ussg News Board

You are cordially invited to the

ussg Inaugural Education Conference 2005

on Saturday, October 15th
at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach
in conjunction with the

Long Beach International Marathon Expo.

This all day event features workshops by inline skating industry leaders

with special presentations by ussg Advisors.

Conference information and registration available at http://www.unitedskateschools.org/Conference2005.html

Conference2005.html

This month we are featuring two articles from fellow ussg members.  Both are exceptionally talented writers, teachers and skaters who care very much about the sport of inline skating.  Thank you to Liz and Bill for sharing their knowledge and expertise.  Also, to Liz – please know that you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.

Congratulations!

Oh and we have some wonderful news! Kris Simeone Fondran had a beautiful baby girl, Jadyn Victoria Fondran, born June 27 at 9:59 am.

ussg e-newsletter
Volume Three
September/October 2005

I hope this finds you and your families safe and healthy.  I know that some of you have been deeply affected by Hurricane Katrina. Please know that our thoughts are with you and we hope that each day gets easier as you face enormous challenges.

This has been a difficult year for many of us.  I personally have had more than I could handle at times with my family’s health issues and then the passing of my dear friend, California Assemblyman Mike Gordon.  Mike was my confidant and mentor and when Mike passed away at the early age of 47 of a brain tumor this summer, I felt quite lost in the world. He was a huge influence and much of the wind behind my sail.  When my work, community service, and family life would make my schedule bust at the seams he would tell me “Janet you CAN do it all.”  When he died I felt like I could do nothing.  But as I remember what he taught me, with his positive outlook and never-ending commitment to excellence, I know that he would have wanted me to continue.  I started the ussg with him in mind and I will continue with him in mind too.

I’d like to extend a special thank you to Trish and Heather for their support and understanding for if it wasn’t for their own experiences of grief, mine would be even more difficult.

With that said I am looking forward to a much more smooth, happy and fun fall.  I hope you plan to join us in Long Beach for the Inaugural ussg Education Conference.  The Conference will be a great opportunity for all of us to see old friends, meet new friends, and discuss the future of our organization.

I wish you all the best as the year winds down and as always, please contact me anytime with ideas or questions.

Janet

Janet Miller Sheehan

USSG– United Skate Schools Group

http://www.unitedskateschools.org/

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ussg runs first official Instructor Examination Program (IEP)

Our first ever Instructor Certification Program was a tiny and HUGE success!  Even though we only had one candidate, we decided to make sure the program in Los Angeles was a go.  With so many inline events cancelled this year we felt that it was very important not to cancel, not only for the candidate, but also for the success of all instructor examination programs.

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Instructor Exam Rolls again

ussg Instructor Examination Programs are scheduled in Seattle, Long Beach and Washington DC for the remainder of 2005.

Do you know anyone in the education field or perhaps in the health and fitness industry that has good people and communication skills?  Look for these skaters in your midst. See if you can spark their interest and bring them to the world of skate education. Do them a favor and share what you know and love.  For more information send them to http://www.unitedskateschools.org/ExamIEnew.html.

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Are you certified in First Aid/CPR?

By ussg member Bill Hicks

 -Thank you Bill for a timely and incredibly valuable article!

We all know that inline skating can be dangerous.  That’s why we always advocate the wearing of all safety equipment including helmet, wrist guards, elbow, and knee pads.  Do they prevent all injuries?  Absolutely not!  While the majority of injuries sustained by skaters are caused because they are NOT wearing safety equipment, accidents still happen and injuries still occur.

It is critical that we, as instructors, be prepared to handle minor and major injuries as they happen.  Depending on where you are teaching a lesson, it could take several minutes for EMS personnel to reach you (assuming you have a phone handy!), therefore we should always have a substantial first aid kit on hand whenever we teach, and be prepared to use it. In any emergency, always follow the same approach to caring for the injured person.  As soon as you recognize that an emergency exists, take action. 

Remember the three “C’s”:

CHECK.  Check the area for safety, check the injured person.

CALL.  Call 911 or your local emergency number.

CARE.  Care for the person.

Calling for help is often the most important action you can take.  If the person is unconscious, call 911 or the local emergency number immediately!

