We just started working on the program for our audition for Holiday Show. We're a bit behind by my calendar, but provided this program has no overtly new elements in it we should be okay.
Basic Skating takes on a whole new dimension when you're doing it with someone else. I have a deep respect for good Pairs Skaters, because the most simple of elements morph into something totally different when you have to hold hands.
Forward Stroking, Hand in Hand >becomes> Tug of War
Someone is going to push off harder than the other party, and tug them, making them the Pullee. When you try again, the Pusher will try to lessen their push to accommodate the Pullee, who has now decided to push harder to keep up, and the Pullee now becomes the Pusher and so on. Repeat until the Coach pinches his brow and asks you to stop.
Backwards Crossovers, Hand in Hand >becomes> Crack the Whip
Everyone has their own Back Crossover style. Invariably, One Partner will have a different tempo of crossover, thinking that sheer mania equals speed when it comes to crossovers. Hold hands with this person on the outside of the circle, and suddenly you're being flung around faster than than a tetherball, the coach is saying something about toepicks but you can't hear him over the scraping, and you see your life flash before your eyes as you realize how close to the boards you are.
Side by Side Power 3 Turns >become> HOLY GOD WHERE ARE YOU
Power 3's are a tricky beast. Seemingly simple, involving just a 3 Turn>WideStep>Crossover, they actually involve a fair amount of physical discipline. You have to do the 3Turn on whatever beat the Coach has established, not when the mood strikes you. And now that you're next to someone, you're trying to make sure you don't nail this person and he won't nail you as you wide step, but you've lost sight of him as you actually made the turn. Coach is yelling about getting your hands back together so you just flail out and hope he's there. He isn't.
Side By Side Jumps (any variety) >become> A Game of Chicken
No Pairs Routine would be complete without a Side By Side jump, and if you thought you lost your partner on a Power 3, be prepared to get out your GPS tracking device on a jump. Working on your own, you can take up space on a jump, but now there's someone not only two feet from you, but planning on being airborne at the same time you are. So, you just go for the jump and say a little prayer that you don't jump into him. When you land, there's a moment of relief, followed by a panicky, "Where did he end up??!" Once you locate him, one of you is racing to catch up to get to the next hand-in-hand nonsense. (I have landed a toe loop on my boot in an effort to not hit my partner. He did not care about the resulting scar on my nice boots.)
Oh, and all this stuff? You have to be doing it together. Don't forget about that part.
But what about Lifts?
We've tried lifts. They aren't so bad. Properly prepared, I actually kinda like them but they are not without hazard, both on and off the ice. We are planning on actually doing a lift this year on ice. I will get to lifts at another time, as they are their own Beast.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Monday, August 11, 2014
When to break up...
I found a fun article on CNN on "When to Break up with your Personal Trainer." While it's written for general Physical Fitness training and not Figure Skating, some of the points made are just the same!
#1: Your Coach doesn't seem interested in your Goals. Oh, yes. When your Coach isn't checking in with you about your goals, or how you feel about your progress towards your goals, it's a sign. When there's no discussion about your skating progress or future, you start to question if you're making any or if you have one.
#6: You spend more time talking to your coach than skating. Oh. Wow. Yes. The skating lesson is just that; A Skating Lesson. It is not time to gab about Rink Politics, or Coach's Personal Life or (the worst) Coach's Other Students. If Coach wants to have a friendly chat about these things, that is fine, but not during your lesson time. You are not paying for the pleasure of their company, you are paying for a skating lesson that is 100% yours.
#7: Your Coach frequently compares you to other Students. Why are we talking about other people? This is your lesson and your time that you have paid for. CNN is right, an occasional anecdote is fine, but expounding on the glory of some 15 year old kid's crossroll technique while making you watch her is unprofessional. Again, this is your skating lesson and your time that should be 100% about you.
#8: Your coach is constantly on the phone during your lesson. This includes texting and is an immediate cause for dismissal in my book. And I don't want to hear, "But this is important," because this isn't how true professionals function (and it infers that you are not important.) True Professionals focus on the task at hand and learn to budget their time appropriately.
#9: Your coach barely watches you while you skate, and doesn't give positive reinforcement. This goes back to the concept of "time you have paid for." If you look to your coach while you're skating and you see them chitchatting with another coach or another skater, or they are just watching other people when they should be watching you, time to re-evaluate.
