Expression and Espresso

For several years Dawn Kovacs sat through her daughter’s ice-skating classes at Iceoplex.

She often camped out in the cold rinkside bleachers or waited in the lounge area sipping coffee.

It was boring!

“Many times I thought of actually going out there and trying it,” Kovacs said. “It looked fun but kind of scary.”

The idea of taking to the ice stuck with Kovacs for months. She mentioned it at home so often that her husband gave her ice skates for her 36th birthday.

“He said, ‘Here! Go out and just do it!’ ” Kovacs said.

But a beginner struggling just to stay up on the slick ice could be intimidated by crowds that often include experienced skaters performing acrobatics.

So Kovacs joined Iceoplex’s Coffee Club, an adults-only group that meets five days a week. From noon to 1:15 p.m. the main rink is reserved for mature skaters of all levels.

A $7 fee includes skates, a half-hour lesson, coffee, danish and refreshments.

What more could a hesitant adult with a fear of falling ask for?

“It’s great because there’s hardly anyone on the ice so there’s no one to run you over,” said Kovacs, who recently attended her second session. “There’s no kids going between your legs or big hockey guys showing off.”

The Coffee Club was created four years ago and its popularity has grown rapidly. Iceoplex co-owner Terri Berman said in the early years three to four skaters showed up and now an average of 25 attend the sessions regularly.

“They really, really like the fact that it’s just for adults,” Berman said. “I think that’s the key thing.”

Maria White, a woman in her 40s, says Berman is absolutely correct. White has taken two lessons and plans to come back for more.

“To me the biggest attraction is that there’s no children going 80 miles per hour,” she said.

On a recent afternoon, 18 skaters showed up for the Coffee Club. A 20-something man in slacks, a dress shirt and tie raced around the freshly groomed perimeter with confidence.

While he did that another man cautiously attempted to perform a turn at mid-rink. He fell several times but never gave up.

Five women took lessons from two instructors in an area that was sealed off by three orange cones.

At times the instructors held the apprehensive students’ hands and helped them across the ice.

“That’s it, just glide. You feel it? Feels good, huh?” said one instructor to a woman who had just completed what seemed an eternal journey across the rink.

White, who was still sore from her first lesson earlier in the week, did well her second time out. She occasionally grasped the perimeter wall to avoid taking a plunge, but giggled often.

“The Nordic Track gets a bit boring and this is great exercise,” White said. “And I guess I came back to make all the falling from the first time worth it.”

Russell Nash is an advanced skater who skips the lessons to do his own thing. He glides gracefully around the rink and performs turns and mini-jumps.

Nash heard about the Coffee Club from friends and after his first time out knew he’d be a regular.

“It’s great because I come during my lunch break,” he said. “There’s so much room to move on the ice now. Usually during public sessions it’s too crowded to do much.”

Iceoplex skating school director Lisa Sakata says the average age of Coffee Club members is 30, but often people in their 60s and 70s come out.

All skaters over 18 who are not “reckless showoffs” are welcome, Sakata said.

“I think there’s been a growth in ice skating because it’s received so much exposure in the last few years,” Sakata said. “Now adults are really into it. It’s good exercise and it gets them out, which is always great.”