Why Learn To Skate?
By which I don't mean why learn to skate-- that's obvious. Because it's fun.
Learn To Skate (also known as weSkate, and similar to CanSkate, and Basic Skills) is where you get the fundamentals, including the part where skating is both fun and mental. If you don't get it here, you're not going to get it in Freestyle.
There's a skill in every level of every beginner curriculum that coaches blow off. "I'm not going to hold a kid back just because she can't do [XX].
Here's the skills, and here's what happens if you let it go.
PreAlpha or Basic 1
Skill that teachers let slide (so to speak): One foot glide on the weak foot.
Consequence: Really really hard and frustrating to learn crossovers
Outcome: they switch to hockey, or quit skating because it isn't fun and everyone is better than them
Alpha/Basic 2-3
Skill: Proper underpush (i.e. no toe push)
Consequence: since weSkate and Basic Skills are set up to teach a skill and then basically drop it until the kid decides to do USFS testing, toe pushes become embedded in a skater's muscle memory, and they will never unlearn it. Watch for a post about the curriculum model that drops a skill once you move to the next level.
Outcome: competitive decision made for you. I'm not saying every kid wants to or should be a competitive skater. But why make that decision for them by teaching poor skills at the outset.
Beta/Basic 5
Skill: t-stops, especially on the "hard" foot.
Consequence: snow plow stopping in the higher levels, which just looks stupid. The close-foot T position is also the basic position for a mohawk turn. Think about it.
Outcome: the embarrassment of the utter disbelief on the FS5 teacher's face when she finds out you can't do a T-stop.
Gamma/ Basic 6-7
Skill: hockey stop
Consequence: the hockey stop teaches opposition much more effectively even than drilling turns. You can make a turn without really understanding opposition. But you can't do a hockey top without getting it right.
Outcome: Poorly executed turns. Also faceplanting on 60-second drills (also never completing it in under 60 seconds)
Delta/Basic 7-8
Skill: bunny hop
Consequence: the bunny hop teaches the basic lift and landing for every jump. Shoulders square, rock to the toe, lift the free knee through. Land on your toe pick. It also requires an absolutely solid understanding of right and left (this is harder than you think, for kids as old as 10).
Outcome: let this skill go, and that kid will struggle with every single jump.
I could go on: waltz jumps that are taught with the free leg already behind on the landing (this is a consequence of the stupid commonly used term "landing position" to mean "check out position"). Pivots that quickly just turn into spins. Never teaching mazurkas (I'm looking at you, ISI.) Back spins on the wrong edge. Toe loops that take off forwards.
Skaters: take the time and learn the techniques properly. Coaches: keep kids in each level until they've mastered every skill. Skating directors support your staff by letting them keep kids in levels, and your skaters by having other classes that they can do while they're mastering the boring stuff.
In the end, it will catch up with you. If you get to testing, the judges are not going to let this stuff slide, and if a skater has been getting away with it, they're not going to understand what those judges are talking about.
What skill do you wish you or your skater had really mastered before moving on?
Showing posts with label basicskills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basicskills. Show all posts
Apr 9, 2015
Mar 26, 2015
Basic skills aren't all that basic
I've had parents in higher level classes yell at me for teaching cross overs.
Because as everyone knows, once you learn a basic component of your discipline, you never have to learn it at a higher level, ever. So once you've learned addition, it's just foolish to teach multiplication (which is really just fancy addition when you think about it.) Did you learn how to read in first grade? Hooray! You never have to read again.
Or maybe not.
Every basic skill: glides, crossovers, turns, have both basic and advanced applications. What's a spiral if not just a really really advanced one-foot glide?
You can simply do skills better as well-- you don't really need to teach power for Alpha and Beta skaters learning forwards and backwards crossovers (you can, but you don't need to). But higher level skaters need to understand how to use basic crossovers to achieve more power. And this has to be taught. If you're in an ISI curriculum, you have to learn "cut backs," i.e. back crossovers with no lift. And yet, strangely, it's not in the curriculum and parents get all bent out of shape when they see you teaching them. So much better to let the kids figure them out on their own and do it wrong (which they all do because it's not very intuitive).
You can use basic positions learned early to remind skaters what you're looking for-- how do you push for outside back edges? Think about the first push of a backward crossover. Where should your free foot end up for a basic one-foot spin? It's the same as a nice Pre-Alpha one foot glide.
CanSkate, the Canadian Figure Skating beginner program, has incorporated this into their curriculum.
Basic skills are called that for a reason-- they are the basis for everything that comes after. You can't learn a proper jump if you don't understand how to check out of a turn. You can't get power if you never understand how to use your blade properly.
What are some examples of advanced applications of basic skills that have helped you or your skater?
Because as everyone knows, once you learn a basic component of your discipline, you never have to learn it at a higher level, ever. So once you've learned addition, it's just foolish to teach multiplication (which is really just fancy addition when you think about it.) Did you learn how to read in first grade? Hooray! You never have to read again.
Or maybe not.
Every basic skill: glides, crossovers, turns, have both basic and advanced applications. What's a spiral if not just a really really advanced one-foot glide?
