Sitting in the lobby on the benches getting ready to skate, I hear a coach talking to I presume the parents of a child who was skating about their availability to do lessons. They said they were at the rink almost everyday and had slots of time available between 12 and 2.
I head out to the rink and work on my list of elements and make mental notes as I see them out coaching others.
When the session is up I head back to the lobby and get ready to head out. The coach I saw earlier is talking over things with the parents and lessons and they pack up and leave. The coach was still there so I approach them about getting some lessons as earlier they had said they had slots available. The answer I received when I asked was “I’m fully booked at every rink at the moment.”
Of course this is an answer I pretty much expected as I get the same thing when calling coaches that post their services on the board with the phone number tags, remember those? I’ll call and chat with them, typically they think I’m asking for my child. I tell them that it’s for myself and they ask what I’m working on, what times, etc etc. Once I give my name however, that’s usually the end of the conversation with a click. Some people ask for my name right upfront, as I’m guessing they were already leery, so not really a surprise to get a no and/or click.
Pretty much every coach I’ve talked to or called, said no once they knew my name.