Remember to ALWAYS call EMS if the injured person:

Is or becomes unconscious

Ø      Is confused

Ø      Has breathing difficulty

Ø      Is not breathing or has no pulse

Ø      Has persistent chest pain or pressure

Ø      Is bleeding severely

Ø      Has pressure or pain in the abdomen that does not go away

Ø      Is vomiting or passing blood in the urine or feces

Ø      Has a seizure, severe headache, or slurred speech

Ø      Has injuries to the head, neck, or back

Ø      Has possible broken bones

Your first aid kit should have sufficient supplies for multiple injuries, especially if you teach group lessons.  It’s always better to have too much on hand and not need it, than to not have enough.  A good first aid kit should have, at a minimum, the following:

Ø      Adhesive bandages with gauze pads, assorted sizes, Butterfly closures

Ø      Elastic tape and wraps in various widths

Ø      Moleskin, Roller gauze, Nonstick dressing pads, various sizes

Ø      Instant ice packs, Alcohol/alcohol preps, Cotton swabs

Ø      Antibacterial ointment, Anti-infective solution

Ø      Antiseptic towelettes, Hydrogen peroxide, Petroleum jelly

Ø      Scissors, Nail clippers, Safety pins, Tweezers

Ø      Flashlight and batteries, Emergency blanket, Plastic bags

Ø      Resuscitation mask/face shield, Latex/nitrile gloves, Arm sling

You can purchase complete kits from various locations found on the internet, your local Red Cross office may have them, or you can build your own like I do.  Once you have a kit, don’t forget to check it over periodically, and replace any expired items, check your flashlight batteries, etc.

Remember, in an emergency, the students around you will expect you to react properly.  See your local Red Cross office today, and get CERTIFIED as a first aid/CPR trained instructor!

Bill Hicks

Certified Red Cross Instructor First Aid/CPR/AED/Sport Safety

sk8teacher@adelphia.net

http://www.proskateinlineschool.com/

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Champion Your Lefties

By ussg member Liz Miller

Everybody knows whether they are right- or left-handed. But most new skaters don’t know which foot they favor and have no idea why it matters. As instructors, we know this affects how easily they can learn the basics that keep them safe: how to control their speed, stop and turn. It’s very important for your success and theirs to identify any lefties and get their brake swapped before any instruction begins.

Identifying lefties and righties.  Don’t trust most people to correctly identify whether they are “right-footed” or “left-footed” because there are too many ways they might interpret this for themselves. Instead, consider including this query in your pre-lesson confirmation emails or phone calls:

Which foot would you use to

·         Kick a soccer ball

·         Step into a pair of shorts

·         Catch yourself if shoved from behind

·         Start climbing a ladder

Note that for some, a past injury may have changed their natural balance vs. action foot. But in general, a student’s answers should be the same for all four items above. If not, he/she will likely be able to learn the key safety skills in either direction.

Why it matters.  Each person has a lifelong history of using one foot primarily for action (as identified above), and the other for balancing body weight during that action. Typically—but not always—right-handed people have better strength and stability when balancing on their left foot. They use the right foot as their action foot, so we can safely label them as right-footed. The opposite is true for left-handed people who are usually—but not always—left-footed.

Right vs. left dominance not only determines which skate should have the heel brake on it (the action foot), but also which direction will be easier for learning new turning skills: left-footed skaters will want to learn clockwise turns first, right-footed skaters are more comfortable learning turns counter-clockwise.

Be a hero for your lefties.  If your beginning student already owns skates, volunteer to swap the brake if possible. Be aware that not all brakes can be removed and reinstalled on the left boot, for example those on low-end skates and certain Rollerblade-brand Active Brake Technology (ABT and ABT Lite) models.

If your student has not yet purchased skates, advise sticking with the major brands (Salomon, K2, Rollerblade) that are more likely to allow a switch of the brake apparatus. Again, volunteer to swap the brake before the student’s first lesson.

It may be too late to swap the brake if a left-footed student has already gotten used to using it on the right skate. When braking with the right skate has already started to become instinctive, it may be a bad idea to interrupt and start over. A good test is to have the student try coasting in the scissors position with the brakeless skate in front. He or she will tell you if that feels better enough to warrant swapping the brake.

Respect the needs of your left-footed beginners and reap the rewards of seeing them quickly transform their fear into joy as they gain confidence from learning to skate safely in the way most natural to them.

Liz Miller

liz@getrolling.com

http://www.getrolling.com/

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