Meet S Palanivel, a skating coach from Chitlapakkam, who has been training students for close to a decade now.
Recently, two of his students, Karthika and Bhuvaneswari, had won bronze medals in the National-level competition held at Visakhapatnam.
News Today met him during one of his training sessions in his rink located in Sembakkam.
Excerpts from the interview:
When did you start training?
Originally from Trichy, I learnt the sport when I was in tenth grade. I was going to karate classes and the same master also taught me skating. After completing my MA in History, I decided to teach as I was unemployed. I have been coaching students here from 2008.
What are the changes that the sport has seen over the years?
While speed was limited in those days, now it has become the main criterion. Also, more youngsters are interested in the sport that has no gender restrictions.
Is it easier to teach children or adults?
It is easier to teach adults as they grasp the nuances easily, while with children, it takes a little more time. Many of them get injured during practice as they do not take things seriously. However, once they get a hold of what they are doing, it becomes easy to mould them.
What are the different techniques in this?
There are several of them – walking with weight, cutting through a group and zig zag method are some of them. Warm up and exercise form a major part of the training which has three levels – basic skating, quad and inline.
What are the benefits of learning this sport?
People try to associate skating with just one form. However, there is roller skating hockey, football, roll ball (like Basket Ball), classic and western dances. This activity increases concentration and physical ability, especially leg power. One more added advantage for students is that they can get a college seat in sports quota through this.
About your training methods
During normal days, the training is done for two days a week, whereas during competitions, practice is done every day.
Palanivel can be reached at 9976513132.