My Daughter's Figure Skating Lessons in Dublin CA

I think one of the reasons Coach Brie does so well with kids is that they can sense her enthusiasm - she really enjoys skating, and is excited about it. It shows! She has a blast being out on the ice, and kids pick that up. As a matter of fact, I have seen her doing spins between the lessons - just for the fun of it. If you have not been to an ice skating rink before, you don't know how rare this is. She is out on the ice, all the time, skating and demonstrating right alongside the students - whether the student is a child, or a senior citizen.

Another reason why Coach Brie is so good with kids, and not just little kids, but also with teenagers, is that she has extensive training in Psychology. No, she does not try to psychoanalyze kids - but thanks to her training, she simply knows how to approach kids of different ages, and adults too. I have asked for a lesson or two from her, and in just few minutes, she was able to identify my weaknesses, and give me exercises that brought my skating to a whole new level. And yes, made it a lot more satisfying and fun. I guess everyone likes to do things well - and being able to see and feel one's own progress is very gratifying. My daughter especially likes pictures drawn on ice - Coach Brie draws pretty well - for a skater :-) . But the shapes she draws -and kids get to skate - are fun, and help communicating with very small children.

We both like ice skating, but learned on our own. We wanted our child to learn right from the start - not necessarily to be a world class figure skater, but to get the foundation right, so she could enjoy skating throughout her life even more than we do. If at some point she decides to make it her full time hobby or a profession - we will deal with it when the time comes. Right now we simply want it to be fun - but fun with solid technical foundation.

My daughter started figure skating lesson with coach Brie at the age of 3.5. after 4 months she already can:

• skate forward around the ice rink


• forward swizzles


• backward swizzles


• backward wiggles


• hops


• dips


• snowplow stops


• 1 ft glides

All documented in White Skating Book which was given to my daugher on one of the first lessons.

Ice skating rinks in the East Bay are few and far between. So we were delighted to find out that Dublin Iceland is a family friendly ice rink with plenty of activities. Located in Dublin, CA, close to the I-580 freeway, it has plenty of parking space and plenty of things to do.

Naturally, at Dublin Iceland you can sign up for ice skating lessons. Doesn't matter if you are 5 years old or 90 - they have a class for you. There are figure skating classes and just plain regular ice skating classes. If hockey is your thing, they have hockey as well.

Now, some people on Yelp complained about the decor and customer service. Well, if you want to pay $7 ( $11 if you also rent skates), you should not expect Trump Tower style. The place is fairly old - cool, for me that means it has character. As for the employees - yeap, the kids behind the counter are just kids - but if you simply stand there and keep asking questions - you will get what you want. When they run out of excuses, the call the manager and he usually fixes whatever the problem happens to be.

I do agree that the ice could use more frequent Zamboni trips - actually, watching their Zamboni is fun in itself. But the ice is skatable for little kids, for people like me who are not the greatest skaters. And frankly, the girls that are training seriously with coaches don't seem to complain about the ice either - yeah, it could be better, but it's good enough.

So if you are serious about learning figure skating moves, or just interested in skating for fun, Dublin Iceland is the way to go.

What I particularly like about Dublin Iceland are the figure skating coaches who can provide individual instruction. They seem to have a symbiotic relationship with the rink. They teach some of the classes, but also offer individual instruction as freelancers. You can pick an ice skating coach and get one-on-one or small group instruction - your choice. We see a lot of home schooling parents who bring their kids to private classes - one skating coach and 3-4 kids. It's a great way to give kids really solid instruction, while they also get some social interaction with other kids. Parents get to split the cost of the lessons, so it's easier on the wallet.

If you have not skated for a while, or you have never learned - just visit Dublin Iceland. You can look around, and ask questions. That's how we got started. There is an area for parents and family to hang around in relative warmth - ask them questions and they will be happy to answer. The whole place has a friendly, "small town" atmosphere. People are relaxed and smile a lot. You could also go to the ice rink area, but there seem to be fewer conversations there, as people concentrate on watching friends/family skating. And of course, you have to be dressed really warm. On the flip side, there is always plenty of available sitting space near the rink, as it's REALLY cold there.

You can meet us in our figure skating lessons at Dublin Iceland. if you are interested in private figure skating lessons, semi private figure skating lessons or group ice skating lessons contact our coach - figureskatinglessons@yahoo.com.