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Program Feedback |
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“I am pleased with the caliber of
your training and the responsiveness of the girls to your methods.” - Allan Wallisch.
Read more...
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Calendar |
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| | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | | 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 1 | 2 | | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
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STS Program Dates and Participation Notes |
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Venue: Moraine State Park.
Meeting area: check out the Bear Run spot on South Shore before heading up to the Bike Rental area on North Shore, or call Robert to verify, in case you have not received the email blast update.
Sessions are divided into the following segments:
1. Technology, gear and gadget talk.
2. Warm-up; setting up the Soft Pole Run and warm-up runs.
3. Timed Runs - STS Race Series.
4. Debrief and stretching.
5. Taking on the Trail. You skate the trail at your own risk. If you're not ready for the trail, stick around to the practice area and work on your pace and turns.
Parents/Guardians are responsible for kids' safety during the event, and are requested to pay extra attention if they chose to take on the trail. Best if parents assist the kids by biking in a safe distance behind or in front of the kids.
Suggestions as to the venue and the session structure towards improving training effectiveness and safety are welcome. We all want to finish to the best of our abilities, and with the same number of bones we started with. We all want to make the experience equally good to all participants and bystanders. Note: do not skate in large groups; give yourself enough room to avoid unexpected obstacles, or time to react to an unexpected situation. Slow down when you see a dog or other animal on the trail. Take into account that they may jump toward you.
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Summer Training Series - Skill Development and Conditioning Program for Alpine Skiers |
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Our Summer Training Series this year will spin around the in-line skating skill development and skill transfer to alpine skiing. Use the Contact Form to inquire more about the program but we'll be learning pretty much skiing - just using skates, and maybe some of the Double Push technique if we get there this year. We will also be using soft training poles and personal timing devices to time the runs.
What I encourage you to focus on is the balance aspect of your skating experience. See how maintaining the "balance in motion" is critical to having access to all other skills, whether rotary, edging or pressure. And then, if we get there we'll be looking for speed while skating the slow line. You're gonna ache some after each session but isn't it what you're looking for?
The dates have been posted to the STS calendar below and are set to "last Saturday of each summer month" but we can be flexible as we skate through the summer. Also, skating on wet surfaces is dangerous and will quickly damage your skates. On rainy or otherwise wet days we'll substitute skating with running, so have your running shoes and your favorite music handy. Music helps coping with the challenge, and it is more fun, too. You will find yourself dancing to the beat, whether skating or running and this experience builds your rhythmic and coordination skills essential in performance alpine skiing.
STS Program Cost/Components: PSC club membership (annual dues: $25 - first adult in a family, $10 - children, more info here), STS Program Fee - $98. The series includes four training sessions
spread over the summer months with a bonus starter session in May.
Dates and times may vary so check the site frequently or contact the
program coordinator.
PSC Race Team membership (dues are $20, annually) is optional, although highly
recommended, as it provides more opportunities to ski gates and skate with competitive or performance focus and keep our Racing Team strong.
***Option***
Optional,
video analysis package is available for additional fee of $70. The
analysis will be posted to the program website secure student locker
within 24 hours of the session and consist of screen by screen movement
analysis, instruction and suggested drills.
About in-line skating:
Since its introduction in 1980, in-line skating has become one of the fastest growing recreational sports in the world. The sport offers the benefits of aerobic fitness, cross-train for other sports and in itself grows as a competitive sport in artistic, speed skating, and endurance events. The low cost and multiple benefits of participation have allowed the sport to thrive beyond the limits of a "fad," as evidenced by the existence of a professional roller hockey league, in-line speed skating competition at the Pan American Games, trick-skating competition at the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) Extreme Games, several periodicals for enthusiasts, an international skaters association, a formal training program for instructors, and summer training camps.
Wearing proper gear is essential for safe skating. This includes a helmet, wrist guards, knee pads, and elbow pads. Wrist guards are designed to prevent wrist injuries by preventing sudden extreme hyperextension, absorbing some shock of impact, dissipating kinetic forces by forward sliding on their hard volar plates, and preventing local gravel burns. A helmet, wrist pads, elbow pads, and knee pads are recommended for shock absorption.
All STS participants are required to use helmets, wrist guards, knee pads and have brake installed on at least one of the skates. Elbow pads, running or similar pants, and padded boxers are optional but highly recommended.
WARNING: it is not a matter of whether, but when you'll fall, and it can be at 22 mph and gravel, so chose wisely whether you want to shave off your pants and boxers, or your skin first. You WILL fall and draw blood on occasion; just try not to lose a month or two of summer to growing back your skin.
Recent research has evaluated the effectiveness of such gear and indicates that wearing wrist guards could reduce the number of wrist injuries by 87%, wearing elbow pads could reduce the number of elbow injuries by 82%, and wearing knee pads could reduce the number of knee injuries by 32%.
Gear:
Four-wheeled skates with ABEC-5 or -7 offer sufficiently low friction for the development of proper movement patterns. With ABEC-3 type you will muscle through, although will soon notice that live can be much easier with 5 or 7 type series. Five-wheeled skates are high-performance, extremely low-friction skates and if you're that good, bring them on! Skates should fit snugly to allow good, responsive control. Skates should be well maintained: the brake pads should not be worn down, the wheels should be worn symmetrically and turn freely (rotate your tires concept applies here, too). Skates with expandable shells or interchangeable liners are now available to accommodate the child's growing foot. For more on gear selection read the section below.
