At the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, we’ll witness the best athletes in the world competing for gold, but even the best athletes had to start somewhere.
Some of the newest athletes in a favorite winter sport in North Texas get their start on the ice at the Dr. Pepper StarCenter in Farmers Branch.
There are ice skating classes for all age groups and the youngest students attend the Tots class.
“Give me a high five for standing up all by yourself, that is fabulous,” said Miss Stephanie, the teacher who is running the ice that’s covered with 3-5 year olds.
“Can you make those toes touch?” Stephanie asks one small skater, “Those are so great!”
Each child has a different reason for learning to skate.
5-year-old Natalia wanted to learn after seeing ice skaters at the Galleria Dallas.
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Allison, who is four years old, wanted to learn how to ski, but she got pretty skates instead.
Adriana and her twin sister, Juliana, came to the StarCenter for lessons because their older sister is also learning to skate there.
And three-year-old Harvey is training to be, “A hockey player!” he said with enthusiasm.
His Parents are Ashley and Brenden.
“Our son loves to check,” Brenden said with a laugh. They said Harvey’s passion for all-things hockey came from attending a Dallas Stars’ hockey game when he was two years old.
“He absolutely loved it, and so he was sort of asking us, ‘What is hockey? Want to try skating?’ and so we went out and gave it a shot and he loved it,” Brenden said.
Thanks to some extra precautions, they’re not worried about injuries.
“Ya, you gotta gear him up for safety. So we’ve got the helmet on,” Brenden said.
“Knee pads under the green thing,” Harvey said while pointing to his green socks.
“You got the socks to keep him warm, the big jacket,” Brenden said.
“And make sure you don’t fall on the ice,” Harvey said.
“We’ve never had worries about it though, there’s enough padding there that if he does fall he’s okay,” Brenden said.
From expanding their horizons to training for the Dallas Stars, which is going to happen, “When I get big,” Harvey said; these young skaters prove it’s never too early to try something new.
The Dr. Pepper StarCenters in North Texas have skating classes for all ages and skill levels. If you’d like to give it a shot, CLICK HERE.
