The best gift for a figure skating coach is usually a card with a real note in it, and anything you add can stay small, like a coffee gift card or something warm for a cold rink. For a private coach, about the price of one lesson is the most people usually mention, and for a group class teacher a card or one gift from the whole class is plenty. If your club or rink has a gift policy, follow that first.
Key takeaways
- A card with a few specific lines about your skating is the part that matters most, so write one even if you give nothing else.
- For a private coach, the top end people mention is about the price of one lesson. For a group class teacher, a card or a gift from the whole class is normal.
- Plenty of coaches would rather not get a cash tip, so if you want to give money, a gift card tucked into a card is the usual way to do it.
- Your coach's fee for a test or competition day is separate from any gift, so pay it as normal and treat a thank-you as extra.
If you take lessons, the end of the year brings an awkward question about your coach. You want to say thank you without making it weird, and you have no idea what other skaters give. I've skated off and on since a birthday party when I was 10, and a good coach gift rarely needs to come from a store. Most of the ones that go over well are small and a little personal, and plenty cost almost nothing.
This guide is for adult skaters thanking their own coach and for parents doing it on a young skater's behalf. It covers what coaches tend to appreciate and what people usually spend, which isn't the same for a group class teacher as for a private coach. Our gift guide has a row for coaches if you want to see the small things we sell, but plenty of the ideas below come from a coffee shop or your own kitchen.
Why the card matters more than the gift
A handwritten card is the one part almost everyone agrees on. The Emily Post Institute suggests a short handwritten note with any holiday gift or tip, and says two or three sentences is enough. Riedell's coach gift post for parents starts in the same place, with a card or drawing the child makes. Your coach spends the whole season telling you what to fix, so a few lines about what worked makes a nice change of direction.
It helps to make it specific. "Thank you for everything" is lovely, but "thank you for not giving up on my back crossovers" says a lot more, and so does "she talks about your lessons all week" from a parent. If your coach got you through a test or a comeback after years off the ice, put that in. Nobody expects a long letter, and you don't need to be a writer to manage three honest sentences.
Parents can let their skater write or draw part of it. Riedell suggests having the child make the card or paint a picture, and a coach who teaches young skaters will know exactly who made it. If you keep notes after your lessons, our guide to what to do when a lesson ends is a good place to find the moments worth mentioning.
Gift ideas coaches tend to like
A coffee shop gift card is probably the most common coach gift, and it suits the job. Coaching means long, early hours at a cold rink, and Riedell suggests pairing a coffee gift card with an insulated bottle so the drink stays warm at the boards. If you know a café near the rink, pick that one, since your coach will actually walk past it. A gift card also fits neatly inside the card you've already written.
Something for the cold is the other safe bet. Riedell's list includes a "survival kit" of hand warmers, lip balm and throat lozenges for a coach who spends all day calling out instructions. Warm gloves or thick socks fit the same idea, as long as you aren't guessing at a size. On Golden Skate, one skater described giving their coach homemade fudge and lotions, and parents on the Ice Mom blog mentioned lotions and a handmade fleece shrug.
Some of the most useful thank-yous aren't things you wrap. Many figure skating coaches bill their students directly rather than through the rink, so steady students and word of mouth matter to them. Paying for your next few lessons ahead of time, or recommending your coach to a friend who wants to start, is a thank-you they'll really feel. Our guide to the real cost of adult figure skating shows where lessons fit in a skating budget.
How much to spend on a coach gift
There's no official number, and nobody expects you to stretch. For a private coach you see every week, the top end people mention is about the price of one lesson. A Golden Skate thread on holiday coach etiquette suggested that much, and holiday tipping guides use the same benchmark for personal trainers. Most gifts sit well under it, and Emily Post's advice to stay within your own budget applies at the rink too.
Group class teachers are a different situation. A Learn to Skate or club class can have a lot of skaters in it, and a card from each family is plenty. Parents on the Ice Mom blog described pooling about $10 per skater for one gift card, which keeps it easy for everyone and spares the coach a stack of mugs. That post is from 2009, so treat the amount as a rough guide rather than a going rate.
Be a little careful with cash. In a Golden Skate thread about tipping a coach, a coach who used to compete at the elite level said a cash tip would feel insulting, and suggested a gift card tucked into a holiday card instead. Not every coach feels that way, and some skaters do give cash to a coach they know well. A gift card does the same job without anyone wondering whether it's payment.
If you're on a synchro team or skate with a club, ask the team manager or the club office before you start a collection, since a team gift may already be planned. If the club or rink has a policy on gifts for coaches, they'll know about it and can save everyone an awkward moment. The table below sums up what's normal for each kind of coach.
| Coach | What's normal | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Group class teacher | A card, or one gift from the whole class | Pooling a small amount per skater for a gift card keeps it simple |
| Private coach | A card with a small gift, up to about the price of one lesson | A gift card in a card sits better than cash with many coaches |
| Team or synchro coach | A card, plus a team gift if the manager organizes one | Ask the team manager before collecting money |
| Test or competition day | Your coach's usual fee for the day | The fee is separate, so any thank-you is extra |
Christmas, the end of the season and test days
The holidays are when most people think about a coach gift, and the last lesson before the rink switches to its holiday schedule is an easy moment to hand over a card. If your coach doesn't celebrate Christmas, a card at the end of the year works just as well. The coach in the Golden Skate tipping thread made the same point, suggesting a gift chosen around the coach's own interests and holiday.
