Four people. ~16,500 square feet of rink.
You figure we'd be able to stay out of each others' way, right?
Miss Bianca and I are working in the Leftie Lutz corner when the other coach and his student skate into the circle and start working on some waltz jumps. Miss Bianca cheerfully tells me to move to center ice.
At center ice Miss Bianca has me working on my back crossovers. The other coach brings his student to center ice and has her start doing forward crossovers so she keeps coming up behind me. I swap directions; he has her swap directions. The girl is always coming up behind me and she won't yield! I have to stop or try to skate around her or sometimes to avoid him.
I stop next to Miss Bianca and ask, "Does he bully your students like this often?"
"Oh," she says cheerfully, "It's just a thing he does."
I ask, "Is he aware he's doing it?" Because I've seen people do some stuff like this and be totally unconscious of it.
Miss Bianca gives me a thoughtful stare but makes no comment.
"Let's go back to the corner," I say. I want to see if it happens again. Honestly, it might be fun. We could work our way around every corner circle.
"No, you should work here."
I assume this is to get me used to managing my skating backwards in a crowd, but it still creeps me out that anywhere we go on the empty rink, the other coach is there.
Well, next time it happens, I'll just skate into him if he doesn't move. It's not like I go that fast and he's a big guy, he can take care of himself.
Or reach up and give him a big wet one on the cheek, that never fails to drive men away!
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| ME |
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| HE! |
So was he bullying you, or your coach?
ReplyDeleteThe coach had had it happen before without me there, so I'd say the coach. But in my case it was making me uncomfortable. I don't think it bothered my coach.
DeleteWe had two coaches who did this to each other, with their LTS groups. I don't think the kids noticed. I did- and after two sessions requested a refund from the skate director. They did not give me one, but they gave the bullying coach a talking to. (Especially since, in theory, ice space was assigned.)
DeleteI could handle it when it was just me and the coach and just him and a skater- but a pack of freestyle kids doing jumps was just too much.
We have this same situation at my rink. One of the coaches always, always, has his students run into me. Even if we are the only 4 on the ice like you and Miss Bianca. It drives me batty. Not once does he say "excuse me" or "sorry" when he is in my way (especially if I am in a spin and literally cannot see them coming).
ReplyDeleteSeems like a few " 'scuse me!"s and "COMING THROUGH" and being obnoxious in return might work. Or falling over with a feigned broken ankle... who are they going to believe anyway? I just don't understand why there is this needless drama.
ReplyDeleteI say put on your best "New York City Subway Face" and keep going. There are a few people at the rink who are afraid of me because of my "subway face", but they do stay out of my way!
ReplyDeleteBTW, a "subway face" can best be described as a facial expression that says, "Get in my way and see what happens to you. Do I LOOK like I'm pleased to see you?"
Good luck!
Sometimes I feel sad we're adults. We can't duke it out and scream like kids....
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