First steps at speed skating
Two winters ago, as speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno flew around the short track to Olympic gold, I was mesmerized. The balletic synchrony of a pack of skaters, their speed (which exceeds 30 mph), and their appearance of hardly moving their bodies at all. I had never seen speed skating before.
Last winter at Brookline's outdoor Larz Anderson rink, I saw a man in speed skates, with the trademark low boots and long blades. He said he ordered them over the Internet from a shop in Lake Placid. I placed an order and, when my skates arrived, I heated them in the oven to mold them to my feet. When I began skating on them, it was clear that something was missing. My feet hurt, my muscles tensed in fear, and I felt nothing like the Olympians I had seen on TV.
Later, the same speed skater at the Larz Anderson rink offered another tip: lessons for beginners through the Bay State Speedskating Club. I signed up, and spent many a happy Saturday afternoon in January and February learning to speed skate. The next six-week Learn-to-Skate session begins March 6 at Walpole's Iorio Arena, at a cost of $85.
Skaters of all ages and abilities gather each Saturday. At a recent session Olympic speed skater Daniel Weinstein, a tall, muscular Harvard senior and one of the club's coaches, led 15 skaters, ages 7 to 13, around the rink. A few girls and boys wore speedskates; most had hockey or figure skates. Everyone is required to wear helmets and gloves for safety. Weinstein wore hockey skates when he started speed skating with the club at age 8.
As the Olympian and the kids circled the rink, Dan Ott, a 50-year-old executive from Medfield who competes nationally, coached 20 people ages 15 to 56. Our group wore an assortment of hockey, figure, and speed skates. Demonstrating the proper forward crouch, Ott watched us beginners awkwardly follow his example. "Even lower," he said, adding, "Good. Nice job."
Coach Joanne Hallisey of Natick, the mother of two-time Olympian Caroline Hallisey, skated over to help. "Relax your upper body," she said. "Sink as low as you can" approaching the corners. "As my daughter says, `Don't go down to the ice; let the ice come up to you.' "
"Fun," "safety," and "relax" are Bay State Speedskating Club code words, which has produced not only Dan Weinstein and Caroline Hallisey, who is the nation's top-ranked woman in short track, but also Olympic medalist Eric Flaim. Flaim still comes back twice a year to coach and to offer a weekend summer camp at the Walpole rink. Another member, 16-year-old Matt Hickson of Norwood, who is training in Wisconsin for the world team in long track, is ranked third overall in his age group in the United States.
Speed skating is a family sport. Parents bring kids - Dan Ott's two daughters, fifth-grader Katie and third-grader Emily, started speed skating before age 4 and now compete around the country - and some kids bring their parents. Lauren Mullineaux, a 45-year-old oceanographer from Falmouth, signed up for Learn-to-Skate last year with her 9-year-old son, Andrew Grosenbaugh.
"He'd read in Sports Illustrated for Kids about a 12-year-old speed skater, and he didn't like the roughness of hockey," Mullineaux said. "I figured if I was going to drive him all the way [more than an hour] to Walpole, I might as well get some exercise, too."
Mother and son both now own speed skates and are on their fourth Learn-to-Skate session. They spend roughly 50 hours on the ice per winter, at a cost of about $850, which Mullineaux says is comparable to hockey prices. "Andrew loves it - he competed in the Bay State Championships in November - and I like the people in the club. They're really safety conscious, and they coach everyone to his or her level. There's no pressure to over-perform, there's lots of encouragement and ego massaging, and it's really fun."
In addition to Learn-to-Skate, the club offers one- to two-hour practice sessions three nights a week from September through May, to which beginners are also welcome. The speed and skill of the experienced skaters intimidate some novices, but not 6-year-old Allison Rogers, a first-grader at Plymouth South Elementary School. She and her 8-year-old brother Nathan, a third-grader, regularly attend Saturday's 6:10-7:40 p.m. practice sessions.
"It's a wonderful sport," said their mother, Pamela Rogers, from her seat in the stands. "There's no roughhousing. The kids compete, and then they're friends. The minute somebody falls, the coaches are right after them. And my kids love it when Dan Weinstein and Caroline Hallisey coach them, because they're so friendly."
Speed skating is excellent exercise. Russell Curtis of Bridgewater, a 39-year-old businessman who began skating last winter, was inspired by his son Andrew, who is now 10. "Your heart really pumps; it's a great way to stay in shape," he said.
"It's a way to be active in winter without having to pack up and travel to the mountains and rely on weather," said Joanne Hallisey. Speed skating is also easier on the body than contact sports. Sarah Westerling, 24, a graduate student from Medford who used to run regularly, suffered a shin injury that forced her to find a replacement sport. Now she speed skates twice a week, at Learn-to-Skate and at a public rink in Boxboro.
Many Learn-to-Skaters are refugees from hockey. Warren Smith, a 49-year-old mechanical engineer from Sharon, said, "Around age 40 I decided hockey was causing too many bumps and bruises. Wanting to stay on the ice, I signed up for Learn-to-Skate. It allows me to stay in shape at my own pace. We are free to do 10 laps or 30."
After the Learn-to-Skate session, there's the pleasure of returning to shoes and lingering in the stands to watch the Saturday evening practice. Pamela Rogers helps her kids onto the ice, while Joanne Hallisey calls for the fast group to warm up. A pack of experienced skaters - Dan Weinstein, 13-year-old Rachael Di Julio of Wakefield, R.I., Brookline resident Alex Fraenkel, 17, and 14-year-old Nate Belcher of Walpole - calmly circles the ice, picking up speed.
Eve LaPlante is the author of "American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans," which HarperCollins will publish in early March.
