Best friends Toj’e Woods and Charisma Washington
Skate to More Fulfilling Saturdays
BY MIMI MCKINNIS
Learn to Skate USA programs do more than teach ice skating. They build tighter bonds within families and strengthen friendships that extend outside the rink. Your weekend lessons bring more than new skating skills — they invite new friendships as you skate to more fulfi lling Saturdays. Whether you’re experiencing the ice with other fi rst-timers or with a lifelong friend, the fi rst moment you glide across the ice is a moment you’ll remember forever.
When 12-year-old Toj’e Woods of Monument, Colorado, stepped on the ice for the fi rst time, she was glad to have her “bestie,” Charisma Washington, by her side.
“She’s skated with her family before, so she knew how,” Woods said of Washington. “I’ve never been on the ice, so I was glad to have her there helping me.”
“It’s fun because I got to watch her get better and better,” Washington added. “We got to see the excitement on each other’s faces when we got the hang of something or when we tried something and didn’t fall. We’ve been friends forever, but we got to share a brand new experience.”
Woods met 12-year-old Washington, who lives on base in Fort Carson, Colorado, after Washington stood up to a bully for Woods in second grade. Six years later, they still have each other’s back, taking on life and the ice together.
“My favorite part of skating was being able to learn something new with her,” Woods said. “Your best friend will be there for you no matter what. She’ll catch you when you fall and make it OK if you get bumps and scrapes, real ones and life ones. When you’re ice skating, it’s like
12 FEBRUARY 2017
everyone is gliding around you and fl ying so fast, but you have your best friend right by your side. You’re hanging out together in your own cold and magical little world.”
For Nicole Bishop and her three children, Learn to Skate USA classes at the Coyotes Ice Den in Scottsdale, Arizona, turned sibling rivalry into family bonding.
“It’s cool watching them grow to love skating like I do,” Bishop said. “They work through things together; they set goals and help each other achieve them. It’s awesome to see them work together.”
Bishop’s children, 10-year-old Skyla, 7-year-old Kaelyn and 5-year-old Tavin, are working through the Learn to Skate USA curriculum together, with Skyla leading the way in an advanced pre-preliminary class.
“It’s fun making new friends in Learn to Skate, and I love skating with my little brother and little sister because I can help them with the things they’re working on,” Skyla said. “When Kaelyn couldn’t do a shoot-the-duck, I showed her how. Now she’s really good at it, and we’re teaching Tavin how to do it together.”
Skating provides opportunities to strengthen bonds and form new friendships under a common interest. Participants identify with a group as they have fun and develop confi dence side by side. The relationships that skaters form in the rink with both kids and adults can open new doors in other spheres of life, providing opportunities for greater success both on and off the ice.
Get started at
LearnToSkateUSA.com and share the ice with someone today.
The Bishiop kids: Tavin, Skyla and Kaelyn
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