The Skating Collaborative
Private Skating Lessons
We are a premier ice skating facility located in the heart of the city. Our state-of-the-art rink offers something for everyone, from figure skating to ice hockey. Our experienced coaches provide personalized training for all levels and ages. We also offer public skating sessions and private event rentals. Come join us for a day of fun on the ice!
group skating lessons
S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym for Skills-based Maneuvers for Acquiring Responsive Technique. Responsive technique is a fluid and efficient way of skating that is highly adaptable. Skills-based maneuvers are exercises using the intentional body alignment and movement patterns that make responsive technique possible. Below is World Figure Skating Championships Bronze Medalist and S.M.A.R.T. Skate program designer Mervin Tran performing a deceptively simple core S.M.A.R.T. Skate exercise.
TSC Director David DeFazio powers through a double axel
S.M.A.R.T. Skate
S.M.A.R.T. Skate is the unique group training program used by The Skating Collaborative. Designed by World Figure Skating Championships Bronze Medalist Mervin Tran and continually refined by The Skating Collaborative coaches, the goal of S.M.A.R.T. Skate is to provide a high-value learning and training experience that is relevant to skaters of all levels. Each session of the program includes on-ice and off-ice group instruction from multiple facilitators as well as supervised practice time. The program places an emphasis on off-ice strength & conditioning as a necessary component of skill mastery on the ice, not to mention injury prevention and holistic wellbeing.
The impetus for S.M.A.R.T. Skate was exposure to the methodology of elite training centers throughout North America, Europe and Asia accrued by The Skating Collaborative's Founder David DeFazio and S.M.A.R.T. Skate content creator Mervin Tran. In such centers, they observed extensive utilization of group and "seminar" format for the coaching of not only grassroots athletes but national and international-level competitors and champions. Group training is a cost-effective, educational and pro-social (i.e. fun) supplement to private skating lessons. Skaters can learn from and inspire each other forward and strength in number can expedite improvement when carefully supervised as in this program.
A small amount of prior skating experience is necessary to participate in S.M.A.R.T. Skate. Participants entering the program should be comfortable not only marching but gliding on the ice both forwards and backwards (roughly equivalent to USFS Basic 4) with a desire to advance further. Because the program content is iterative and skill-leveled progressions are provided, skaters can remain active S.M.A.R.T. Skate members while advancing through USFS/ISI skating test levels and competition.
A message from S.M.A.R.T. Skate creator, Mervin Tran
I have developed this curriculum based on more than 25 years as an elite internationally-ranked athlete and competitive skating coach. I spent almost two decades training alongside Olympic-level athletes, coaches and support personnel on a daily basis, but I have been a part of introductory skating programs for decades and have witnessed their operations in multiple countries. Over the years, I've learned that any impressive feat of athleticism stems from solid fundamentals like those prioritized in S.M.A.R.T. Skate. This program is a roadmap for developing the skills necessary to compete at the highest levels. Train hard. I'll see you on the ice!
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