Skater's Bookshelf
Off-Ice Training That Feels Like a Game
Coach Wendi Cool's Weekly Off-Ice Bingo turns a year of at-home skating practice into 52 bingo cards. It's the first book we're putting on our skaters' shelf.
Welcome to our very first blog post! We're building an outdoor ice rink in Thousand Oaks this fall, and in between the chillers and the string lights, we've been thinking a lot about what helps skaters grow. Here's something every coach will tell you: the skaters who make it look easy on the ice put in plenty of work off of it.
Balance, core strength, flexibility, a calm head before a jump. Most of it gets built at home, on a yoga mat or in the hallway. Knowing that has never been the hard part. Doing it, week after week, is. That's exactly why Weekly Off-Ice Bingo by Coach Wendi Cool made us smile, and why it's the first thing we wanted to share here.
Skating with us this winter? Every skater in our Learn to Skate classes gets a copy of Weekly Off-Ice Bingo, included with their class.
What's inside
The idea is simple, and honestly a little genius. Instead of a workout plan you have to drag yourself through, you get a bingo card. Every week brings a new card full of skating-specific challenges: knock out a square, mark it off, chase a bingo. There's a journal page each week too, so skaters can jot down what felt good, what was tough and what they want to try next.
Across 52 weeks, the squares cover six areas that show up on the ice:
- Strength
- Balance
- Flexibility
- Jump technique
- Spin positions
- Mental skills
It's a 108-page paperback about the size of a notebook, so it slides right into a skate bag.
Who it's for
Wendi wrote it for skaters of all ages and skill levels, and that's what we love most. A brand-new skater gets a fun reason to practice between lessons. A competitive skater gets a whole year of structure that doesn't feel like homework. And parents get something better than "go stretch!" to keep the momentum going at home. Some families even make it a game everyone plays together.
Meet Coach Wendi
Wendi Cool has been coaching skaters of all ages since 1997. She's a US Figure Skating coach with certifications in Free Skating, Skating Skills and Group instruction. The book grew out of a bingo game she first made for her own students, which tells you a lot: it worked on real skaters long before it was a book.
If you love the format, she also wrote Weekly Wellness Bingo, a self-care version for busy grown-ups. Skate parents, that one might be for you.
How we'd use it this season
- Start before opening night. Begin your first card now and you'll show up on November 20 with better balance and a few new stretches.
- Get it with Learn to Skate. Every skater in our Sunday-morning classes gets a copy, so the week becomes off-ice practice time and Sunday is where you feel the difference.
- Put the card on the fridge. A card you can see is a card you'll finish.
- Wrap it up. It makes an easy stocking stuffer for the skater in your life, and pairs nicely with a Snowflake Season Pass.
If you pick up a copy, tell us about your first bingo when you come skate. We'd love to hear it. See you on the ice!