ALPENA – Whether it’s chasing a puck, gracefully gliding and jumping, racing around a short track or just sliding around for a good time, skating has a lot to offer.

In Alpena it’s possible to try many different kinds of skating. Some do it on frozen lakes or outdoor ice rinks, but for a smoother surface there’s Northern Lights Arena’s twin sheets of ice. The arena is host to figure skating and speed skating clubs, several different levels of hockey and open skating for casual fun.

Skating is the single most important skill in hockey, Alpena Hockey Association President Jake Martin said. He’s also the head coach of AHA’s girls team, and said the game is all about the transition. A hockey player has to beat their opponent to the puck, or get to open ice and be ready to receive a pass. As the action moves from one end of the rink to the other, speed is crucial. Good skating also is a factor in puck control.

“If you’re a good skater but you have flaws in other areas, you can still be extremely effective,” he said.

While it takes time and dedication to be a good skater, it’s possible to practice on dry land, Martin said. He suggested searching the Internet for instructional videos.

College and professional scouts are looking at how fast a prospect can power their way from one end of the rink to the other, but Maddy Boyd enjoys feeling a different kind of power on the ice. It’s the thrill she feels from jumping in the air, executing a spin and landing again. She’s a figure skater, and at 14 she’s one of Alpena Figure Skating Club’s advanced-level members.

A skater since she was five, Boyd said she’s spent a lot of good time at the rink. She’s made friends with other club members, and also enjoys the club’s show at the end of each season.

While figure skating can be fun, it also takes discipline and dedication. Club President Pam Coleman said some members do skate strictly for the love of it, but those who want to advance must meet the strict guidelines set by the U.S. Figure Skating Association. To reach the next level, skaters must prove they have the skills to do so. Some of the club’s skaters also compete in meets.

On the ice, club coach Chelsea Smigelski worked with 11-year-old Julia Modrzejewski. She’d try a move a few times, then Smigelski would tell her how to correct her form and have her try again. After a few tumbles, Modrzejewski started to get the hang of it.

This kind of repetition is all part of perfecting the art form.

“You’ve got to really be determined and dedicated if you really want to get that spin, or get that jump or that move,” Boyd said. “Sometimes it comes easy to someone, but it doesn’t for everyone. You can’t give up.”

Speed skating has its own form, one Alpena Speed Skating youth coach Kurt Hines worked one-on-one with Thaddeus Tadian and Molly Thomas during one of the club’s Sunday afternoon practices. He’d set down track markers around curves at each end of the rink, and the three practiced skating on the straight-away and banking hard to make the curve. A set of pads along the rink wall on the far side of both curves protected them from falls.

Along with protective equipment, the three had on the long-bladed skates speed skaters use. Hines said the extra length gives more power for each push, and the club has skates available to rent for its members. That extra push helps amateur speed skaters hit speeds of 20 miles per hour, with Olympic skaters going even faster.

The club’s philosophy centers around health and fitness, Hines said, although its members do attend meets. Speed skating is an activity the whole family can do – Tadian is 8, and Hines’ son got him started after knee injuries forced him to quit hockey. Other than some specialized techniques, it’s very similar to other kinds of skating.

“The bottom line is, it’s an awful lot of fun going fast,” Hines said.

Then there’s skating for fun. No goalies, no single axles or specialized equipment, just some skates, friends or family and a smooth patch of ice. People of all ages come out to open skates at NLA, and there are a few who try some more involved techniques but most are simply out for a fun glide and some physical activity.

Natalie Goff comes out to open skates every other weekend, sometimes with friends, she said. It’s good exercise and a good way for her to get away from everything. She’s also a dancer, and her time on the ice helps with her balance.

While Josh Duby said he hadn’t skated in a while, it’s the kind of skill that you don’t lose. He enjoys winter sports like snowboarding, and hitting the ice is another way for him to stay active in the colder months. Growing up on Long Lake, he would skate on the frozen lake, he said.

“Even when we ice fish, we’ll skate around while we’re waiting for the tip-ups to go off,” he said.

Skating has a stride to it, much like in-line, Duby said. Duby’s advice for those who want to give skating a try is this: just give it a shot, and don’t be afraid to fall.

Jordan Travis can be reached via email at jtravis@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688. Follow Jordan on Twitter @jt_alpenanews. Read his blog, A Snowball’s Chance, at www.thealpenanews.com.