St. Robert School’s gym class started off with a completely new and unique unit: roller skating.  I found that many people enjoyed the roller skating unit, just like me.  Sophie Scherwenka said, “I enjoyed the roller skating unit because it was something new to try in gym class” Lilly Nation agreed. Lilly said that it was fun when you got the hang of it.  She concluded with, “It was way better than basketball.”  In my opinion, the roller skating unit was a big hit; we were listening to music and seeing how much better we got each class.  However, some people did not enjoy it. Sofia Collins stated, “I didn’t like it, it’s not like roller skating is a life skill.  We should learn things that are more helpful, like basic exercises to maintain a healthy weight.”  She mentioned that swimming would be better, because you can drown if you can’t swim, but roller skating isn’t that important of a skill to have.

In the roller skating unit, we started with some pretty basic things.  Standing up, pushing off, and making sure we could stop ourselves.  I saw many flailing arms trying to keep balanced and many people running into walls and the stage to stop themselves.  But with the assistance of Mr. Jefferson and the practice course, my class caught on pretty fast.  Although there were a hiccups along the way with a few rough falls, we all took a little something away from the experience.  I found that if you watch people who have been roller skating a lot previously, it can help you to catch on.  After watching an 8th grader’s, Natalie’s, mad skating skills, I learned quickly.  I learned how to avoid obstacles by leaning backwards and flailing my arms.  Also, I  learned to lean forward and just glide instead of step in skates.

What really helped me personally learn to roller skate was my background with roller blading, which I enjoy doing over the summer.  So, for everybody looking forward to roller skating next year: give roller blading a try!