Mar 12, 2011

Your coach is right and you are not listening

Can't land the axel? Didn't get the better solo? Didn't pass Freestyle 4? Again? Clearly your coach doesn't know what she's doing.

Or maybe you're just not listening. Here's what she's saying:
You need to skate more.

You need to pay attention during lesson and class.

You need to practice what I tell you to practice, and the way I tell you to practice it.

You need to do the drills we learn in lessons.

You need to skate more.

You need to not be afraid to fall.

You need to jump, instead of circling the ice 12 times.

You need to stop worrying about that other skater and, um, skate more.

You need to not freak out every time someone criticizes your technique.

You need to get to lessons on time, and warmed up.

You need to skate more.
We're not saying these things just to warm the air.

5 comments:

  1. Not be afraid to fall- How do I do that?

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  2. HA - I so wish all of my students could read this.

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  3. Xan: haha, parents should read this too!


    @orangechiffon--Don't think about falling, and you won't (eventually) --from my intermediate skater dude.

    From his Mom: Often the anxiety around falling is worse than the fall itself. It's scary, yes, but usually isn't as bad when it actually happens. Your body will get used to it, but you have to let yourself fall so that you can experience that it's not as bad as you anticipate it to be.

    If you are going to get injured by a fall, you will be injured whether you worry about it before hand or not. You are more likely to be injured if you are tentative on your jumps rather than if you go for it. And never pull out of a jump if it's not going right, just finish it and fall. The worst injuries happen when skaters pull out at the last minute and fall wonky (spoken from my skater's experience). Then you have 3 months of anticipating getting back to jumps :(.

    Also, Get some pads, knee pads work well, stick one on the side you are falling on. Don't worry about what you look like, they are not permanent, just until you get through that awkward period of a new jump where you are always falling.

    If you don't fall, you won't progress. It's just part of skating...and life.

    good luck!

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  4. orangechiffon, okay, how about get past the fear of the fear? Or, falling is scary get over it? However, good point.

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  5. Hmmmm. Maybe falling is scary get over it will work. I'll try, thanks Xan!

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