First laps on the ice · Guide
First laps on the ice in Matthews: the practical guide
Everything below is the sort of thing you would want to know before the drive rather than after it.
Twenty minutes is a long first session. Confidence grows faster over three short visits than over one long one.
Weekends bring more of Matthews out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
What it actually is
Warm layers matter more than anything else. A cold child asks to leave long before a tired one does.
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.
Who it suits
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.
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.
What to expect
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.
Bring less than you think. Coats and bags are the part of the visit nobody enjoys managing.
Before you go
Twenty minutes is a long first session. Confidence grows faster over three short visits than over one long one.
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.
What are the opening hours?
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
Planning your visit in Matthews
A Matthews school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
A short visit that ends while they still want more beats a long one that ends in a meltdown, every time.
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.
The nearest of the two centres to Matthews is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
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
Anything time critical is worth a phone call first: hours are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.