Goals are good. They give you something to aim for and work towards, and then a sense of achievement when you suceed. If I don't succeed in my goals, I don't feel like I failed, I just know I have to keep working on them.
Office speak has a thing about "SMART" objectives. This stands for Specific Measurable Agreed Relevant Time-bound. For more info, see wikipedia. For skating examples, see below.
Specific - don't say "improve crossovers", say "stop toe pushing on crossovers" or "use correct edges on crossovers"
Measurable - to hold a spiral with foot above hip for 10 seconds or to get five rotations on sit spin
Agreed - the skater needs to be on board with the goals, they can't be dictated. I don't mean that coaches need to agree every single short term goal, but there should be medium-long term goals agreed with coach, such as work towards a test.
Relevant - if you're having issues with field moves, working on jumps isn't going to help that
Time-bound - how long will depend on the skater and the goal, but you need a time limit. Its only skating, if you don't meet it, then you can always extend it. You could set a goal for one practice session, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc.
I set monthly goals without discussing it with my coach. But if coach takes me in another direction that month, it doesn't matter. If I've set goals around jumps and spins, but coach wants me to work on field moves and footwork, I'm gonna with with what coach says and ammend my goals. For younger skaters, goal setting involving the coach may be useful, but I generally know from my lessons what needs improving.
I also set medium-long term goals with my coach. We've been inching me towards my level 1 field moves since last summer. When I entered my second competition, we discussed what we wanted to improve on from the first comp (there was two months between them) and decided to work on making the transitions smoother, cleaner and faster. Then after this comp, coach decided we need to work on my footwork and basic skating skills, which I am 100% in agreement with.
I don't always set myself SMART goals in skating. I do task myself with "improve three turns", but I'm trying to force myself to be more specific - one of my goals this month was "to hold edges longer in LFI3 turns" (my worst three turn!!!). I guess not measurable as I haven't said "to hold edges for three seconds" but it's at least targeting a specific bit of the three turn. Maybe next month it'll be "to check the backwards edge on three turns" or "make sure there's a distinct bend and rise". But the SMART principles are worth bearing in mind, even if you do pick and choose which ones to use.
Tuesday 24 May 2011
Monday 16 May 2011
Falls
Falling is an inevitable part of skating.
If you don't fall you're not pushing yourself.
I believe in this. I see the kids falling on jumps all the time, and actually wish I could throw myself into my jumps enough to do that. I've been learning loop on and off since August, and fell on it for the first time last week. BUT I know that adult skaters in particular are very wary of falling. The fear of injury is very real, and the consequences of an injury are worse for adults than for kids.
The worst falls are the ones you don't expect.
If you've ever seen a kid fall twenty times on a double jump and pick themselves up and go again, then that same kid falls on field moves and gets off the ice crying, you know what I mean. If you are (or have been) that kid, then way to go! I think on hard jumps, you half expect to fall, and even if you don't, your body is preparing to land. You have momentum as well, so you tend to slide across the ice, rather than falling straight down. It's the straight down falls that hurt the most.
Get right back on the horse.
After a fall take a second. Are you hurt? Are you shocked? If yes, then get off the ice for a minute and have a drink and a breather and reassess. If not, then do whatever you fell on straight away. And keep doing it until you do it as well as you normally can. The longer you wait, the more fear has a chance to build up.
Getting over fear.
I've posted before about how scared I used to be. A bad fall can really shake you, no matter how old or young you are. The more you fall, the less likely it is that it will really throw you, but your first bad fall can be awful. Get used to falling. Do it from drags or teapots so it doesn't hurt. Play musical bumps (which did hurt after twenty bumps...)! The more scared you are, the more tense you'll be and the more likely you are to actually hurt yourself if you do fall. When you can't remember every fall anymore, it's a good sign.
If you don't fall you're not pushing yourself.
I believe in this. I see the kids falling on jumps all the time, and actually wish I could throw myself into my jumps enough to do that. I've been learning loop on and off since August, and fell on it for the first time last week. BUT I know that adult skaters in particular are very wary of falling. The fear of injury is very real, and the consequences of an injury are worse for adults than for kids.
The worst falls are the ones you don't expect.
If you've ever seen a kid fall twenty times on a double jump and pick themselves up and go again, then that same kid falls on field moves and gets off the ice crying, you know what I mean. If you are (or have been) that kid, then way to go! I think on hard jumps, you half expect to fall, and even if you don't, your body is preparing to land. You have momentum as well, so you tend to slide across the ice, rather than falling straight down. It's the straight down falls that hurt the most.
Get right back on the horse.
After a fall take a second. Are you hurt? Are you shocked? If yes, then get off the ice for a minute and have a drink and a breather and reassess. If not, then do whatever you fell on straight away. And keep doing it until you do it as well as you normally can. The longer you wait, the more fear has a chance to build up.
Getting over fear.
I've posted before about how scared I used to be. A bad fall can really shake you, no matter how old or young you are. The more you fall, the less likely it is that it will really throw you, but your first bad fall can be awful. Get used to falling. Do it from drags or teapots so it doesn't hurt. Play musical bumps (which did hurt after twenty bumps...)! The more scared you are, the more tense you'll be and the more likely you are to actually hurt yourself if you do fall. When you can't remember every fall anymore, it's a good sign.
