For those who don’t mind the temperature, Western New York’s cold, long winters in Western New York provide the perfect opportunity to learn how to ski, snowboard and skate.

At Skate Great, there are classes for the whole family to learn together.

"We do learn to skate programs at five different locations throughout Western New York, over 20 programs a week and we teach 18 months through adult," said Jessica Roswell, Skate Great’s director.

Many of the coaches got on the ice with Skate Great when they were kids, helping to build familiar connections. 

"I like to think of us as a family,” Roswell said. “We really do care about the children and the adults that we teach, whether it's in our learn to skate or hockey players that we start at a very young age, we really do care about everyone that we teach.”

When parents enroll their kids in skating lessons, they might hope they learn or thing or two on the ice, but in reality, they can end up learning so much more. 

Lessons learned on the ice go well beyond skating, but those who stick with it could find themselves with a life-long passion and skills that can be used elsewhere.

Great Skate student Faith Flattery said skating has become an outlet.

"My favorite part about skating is that it's so artistic, that you can add any moves to a technical component that you can really do when you're walking down the street,” she said. “You get to be free when you come to the ice.”

Those who are afraid of falling should remember that’s a lesson in itself.

"When you fall, you're going to fall, just get back up and try again," Maloney said.