The end of the season is a good time too, especially after a big year. If you worked toward a test or a first competition together, a thank-you once it's done feels natural, and it's a kind way to close things if you're switching coaches or taking a break. Our guides to U.S. Figure Skating test levels and preparing for your first adult competition cover what that kind of year usually involves.
On a test or competition day, remember that your coach is working. Coaches usually bill for their time at a test session or competition, plus travel when the event is away from your home rink, and each coach sets their own rates, so ask ahead and pay that as you normally would. A card afterward, or a coffee on the way out, is a nice extra, and it's just as kind whether you passed or not.
Small skating gifts from our shop
If you want something skating-themed, our gift guide has a coach row, though nothing in it beats a good card. I design all our stickers, and the Best Coach Ever cracked ice holo sticker ($6) was made for exactly this. It's about 2.5 inches across, so it slips inside a card and can go on a water bottle or a clipboard. The Adults Skate Too lanyard ($4.99) suits a coach who carries keys and a rink pass all day.
For a bigger gift, a Rink Side Tote ($44.99) suits a coach who keeps a water bottle and gloves at the boards. I designed it for adult skaters, and it stands up on its own on the ledge instead of slumping into a sad puddle. It comes in several colors, and the totes collection shows which ones are in stock right now.
We also carry the CRS Cross skate guards, soakers and towel gift set ($28.99). Your coach almost certainly owns guards already, so this works best as a fresh spare set for a coach who teaches in their own skates, and you'd need their boot size because the soakers are sized by boot. It ships separately from the rest of your order, straight from the CRS Cross warehouse. Our guide to guards and soakers explains what each piece is for.
Gifts to skip
Expensive gifts can make a coach uncomfortable, especially from one student among many. The Ice Mom post mentions a coach who didn't like getting expensive presents, and most of the advice in skating forums leans toward keeping it modest. If you'd like to do something bigger for a coach who has changed your skating, putting the details in the card usually means more than a bigger price tag.
Go easy on chocolate and skating knick-knacks. One Golden Skate poster said their coach gets so much chocolate it's a poor pick, and the Ice Mom parents suggested skipping skating-themed things because coaches often have them already. That's a funny thing for a skating shop to say, but it's true of the mugs and keychains that fill most online coach gift lists. Clothing in a size you'd have to guess is another one to leave on the shelf.
This is general advice from adult skaters and skating parents, and every rink has its own habits. If you're new and unsure, ask another skater or parent who has been with the same coach for a while, because they'll know what's usual there. Some coaches enjoy a bit of fuss at the holidays and others would rather just have the card, and the people who know yours can tell you which kind you have.
Sources
We couldn't find an official skating guide to coach gifts, so the etiquette here comes from skaters, parents and coaches in forums and on skating blogs, plus a general etiquette guide. These pages were read through search results on 10 October 2026, and the product details come from our own product pages the same day. If your club or rink has its own policy on gifts for coaches, that comes first.
- Riedell Skates blog, Gift Ideas for Your Figure Skating Coach This Holiday Season (December 2023): a card or drawing made by the child, a coffee shop gift card with an insulated bottle, and a survival kit of hand warmers, lip balm and throat lozenges.
- Emily Post Institute, Holiday Tipping Guide: a short handwritten note with any gift or tip, and staying within your own budget.
- The Hill (Nexstar Media Wire), How to tip your mail carrier and 8 other people this holiday season: a personal trainer gift of up to the cost of one session.
- Golden Skate forum, Holiday coach etiquette: a cash bonus of about one lesson's price for a private coach, homemade gifts, and a coach who gets a lot of chocolate.
- Golden Skate forum, tipping a coach: a coach's view that a cash tip can feel insulting, and a gift card in a holiday card instead.
- Ice Mom's Adventures in Figure Skating, Gifts for Figure Skating Coaches (November 2009): parents pooling about $10 per skater for a gift card, modest gifts, and skipping skating-themed items.
- Golden Skate forum, Question about coaching fees; skatingforums, standard coaching fees for local competition and tests; Rose Garden Ice Arena, Competition Coaches Fees: coaches bill for their time at tests and competitions, plus travel.
- sk8stuff.com, Your Relationship With Your Pro: lessons billed by the coach directly.
- pwice.com, 10 Best Gifts for Figure Skating Coaches: a typical online list of coach gifts.
- Adults Skate Too product pages: prices and details for the Best Coach Ever sticker, the lanyard, the Rink Side Totes and the CRS Cross gift set, checked in Shopify on 10 October 2026.
