PACE Day 3 and final thoughts

As I tweeted yesterday, it was a great event, with great participants, great faculty, great town, great presentations. I'm a PACE junkie, this is my fifth time, and I've had some GREAT experiences, so what made this one so special? Some thoughts and highlights:

• It really made a difference to be able to sleep in my own bed every night. Despite the commute and the 5:30 a.m. start, having the familiar surroundings each night was a boon. Three days, 160 miles round trip commute each day. I know there are people who do that everyday. How can they stand it? In sum it was about the same as driving to the PACE site in Ohio, but somehow, this seemed hard (and I like distance driving).

• I rode every day with my friend Molly, as well, so we got to debrief at the end of the day. It was useful as well as fun to share thoughts and impressions. This was such an important part of this PACE that I would recommend PSA try to come up with a way to offer a discount for two people who sign up together.

• The faculty just clicked. Now, these were many of the same faculty members that I've encountered before, but somehow the chemistry was just sizzling with this group. Furthermore, they checked their egos at the door, and approached the participants as peers. This is not always the case; I have encountered faculty whose mission seemed to be to prove either that the participants were idiots, or that they themselves were on such a high plain you could never hope to achieve it. None of that noise was at this event. (Except at lunch-- it was uncomfortable that the faculty segregated themselves from the participants. Just leave the building folks, that was a little weird.)

• It's easy to find free parking in downtown Milwaukee (in fact, for years we've joked that Milwaukee's tourism motto should be "Milwaukee: It's easy to park!") "Paid" all-day parking will set you back $2 to $5.

• Kern Center is beautiful, but man, their ice surface was poorly prepared. I guess hockey skaters aren't as picky as figure skaters.

• The three presentations on IJS by choreographer and national technical specialist/controller Scott Brown were worth the price of admission alone. It absolutely stuns me that any competitive coach EVER attempts to choreograph a program without attending Scott's sessions, and he does enough of them that they are pretty easy to get to. If ALL you can get to at a PACE are his presentations, it's worth eating the rest of the cost. I have pages and pages of advice for programs from Juvenile through Senior, and I don't even teach at that level. But it helps me in class, where all those skills start, to know what the judges are looking for.

• There were a lot more people doing the Group track this year, and they seemed to be people who weren't just collecting ratings (yes, there are these types), but rather coaches who really believe in Group and aren't just looking for the "easy" rating (it isn't, by the way).

But I think the most important thing that was different this year was my own attitude and expectation. I had a truly terrible experience at PACE last year, so bad that I left halfway through. In fact I decided not to continue seeking ratings because I just didn't need the humiliation (this after actually passing the rating that I took last year). But I came to my senses, decided not to let one bad teacher alter my career, and went in this year feeling like I was at a Master level. This made me act like I was at a Master level, which I like to think came through.

All in all, I'm inspired and excited, and looking forward to continuing the Ratings process through Master Group and, I hope, Registered at Moves, Free Skate and Synchro.

PACE Day Two

Long day, which started before 5 a.m. since we're driving to Milwaukee each day instead of getting a hotel there. (We being my friend Molly and me.)

The first presentation was a review of the ISU Judging System (IJS) by National Tech Specialist and Olympic choreographer Scott Brown. Scott's presentations are always great-- he's got a lot of personality and isn't afraid to be honest about how judging/calling works. With him was international judge Gale Tranger, also a really dynamic and honest speaker. They had lots of inside info about what's coming up in IJS, behind-the-scenes explanations of why certain rules changes were made (such as "we're tired of ugly spirals") and very clear and specific instructions to coaches about what should be in programs, such as don't have skaters do things that they can't do well. Seems obvious, huh? Apparently, you'd be surprised.

We moved out of the classroom and onto the ice for teaching and testing tips for Freeskate and Moves Pre-Pre through Juvenile. I didn't stay for the Intermediate through Senior levels because I don't teach those levels. Scott did an on-ice presentation about IJS, including tips on how to have your skater warm up at competition to make the judges sit up and take notice.

After a truly terrible lunch (who the heck puts mustard on tuna salad sandwiches. Is this a Milwaukee thing?) we started "mock exams" where the faculty puts each participant in the hot seat and makes them answer test questions at their level as though they are in the ratings exam. It's amazing how nervous you get even though it's really friendly and you're allowed, even encouraged to screw up (so that you can get the correction and not do it wrong when it counts).

The day finished with another draw class, and a discussion/mock test on ethics; PSA is adorably delusional sometimes about how ethical we all are and how well the system works, but it's nice that they're trying.

More mock exams tomorrow. It's been a great event so far.

PACE Day One

PACE: Professional Accreditation and Certifying Education, affectionately known as Practice Answering Concisely and Efficiently, is a PSA education event held in three different regions of the US every year. Unlike most coaching seminars and workshops, PACE specifically teaches you how to take oral ratings exams, rather than offering up coaching advice or technique (although you get some of that, too). This is my fifth trip to PACE, and so far it's one of the better ones I've been to.

To get rated, or credentialed, by the PSA, a coach goes through a series of exams from the Basic Accreditation (a written test) to Registered (the lowest oral exam) to Master (the highest) in any one (or more) of a dozen disciplines. I'm working toward my Master Group rating (currently hold Senior, the third of the four levels). Eventually I'd like to have the Master Group, plus a Registered Free Skate and Certified Moves in the Field.

The first time I came to PACE I did not get the whole "teaching the test" thing. I went looking for coaching tips. You get these at PACE, but that's not what it's for. PACE is where you practice answering coaching questions in front of the people who are going to be your ratings examiners. It's not the place to show off, to get creative, to hide in corners or to pretend you know more than you do. Show your strengths and your weaknesses, let the chips fall where they may, and learn confidence in a pressure situation like an oral exam.

The second time I went to PACE I met two of my group coaching mentors, Jan Tremer and Angie Riviello. It was their encouragement that helped me get over my self-doubt about whether I should even be a skating coach, and their guidance that helped me earn the Senior level rating.

And it really is all about the faculty at PACE. Last year I left early the second day, because the faculty's agenda seemed to be to belittle the students. It was so counterproductive that I actually decided to give up on the ratings, because I just couldn't imagine putting myself through the humiliation I experienced at the event.

Fortunately, I decided not to let the turkeys get me down, because this year the faculty is outstanding. Angie's there, and national dance coach Sandy Lamb, as well as national coach Tracy Poletis, PSA executive Carol Rossignol, and Olympic choreographer Scott Brown. The event was organized by another coaching mentor, Craig Bodoh.

I've attended sessions on Choreography (scary and hard!); a "draw" class, where you put pen to paper and literally draw the imprint of each Moves pattern, jump, and spin (I'm really good at this); two Group sessions (where I naturally completely and idiotically blew the first question I was asked!); and both a Certified and a Registered Moves session. I asked to be allowed just to audit the Certified one, which Sandy kindly acquiesced, but I went ahead and participated in the Registered, where I accounted myself just fine. I should remember that I actually do know how to do this and not to sell myself short.

Which is why you go to PACE. To learn confidence in your knowledge and the ability to share it, verbally, as well as you share it every day with your students on the ice.

I'll try to write up tomorrow's sessions as well but it's a 10 hour day with a 1 1/2 hour drive at either end, starting before 6 a.m., so we'll see.

Coaches-- have you been to PACE or other PSA seminars? Let us know your experience.