skating more fun.The clinic covers the proper use of safety equipment, basic skating skills and how to use a heel brake or toe stop for stopping. It's great for new skaters and anyone returning to the sport.Helmets, wrist guards, knee and elbow pads are required. Use the form below to sign up.

For skaters who have taken the Learn to Skate clinic and other non-beginner skaters:Learn skate moves to show off at your next skate -- at a roller rink or anywhere else -- and choreograph your skating to music.

Introductory Rollerdance

For skaters who have taken the learn to skate clinic and other non-beginner skaters:Get fit and explore new places to skate; this will be held in various locations.

Skate Lab

Rink night is coming -- we're working on arrangements to turn the Salvation Army parking lot into a roller rink and more. Right now we're tracking who is up for helping out with the event.

I Want to Volunteer

Private Lessons Outdoors

Notes

Private lessons run for 60 minutes.
If you don't see a compatible date or have a special request use the request button below.

Request