First laps on the ice · First time
First laps on the ice in Huntersville: a first visit, step by step
Nobody arrives knowing how it works. That is fine - here is how the first half hour tends to go.
The advice that helps most is the least technical: bend the knees, look ahead rather than down, and take short steps instead of long glides.
The drive back to Huntersville is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
The first ten minutes
Warm layers matter more than anything else. A cold child asks to leave long before a tired one does.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
What children do first
Falling is part of it and is less dramatic than parents fear. Ice is slippery at walking speed, which is the speed a beginner moves at.
A first lap is mostly about the wall. Children hold it, let go of it, grab it again, and somewhere in the third lap they forget it is there.
What usually goes wrong
Twenty minutes is a long first session. Confidence grows faster over three short visits than over one long one.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
Making the second visit better
The advice that helps most is the least technical: bend the knees, look ahead rather than down, and take short steps instead of long glides.
Warm layers matter more than anything else. A cold child asks to leave long before a tired one does.
Questions parents ask
What age can a child start skating?
Children start at very different ages. What matters more is whether they are willing to hold a rail and shuffle.
How long should a first session be?
Short. Twenty minutes of trying beats an hour of being cold and frustrated.
What should they wear?
Layers, long sleeves, gloves. Gloves are the item most often forgotten and most missed.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
How do I get in touch?
By phone on +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925, or by e-mail at info@newlife-entertainment.com.
Planning your visit in Huntersville
If you are coming from Huntersville, treat it as a cross-town outing rather than a day trip. Go with a return time in mind and the day stays easy.
Decide how long you are staying before you walk in. A visit with an end time attached to it finishes on a good note rather than a tired one.
Agree the leaving time before you walk in, out loud, to the child. Announcing it later sounds like a punishment; agreeing it first sounds like a plan.
A Huntersville school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
The practical details
- XCAV ZONE — 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214: four child-operated machines over a ball pit.
- ICE PARK — 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027: a real rink with bumper cars on the ice.
- Opening hours — 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
- Phone — +1 (424) 387-6232 · +1 (615) 968-4925
- E-mail — info@newlife-entertainment.com
The two centres are at 433 Opry Mills Drive in Nashville and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd in Concord, open 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM most days and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.