The Seattle Times: Snohomish County News: Never too young for skating

Everett Events Center ice-skating instructor Lisa Steffan gives encouragement to Meghan Halpin, 4. The Everett rink and the Lynnwood Ice Center offer lessons.

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EVERETT — After her first trip to the Lynnwood Ice Center nine months ago, 4-year-old Meghan Halpin begged and begged to go skating again.

Finally, her mom signed her up for lessons at the Everett Events Center, which includes a community ice rink.

"She takes swimming; she takes gymnastics. And this she's falling in love with," said her grandmother, Joyce Marchant, as she watched the Everett child happily trot across the ice during a recent lesson.

"You're awesome!" teacher Lisa Steffan told Meghan. "Push-push-push-push-glide."

When the child reached her arms, Steffan swung her through the air in a little circle before depositing her back onto her own two skates.

"It's a good thing you're peanut-sized, or I wouldn't be able to do this," she told her.

Meghan earned her new glossy-white skates, tot-size 11, with her home "job chart," where she earns rewards for good behavior.

"Anyone who'll listen, she's been telling about her lessons," Marchant said. "It's all she's talked about all week."

Ice-skating lessons

Everett Events Center, Broadway and Hewitt Avenue; public arena accessed off Broadway.
• Mom and Me Preschool, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Wednesdays. The next five-week session will begin May 26. Cost: $90 child with parent; $55 for child only; skate rentals included. Registration: Everett Parks and Recreation, 425-257-8300; events center, 425-322-2650.

• Learn to Skate, ages 6-12, 3:45-4:45 p.m. Thursdays. Everett Parks and Recreation offers five-week sessions for ages 6-8 and 9-12, with the next sessions starting May 27. Cost: $55; skate rentals included. Registration: 425-257-8300.
• Learn to Skate, all ages. Six-week sessions offered 5-6 p.m. Mondays or Fridays, or 8-9 a.m. Saturdays. The next sessions will begin May 7, 8 and 10. Cost: $66; skate rentals included. Registration: 425-322-2650.

Lynnwood Ice Center, 19803 68th Ave. N.W.
• Learn to Skate, all ages, 6:20-6:50 p.m. Wednesdays or 9:20-9:50 a.m. Saturdays. Eight-week sessions are taught by the Seattle Skating Club. The next sessions will start May 12 and 15. Cost: $95 plus a one-time $5 registration fee; skate rentals are $2.50 per class. Registration: 425-672-6885.

Meghan and her only classmate, Cameron Ford, had the luxury of Steffan's full attention. The preschooler class was expected to be large, the first one co-sponsored by Everett's parks department and the events center. But paperwork problems forced the 10 kids signed up through the city to wait until the next session, which will begin May 26.

During their first half-hour class, Meghan and Cameron learned the biggest basic: Falling down doesn't hurt. From there, they progressed to stomping on the ice and taking short steps and trying to glide.

At their recent second class, Steffan reinforced their first lessons by starting with an intentional pratfall.

"Boom!" she said, and laughed, as all three sat on the ice.

It was a Wednesday morning, and the arena was mostly empty. That was fine with the scattered recreational skaters practicing their moves.

"It's kind of like flying, in a way," said a 66-year-old Everett retiree, who had never tried ice skating until the arena opened in October. He took his first class in January and then plunked down $150 at a sporting-goods store for a pair of hockey-style skates.

"There's always something new to learn," said the man, who gave his name only as John. "Right now I'm working on crossovers."

At the other end of the rink, Cameron and Meghan were skating on a little course Steffan had drawn onto the ice with a bright-blue marker.

They practiced moving their toes out and back in as they shuffled forward, maneuvering around a series of pictures, such as a smiley face, star and balloon, that Steffan had sketched in a row. Then they followed a flowing line that made a loop and curved back around to the starting line.

"OK, drive that car, Cameron," Steffan said. "Let me hear your car."

The 4-year-old, focused on "driving" himself around the loop, complied.

"Beep, beep!" he said, as he shuffled along the blue line.

Before class ended, they worked on a few more advanced skills, including hopping over a squiggly line of make-believe water, wiggling their skates backward and shoving themselves from the wall for a short backward glide.

Then they had a half-hour "free skate" before going home.

"What we're teaching them is how to use their blades, get the feel for it and develop whatever kind of skating they want to do, whether figure-skating or hockey," Steffan said. "The biggest thing at this point is teaching them not to be fearful. At this age, it's just about having fun."

Nearly 600 people, including repeat students, have taken classes at the arena since its fall opening, rink manager Kyle Wintermute said.

Meghan's mother, Alicia, skated competitively as a teenager in freestyle and precision-team events. She practiced at Highland Ice Arena in Shoreline.

The preschooler class is for parents, too, but she sat on the sidelines. She's pregnant, and the baby — a boy, already named Timothy — is due any day.

"Meghan says she wants to teach Timothy how to skate," she said.

Diane Brooks: 425-745-7802 or dbrooks@seattletimes.com

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