I was really disappointed with our experience…read more
My 4 yr old wanted to try hockey because one of his close friend is in the skating program. Since skating is required before hockey, we thought this trial would be a great way to see if he liked it. Before class started, I let them know he had only been on skates one time before.
At first, I actually thought they did a good job by splitting the kids into two groups and giving a quick explanation on how to get up after falling. But once they got on the ice, it became obvious there wasn't enough help for beginners. Kids were constantly falling, sometimes on top of each other with skates on, and it honestly felt unsafe. I also noticed some kids weren't even wearing helmets, which was surprising to me.
My son could barely stand, and there was nothing for the kids to hold onto other than the rail. He used it, but still kept falling, and as he did, he was mostly just stared at and told to try to get up. They should have had skate aids already out on the ice before the kids even stepped on. Instead, they didn't bring them out until about 10-15 minutes into class. If you know you're teaching complete beginners, that should have been prepared ahead of time. Eventually, he did get a little help, but only after struggling for quite a while.
What bothered me the most was the attitude. My son was frustrated and said, "This is really hard. I need help." One of the coaches responded, "I don't want to hear those words." He's 4 yrs old. This wasn't a competitive team. It was a trial class for kids who are just learning.
I ended up calling him over and taking him off the ice. When they opened the door to let him out, not one person asked if he was okay, if he wanted to try again, or if there was anything they could do to help. He walked out upset, and no one seemed to care that he was leaving the class early.
The overall feeling I got from the staff was that they were just going through the motions instead of encouraging kids who were trying something new. First impressions matter, especially at this age, and unfortunately ours was not a good one.