Sunday 15 May 2011
Skating Basics
I've witnessed some online arguments lately about the "basics" of skating. Firstly, I do not mean to sound derogatory by calling them basics, or imply that they're easy or beneath me because I can already do them.
The basics are the stepping stones to everything you'll ever do on the ice. And for as long as you skate, you'll keep working on them. They include:
You can always improve your basics. To take forward crossovers as an example again: At skate uk level 5, you pretty much just need to be crossing your feet and moving forward on a circle. At level 10 you need to be using your edges, be able to get up some speed. Level 1 field moves you can't toe push, you have to have good posture and not stomp. Level 3 elements requires more speed and control again.
What if you can't get past that first step? The crossing your feet and moving forward on a circle bit? To be honest, all you can really do it practice practice practice. Have private lessons and get your coach to drill you on it. Spend twice as long on your bad side as your good side. Work out what you're doing differently on the bad side. But the skills I listed above aren't things you can skip. Not if you wanna move onto the next thing and the one after that.
Then, once you have them, you can learn whole new steps and twists on them. Like once you can do mohawks, you can learn barrell rolls. If you can do forward three turns, why not try backward three turns?
But you can always always improve on them. You know how your coach or that high level skater can do a three turn like its effortless? And how they don't look like they're concentrating on every inch of the curve, terrified of the turn, and putting their foot down as soon as they're backwards? They didn't just settle for being able to do something, they pushed it and worked it until it was effortless.
The basics are the stepping stones to everything you'll ever do on the ice. And for as long as you skate, you'll keep working on them. They include:
- forward and backward stroking
- stopping
- forward and backward crossovers
- three turns
- mohawks
You can always improve your basics. To take forward crossovers as an example again: At skate uk level 5, you pretty much just need to be crossing your feet and moving forward on a circle. At level 10 you need to be using your edges, be able to get up some speed. Level 1 field moves you can't toe push, you have to have good posture and not stomp. Level 3 elements requires more speed and control again.
What if you can't get past that first step? The crossing your feet and moving forward on a circle bit? To be honest, all you can really do it practice practice practice. Have private lessons and get your coach to drill you on it. Spend twice as long on your bad side as your good side. Work out what you're doing differently on the bad side. But the skills I listed above aren't things you can skip. Not if you wanna move onto the next thing and the one after that.
Then, once you have them, you can learn whole new steps and twists on them. Like once you can do mohawks, you can learn barrell rolls. If you can do forward three turns, why not try backward three turns?
But you can always always improve on them. You know how your coach or that high level skater can do a three turn like its effortless? And how they don't look like they're concentrating on every inch of the curve, terrified of the turn, and putting their foot down as soon as they're backwards? They didn't just settle for being able to do something, they pushed it and worked it until it was effortless.
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Bitching, backstabbing and bullshit
Ice skating is
I've said before that I love skatemums, and I do! But sometimes you see them in a little cluster talking in hushed voices, glancing around for potential eavesdroppers, and wonder what (or who) they're bitching about. Of course, it could be nothing. Maybe it is nothing and they just want you to think it's something.
I don't know everything that goes on in the coach's room. But I know enough to know that a LOT does! Probably worse than anything that goes on on the ice or in the stands.
My advice is as follows
But hey, I don't follow my own advice all the time, we're only human. But keep your eyes and ears open and don't open your mouth unless you know who's listening and who's ass they're kissing. I've had an argument with another adult skater over comments I've made to her and about her. I've had rumours spread about me because I don't kiss the right ass. I've opened my mouth and inserted my foot. But I'm basically a nice person, I don't thrive on the drama and the bitching, I would much rather we were all happy and having group hugs all the time! If you would prefer the drama, please stay away from me, thank you very much.
- predominantly female
- competitive
- full of short dresses and skin tight training clothes
- expensive
- done unsociable hours
- full of opportunities to show off
- an individual sport
- a lot of unwritten rules
I've said before that I love skatemums, and I do! But sometimes you see them in a little cluster talking in hushed voices, glancing around for potential eavesdroppers, and wonder what (or who) they're bitching about. Of course, it could be nothing. Maybe it is nothing and they just want you to think it's something.
I don't know everything that goes on in the coach's room. But I know enough to know that a LOT does! Probably worse than anything that goes on on the ice or in the stands.
My advice is as follows
- Smile til your face hurts. Then smile through the pain. They'll probably call you fake, but at least they can't say anything worse
- Keep your thoughts to yourself
- Kiss the ass of the people who matter
- Wait for your skater in the car
- Take up another sport. Like tiddlywinks.
But hey, I don't follow my own advice all the time, we're only human. But keep your eyes and ears open and don't open your mouth unless you know who's listening and who's ass they're kissing. I've had an argument with another adult skater over comments I've made to her and about her. I've had rumours spread about me because I don't kiss the right ass. I've opened my mouth and inserted my foot. But I'm basically a nice person, I don't thrive on the drama and the bitching, I would much rather we were all happy and having group hugs all the time! If you would prefer the drama, please stay away from me, thank you very much.
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