Roller Skating

Last Thursday the children were invited to go roller skating with a large group of homeschoolers. I thought it would be fun, so I encouraged them to give it a try. I hoped they would be able to transfer some of their proficiency at ice skating over to roller skating. 

Bentley, who loves ice skating and has from his first time on the ice, said he was NEVER going roller skating again. He fell twice and was traumatized both times. (He's fallen when ice skating and just gets right back up.) Viva rolled onto the rink and headed for the center never going near the sides of the rink. She didn't fall once. She was the most adept at roller skating, but she said it was too hard and she didn't want to go again. Jake clung to the sides of the roller rink, but he said he'd go again--tomorrow! I tried to remind Bentley and Viva how hard ice skating was when they first started, but they were adamant that roller skating wasn't fun. 

The trio were as good or better than the vast majority of the other children at the rink. I have never seen such group ineptness. I thought first time ice skaters were bad, but these roller skaters were worse. Most first time ice skaters keep to the sides of the rink whereas most first time roller skaters just go for it rolling out to the middle of the rink and falling. Repeatedly. Often taking out two or three other skaters with them. 

I ice skated and roller skated as a youth. I enjoyed both. I expected my skill in roller skating to come back as easily as my skill in ice skating had, but it didn't. Roller skating was a little scary. I could skate and I didn't fall, but I didn't feel in control and I couldn't stop. I had to just aim for the carpeted sides of the rink and plow into it.

Roller skating was a bust. (It wasn't cheap--four pairs of rental skates and a slushy and pretzel ran $30. The rink building was in fair shape, but the skates were ancient and in very poor shape.) I predict it will be a few years before we go again.