Sometimes it just doesn't work out, it wasn't meant to be, and it's not a reflection on you. Unprofessional behavior carries across students, so chances are really good they've done it to other people, too.
Just don't stay in a situation where you feel stuck, or as second string to "the better" skaters. You pay just as much for that coach's time, so giving you the same quality of instruction isn't doing you a favor, it's the coach's job. If they can't do their job, *shrug.*
#1: Your Coach doesn't seem interested in your Goals. Oh, yes. When your Coach isn't checking in with you about your goals, or how you feel about your progress towards your goals, it's a sign. When there's no discussion about your skating progress or future, you start to question if you're making any or if you have one.
#6: You spend more time talking to your coach than skating. Oh. Wow. Yes. The skating lesson is just that; A Skating Lesson. It is not time to gab about Rink Politics, or Coach's Personal Life or (the worst) Coach's Other Students. If Coach wants to have a friendly chat about these things, that is fine, but not during your lesson time. You are not paying for the pleasure of their company, you are paying for a skating lesson that is 100% yours.
#7: Your Coach frequently compares you to other Students. Why are we talking about other people? This is your lesson and your time that you have paid for. CNN is right, an occasional anecdote is fine, but expounding on the glory of some 15 year old kid's crossroll technique while making you watch her is unprofessional. Again, this is your skating lesson and your time that should be 100% about you.
#8: Your coach is constantly on the phone during your lesson. This includes texting and is an immediate cause for dismissal in my book. And I don't want to hear, "But this is important," because this isn't how true professionals function (and it infers that you are not important.) True Professionals focus on the task at hand and learn to budget their time appropriately.
For the last time, Smart Phones don't make you Smart.
Also, this monkey is cute.
#9: Your coach barely watches you while you skate, and doesn't give positive reinforcement. This goes back to the concept of "time you have paid for." If you look to your coach while you're skating and you see them chitchatting with another coach or another skater, or they are just watching other people when they should be watching you, time to re-evaluate.
Sometimes it just doesn't work out, it wasn't meant to be, and it's not a reflection on you. Unprofessional behavior carries across students, so chances are really good they've done it to other people, too.
Just don't stay in a situation where you feel stuck, or as second string to "the better" skaters. You pay just as much for that coach's time, so giving you the same quality of instruction isn't doing you a favor, it's the coach's job. If they can't do their job, *shrug.*
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Newfound hazards...
It's official. I am on a test session that's happening in about two weeks. Coach is really focusing on test stuff, and I've been working hard to perfect it in these final days. Everything feels pretty solid.
Last night I skated and felt a little shaky. Nothing was working out quite right, but I kept going and chalked it up to an "off" day. It happens. I finished up, and stepped over to the public session to say hi to some friends. A little girl grabbed my hand and said, "Skate with me! Let's go fast!" How can I say no to such adorableness? So we skated as fast as I felt comfortable taking her, and I turned her around to push her backwards. "Keep your feet together and don't lean forward," I warned. We weren't going fast.
But she slid.. and we went down. She hit her head a bit, she cried for about two minutes and was smiling and fine after that, but I came down hard on my knee. The knot on it was hard and big and red, and I immediately thought, "You can't hit this again before your test."
It's still red and angry today. After an hour skate this morning it was throbbing and done. I let it be done.
Wow, I can't get hurt right now, can I?
Friday, August 8, 2014
Freeskate Friday
This isn't really a Freeskate, but it's important.
There will be people who want to tell Adults what they can and cannot accomplish as skaters. There will be people who will ascribe this passion we have as "just a weekend hobby," and "not serious about it."
Don't work with those people. In fact, don't even pay them much attention. Be nice, but draw the line there. They're not worth the time.
Work with and associate only with people who believe in you, and you believe in them. Positive connections generate positive results, and there's just no time for negativity on my ice.
Keep going, don't give up!
There will be people who want to tell Adults what they can and cannot accomplish as skaters. There will be people who will ascribe this passion we have as "just a weekend hobby," and "not serious about it."
Don't work with those people. In fact, don't even pay them much attention. Be nice, but draw the line there. They're not worth the time.
Work with and associate only with people who believe in you, and you believe in them. Positive connections generate positive results, and there's just no time for negativity on my ice.
