First laps on the ice · Tips
First laps on the ice in Mooresville: practical tips
None of this is complicated. All of it is the difference between a good hour and a difficult one.
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.
Coming in from Mooresville with more than one child, the useful thing to know is that the room does not need to be rationed - there is more than one thing to do at the same time.
Before you leave the house
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.
Warn a nervous child about the noise before you walk in. Knowing what to expect is most of the difference between anxious and curious.
When you arrive
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.
Twenty minutes is a long first session. Confidence grows faster over three short visits than over one long one.
While you are there
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.
On the way home
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.
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.
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.
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.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
Planning your visit in Mooresville
Families searching from Mooresville are usually weighing one thing: whether it is worth the trip for an hour of something the children have not done before. The honest answer is that it depends on the child, and the rest of this page is about telling which.
Go early if the choice is available. The first hour after opening is quieter than any hour that follows it, and quieter is easier for everybody.
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.
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Mooresville. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
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
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.