Skill:
Skating skill is not acquired easily or quickly. Good balance and speed control are essential skills to learn. The age at which children are ready to use in-line skates safely is not known with certainty because a combination of factors are involved: physical factors (foot size and body strength); skill factors (general athletic ability and large-muscle coordination); and behavioral factors (vigilance in watching the surface for debris and defects, sufficient attention to traffic, judgment). Although most 7- and 8-year-olds can acquire the skills needed to in-line skate, some children may acquire these skills earlier or later. Judgment and ability to avoid obstacles, including bicyclists, pedestrians, and other skaters, are needed.
STS program at Moraine State Park venue is not for novice skaters. The novice should preferably learn indoors at a skating rink, where surface conditions, speed, and lighting are controlled without the presence of traffic or other obstacles and natural terrain challenges. Novices particularly need a flat, smooth surface free of debris. Once a skater can control speed and direction on an indoor rink, he or she is ready to skate on a path or open lot. Hills (even small ones) should be avoided at first. The path selected should be isolated from motor vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic to the greatest extent possible until the skater is competent enough to avoid such obstacles. Separate trails are advisable where possible.
Moraine State Park trail is an intermediate to advanced terrain; narrow, winding, with challenging pitches and climbs. This is why it renders itself as an excellent training venue for alpine skiers turned in-line skaters in the summer.
Novices, do not need to be discouraged from visiting Moraine State Park and staying in one of the novice-friendly areas. They are discouraged, however, from taking on the trail until they feel comfortable on skates and able to control their speed and direction of movement.
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Guide To Buying In-line Skates For Alpine Skiers |
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This section was developed to assist alpine skiers in purchasing their inline skates for training and it draws from a document originally found on the Play It Again Sports store pages authored by the "Wheeled Mike". Full document describing wider purchasing and fitting needs (worth checking out) can be downloaded from the Supported Documents section below. Play It Again Sports stores offer a good selection of new and well priced in-line skates, so check them out and let's all thank Mike for developing his very helpful "buying guide" for skaters.
In-line skating is almost a natural transition to alpine skiers for summers full of fun and healthy activities. Here are some main points to make the selection and buying process easier:
You want to have a recreational pair of In-line Skates and the larger wheels the better. Recreational skates are:
- Designed for a leisurely rides in the park or around the neighborhood, and fitness activity.
- Provide comfort and durability are priorities.
- Usually made with a hard outer frame and a soft or hard boot.
- Typically equipped with 4 wheels with a wheel size from 70-80 mm.
- Recreational skates usually come with 70-72 mm wheels for a low, stable center of gravity.
- Higher-grade recreational skates come with larger wheels (up to 82 mm) to allow faster skating.
- Midsize wheels are 72-76.
Determining Your Skate Size
- Determining your proper skate size is essential to a comfortable fit.
- The size of your skate will typically be the same as the size shoe you wear.
Women's
- Designed with a wider forefoot, narrower heel and higher instep.
- Lower cut in the back accommodates a woman's calf.
Wheels
- To avoid excessive, uneven wear, they need to be rotated frequently (once a week seems extreme but you should at least give your edges a look over before riding)
- Wheels should be changed when they show excessive wear on all sides. Skating with worn wheels is unsafe.
- Wheel hardness is measured in durometers. Lower numbers indicate a softer wheel and higher numbers indicate a harder wheel.
- Durometer is denoted by the suffix "A" (example - 80A).
- The typical recreational in-line skate wheel is 78A or 82A.
- Softer wheels are good for winter and provide a softer ride.
- Harder wheels are better in the summer when the pavement is hot and the wheels tend to soften.
Bearings
- Each bearing has an ABEC rating that indicates the precision of their manufacturing.
- The higher the rating, the more precise the manufacturing and the better the performance of the bearing.
- The general ABEC range is ABEC-1, ABEC-3, ABEC-5 and ABEC-7.
- Bearings are either serviceable or non-serviceable.
- Serviceable bearings have a metal shield with a removable "C" ring, or a plastic/rubber type removable shield. These may be taken apart to be cleaned, lubricated or replaced.
- Non-serviceable bearings have a metal shield that protects them. These only need to be wiped off with a clean cloth.
- Bearings don't need to be cleaned after every use, but if they become wet, they should be cleaned and dried
- Never lubricate the outside of a bearing because that will attract dirt and contaminants.
Brakes
- Most manufacturers offer braking systems.
- The most common form of braking system is a pad or cylinder on the rear wheel that stops movement by applying pressure on the heel.
- Most brake pads have a "wear line" that indicates how much performance is left in the brake. The brake pad should be replaced before this wear line is reached.
- Some manufacturers do offer mechanical braking systems that make stopping easier to learn.
- Hockey skates and speed skates normally do not include braking systems.
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Supporting Documents |
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STS Events and Race Results |
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How do we calculate the STS Race Series handicap? NASTAR National Championships handicap is preferred but others can also be used to set up PAR TIME. Have a calculator? Here is how you can verify your race results and set up goals for achieving a desired handicap:
Racer's Handicap = Racer's Time ÷ PAR TIME.
Time required for a specific Handicap = desired Handicap x PAR TIME.
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Simple Gallery Random |
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Development Programs |
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Contact Form |
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| To obtain more details about the STS program contact the Program Coordinator using the form below. |
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Caution STS Riders! |
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Moraine State Park/North Shore Trail: A paved, seven-mile trail winds near the shoreline between Davis Hollow and the Bike Rental
Building in the northwest corner of the park. The trail can be accessed
at many places in the Lakeview Beach and Watts Bay Marina areas.
CAUTION!
- This trail is not a loop.
- The trail has many steep grades and curves.
- There are rough spots, uneven surfaces and slippery areas.
- Please exercise caution and be considerate of other riders and walkers when using this trail.
- The trail is for experienced skaters in good physical condition.
- In-Line Skating is inherently risky. You skate at your own risk.
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Double Push Technique |
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Check this site for DP instructions for beginners.
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