Keep going, don't give up!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
When Non-Coaches try to Coach Me
It happens. I'm out doing something or whatever, and some well-meaning asshat will offer me advice. Here is a list of the random advice I get from people who are not coaches:
"You should try holding your arms on a table," they smile and exemplify the move. Then they skate off like a mannikin, looking back at me to make sure I'm trying it. I'm not.
"You need to hold the undercut," they perform the back crossover with a rapid fire push and a super elongated hold and a toepick that can be heard in the lobby, while looking down.
"You need to bend your knees." They do a squat for you to show you how to bend your knees, as if you weren't aware, but then skate away with forward strokes on chopstick legs. With the "arms on a table" position.
"You need to stop scratching." These words are usually not followed by an example, because they scratch to high heaven. They know this, and will usually blame their blades because they are better blades than yours.
"You need to stop looking down." They then do some basic skating showing you how to look up and smile, but the moment they do a power 3, they are looking down and hunched over to inspect their tracings.
Listening to such advice and then watching these people skate usually elicits this response from me.
Why do these people feel qualified to offer such fabulous advice?
They have been skating a long time.
Yes, I understand this. But you can run in a hamster wheel for fifteen years and still be in the same place. I can understand if they are actively training and working, but when I've seen them do the same set of skating tricks for the past five years with not much advancement, I have to hesitate.
They have had "a lot" of coaches.
I actually do not consider this a badge of honor.
They have skills you do not.
It's true, I can't do a salchow and my spin is not quite there yet. I've chosen to focus on building a strong foundation before pushing to do higher level skills that may look awkward and forced. It's a difference of focus, opinion and personality. Simply possessing a higher level skill does not give anyone free license to critique someone else's crossovers. Besides, if you pay attention, you might find you do some "lower level" skills way better than they do.
So, what do you do?
In most cases I will smile and nod politely, and go my own way, doing what my Coach has told me to do.
In other cases, where my refusal to do things their way becomes an accusation that I "can't really skate," I resist the impulse to jam the back of my blade into their orbital socket and calmly explain that my Coach has given me a different way and that is what I will do.
The most competent adult skaters I know do not offer unsolicited advice. They may offer generalized words of wisdom such as "Practice" and "You'll get there," or general encouragement, but that's all. They work on themselves and let others do likewise.
"You should try holding your arms on a table," they smile and exemplify the move. Then they skate off like a mannikin, looking back at me to make sure I'm trying it. I'm not.
"You need to hold the undercut," they perform the back crossover with a rapid fire push and a super elongated hold and a toepick that can be heard in the lobby, while looking down.
"You need to bend your knees." They do a squat for you to show you how to bend your knees, as if you weren't aware, but then skate away with forward strokes on chopstick legs. With the "arms on a table" position.
"You need to stop scratching." These words are usually not followed by an example, because they scratch to high heaven. They know this, and will usually blame their blades because they are better blades than yours.
"You need to stop looking down." They then do some basic skating showing you how to look up and smile, but the moment they do a power 3, they are looking down and hunched over to inspect their tracings.
Listening to such advice and then watching these people skate usually elicits this response from me.
Why do these people feel qualified to offer such fabulous advice?
They have been skating a long time.
Yes, I understand this. But you can run in a hamster wheel for fifteen years and still be in the same place. I can understand if they are actively training and working, but when I've seen them do the same set of skating tricks for the past five years with not much advancement, I have to hesitate.
They have had "a lot" of coaches.
I actually do not consider this a badge of honor.
They have skills you do not.
It's true, I can't do a salchow and my spin is not quite there yet. I've chosen to focus on building a strong foundation before pushing to do higher level skills that may look awkward and forced. It's a difference of focus, opinion and personality. Simply possessing a higher level skill does not give anyone free license to critique someone else's crossovers. Besides, if you pay attention, you might find you do some "lower level" skills way better than they do.
So, what do you do?
In most cases I will smile and nod politely, and go my own way, doing what my Coach has told me to do.
In other cases, where my refusal to do things their way becomes an accusation that I "can't really skate," I resist the impulse to jam the back of my blade into their orbital socket and calmly explain that my Coach has given me a different way and that is what I will do.
The most competent adult skaters I know do not offer unsolicited advice. They may offer generalized words of wisdom such as "Practice" and "You'll get there," or general encouragement, but that's all. They work on themselves and let others do likewise.
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