Wasted time/effort

[transmissionoftheflame]

Over the 17 years I have been skating, I have spent thousands of hours and tens of thousands of pounds (on lessons, ice time and equipment).  I have improved since I started, and am still improving albeit very very slowly.  A good part of that time has been spent trying to do things that I have never really managed to do well - sit spin, lutz jump would be a couple of examples, also complicated step sequences.  I think it's fine to aim high, but feel that the way skating teaching is generally done leads to a lot of wasted time.  It should be apparent to a coach whether or not a student is ready to move on to something more difficult, and insisting on having them (or allowing them to) struggle away at something harder when their basics are still weak is IMO rather cruel and unhelpful.  There's a balance to be struck which I feel is very often got wrong.  I've given up working on all the "hard" stuff and am just working on "easy" stuff like stroking and edges (which is bloody hard!).

[WednesdayMarch]

Ah, if only more people realised the correlation between good basics and improvement...

As a coach, however, it's a tricky balance, especially with younger skaters, who get bored easily and want to learn new "tricks". (And I have at least one skater in her 50s who fits into this category, despite being very much a beginner after several years!)

Whilst it's true that practising a harder variation can make the basic version feel easier, in my humble opinion there's really no substitute for getting strong basics drilled in so that they feel normal and natural. That is the best foundation a coach can lay down for a skater to progress. Part of the joy of skating is the glide and that only comes with good edges. 

[transmissionoftheflame]

Indeed.  In the past I was overambitious; more recently I have made it clear to my coaches that I am happy to work on the same simple thing for as long as it takes.  I think the default for many coaches, somewhat connected to the testing system, is to push too far too fast, but students are also complicit in that.  I think saying to someone "you're a long long way from being able to do an axel, focus on something else" is kinder than allowing them to be deluded, but it's tricky.  You don't want to upset people, you need to keep customers, and you also don't want to be too negative.


Talking of basics, I've seen a lot of emphasis placed on knee bend but not much about pushing your pelvis forward so you are over your skates.  IMO both are essential, but the pelvis thing I find much harder and as it's less obvious it is perhaps neglected - unless I have simply not been paying proper attention.  Squeezing my glutes helps but I find it weird doing that in conjunction with knee/ankle bend.  Maybe it just comes naturally to some people.  I wish I had known about this 17 years ago.  Anyone got any tips, or thoughts on this?

[VisuallyImpairedOnIce]

It's a tricky one, and one I'm now learning to navigate as a trainee coach. Without good basic edges, everything else is that much more difficult. I set my skater a challenge last lesson - complete circles on her forward edges. She's realised it's a lot harder than she thought!


My coach (and mentor) always says skating is like building a house. It takes time, and you have to have a solid foundation. If your foundation is weak, your house (and in this sport, you!) will fall down.


When I talk about trying more advanced elements, his tactic is, "Yep, that's something that's down the road. But to get there, we need xyz first, so let's look at that." So it's not a no, but a not quite yet, and that works for me, I don't get disheartened.

[transmissionoftheflame]

Sounds like you and your coach are both very wise.


Full circles - I remember the first time I tried those at skating club. I had passed Level 1 field moves and been learning for probably a couple of years- not even close to holding a full circle on any edge. It was as if I had learned nothing. Took me months working on it with my coach and practicing to get there. We did Annie’s Edges every week and I was not the only one who struggled.

[WednesdayMarch]

Back in the 1980s, I did compulsory figures, so tracing circles was second nature to me. I could still trace circles back last year, before my time off for hand surgery.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, doing figures again and I am seriously out of practice. I will never neglect those circles again!

[transmissionoftheflame]

I still do circles, one of the few things I am able to do moderately well.
I used to do them in quiet public sessions and became know me to the management as the man who skates round in circles.

[VisuallyImpairedOnIce]

Sounds like you and your coach are both very wise.

He's very wise, occasionally some of that knowledge sticks in my thick skull!

Full circles are hard, my demonstration was somewhat iffy but the point I was making was that if the edges aren't there, the 3 turns, mohawks, jumps, spins etc won't come easily. Had a chat with my coach to plan Saturday's session and we're going to focus on backwards edges. Oh my skater is going to hate us... It'll be worth it in the end though.

[transmissionoftheflame]

They will thank you later because often it's only then you realise how hard skating is and how you need to be patient, and how hard it is to break bad habits.

[black]

Imagine you're at the edge of a forest; in the distance is a mountain, and on top is what you want to achieve.
A lot of coaches teach from the top, rather than act as a guide from where you are currently at.
The result is often the skater gets lost & gives-up; the coach doesn't understand since they're teaching the finished/final part correctly.
Hence why skating is frequently referred to as a journey.
You want a coach that is encouraging, and adds increments to what you can already do.

[transmissionoftheflame]

Indeed.  No offence intended to any coaches on here as they are probably all great, but a lot of coaches are on autopilot, teaching to a formula, and not that interested in the student's journey.  It's not just skating - tennis is like this too.  Excellent coaches are rare in my experience, and I'm a terribly slow learner so it's not a great combination.