You can simply do skills better as well-- you don't really need to teach power for Alpha and Beta skaters learning forwards and backwards crossovers (you can, but you don't need to). But higher level skaters need to understand how to use basic crossovers to achieve more power. And this has to be taught. If you're in an ISI curriculum, you have to learn "cut backs," i.e. back crossovers with no lift. And yet, strangely, it's not in the curriculum and parents get all bent out of shape when they see you teaching them. So much better to let the kids figure them out on their own and do it wrong (which they all do because it's not very intuitive).
You can use basic positions learned early to remind skaters what you're looking for-- how do you push for outside back edges? Think about the first push of a backward crossover. Where should your free foot end up for a basic one-foot spin? It's the same as a nice Pre-Alpha one foot glide.
CanSkate, the Canadian Figure Skating beginner program, has incorporated this into their curriculum.
" Instead of just introducing a skill at one level and then leaving it, the skater will work on the same skill at many different stages. The coaches have a chance to introduce the skill, develop it and then perfect it over a longer period of time. One of the early skills is a push-glide sequence. In the old system, it was introduced only in stage two, and then skaters moved on to other skills in different stages. But now the push-glide sequence is part of every stage."(CanSkate also gets it right by not differentiating hockey skills and figure skating skills in the early stages-- it's all just skating skills).
Basic skills are called that for a reason-- they are the basis for everything that comes after. You can't learn a proper jump if you don't understand how to check out of a turn. You can't get power if you never understand how to use your blade properly.
What are some examples of advanced applications of basic skills that have helped you or your skater?
Jan 5, 2013
How to get a glide going
If you managed to glide the first time you stepped on the ice, you are what is called a "natural."
Seriously, that's all it takes.
You'd be surprised at the number of people who can't figure out a glide, or who fight it when one starts. Here's some tips to getting up a glide on the ice:
March
Don't try gliding right away. Frankly, if you figure out how to move on the ice, the gliding takes care of itself. A lot of people try to "stroke" (pushing back with the side of the blade) before they've figured out balance, and down they go. This is because they don't shift their weight off the pushing foot. So march, like a soldier. After about 10 marches, just put your feet side by side and relax. You should have built up enough inertia (the tendency of an object in motion to stay in motion) that even though your feet are still, the low-friction surface will translate it into a glide.
There are three types of marches that work: "big" marches, with high knees, fast marches, and loooong marches.
Pull
Kids who still can't glide after marching are often stopping the glide-- they'll pigeon toe, or just press down so that they don't glide. Their experience is "if my feet are still then I am still" and so they make that happen. So I'll face a child, take both their hands, and tell them "don't move your feet and don't pull back" and I will tote them like a little wagon, then let go. They already feel the glide, from pulling, so they're more likely to let it happen solo. Once they know what a glide feels like they're more likely to be able to do it from marching.
I don't do this with adults or older kids, because they generally react in one of three ways-- they pull on you, even though you've told them don't. They'll let you pull, but won't let their fee move. Or they'll push you away.
Push
I let beginners push with their toe picks. Yeah, you heard me. This is because it seems so logical. Why else are those things there, anyway? To trip on? Pushing with the toe pick instinctively tells the skater "glide forward." Again, if you're expecting it, it's easier. Plus, toe pushes are an easy thing to fix later.
Run
Not kidding. Of course, you're not really running. You're "fake" running, ice-style. Get down in your knees, bend your elbows, and pretend run three or four or five steps. The second you stop feeling safe, stop "running." You will glide.
Swizzle
A lot of kids get a glide going by subtly letting their legs go wide, in other words, the front half of the swizzle. This is a push and is a perfectly acceptable way of finding out what gliding feels like. The only problem with it is that if you keep pushing out, eventually your legs are going to be really far apart, which looks silly and is hard for a beginner to recover from.
Now do it on one foot.
Seriously, that's all it takes.
You'd be surprised at the number of people who can't figure out a glide, or who fight it when one starts. Here's some tips to getting up a glide on the ice:
March
Don't try gliding right away. Frankly, if you figure out how to move on the ice, the gliding takes care of itself. A lot of people try to "stroke" (pushing back with the side of the blade) before they've figured out balance, and down they go. This is because they don't shift their weight off the pushing foot. So march, like a soldier. After about 10 marches, just put your feet side by side and relax. You should have built up enough inertia (the tendency of an object in motion to stay in motion) that even though your feet are still, the low-friction surface will translate it into a glide.
There are three types of marches that work: "big" marches, with high knees, fast marches, and loooong marches.
Pull
Kids who still can't glide after marching are often stopping the glide-- they'll pigeon toe, or just press down so that they don't glide. Their experience is "if my feet are still then I am still" and so they make that happen. So I'll face a child, take both their hands, and tell them "don't move your feet and don't pull back" and I will tote them like a little wagon, then let go. They already feel the glide, from pulling, so they're more likely to let it happen solo. Once they know what a glide feels like they're more likely to be able to do it from marching.
I don't do this with adults or older kids, because they generally react in one of three ways-- they pull on you, even though you've told them don't. They'll let you pull, but won't let their fee move. Or they'll push you away.
Push
I let beginners push with their toe picks. Yeah, you heard me. This is because it seems so logical. Why else are those things there, anyway? To trip on? Pushing with the toe pick instinctively tells the skater "glide forward." Again, if you're expecting it, it's easier. Plus, toe pushes are an easy thing to fix later.
Run
Not kidding. Of course, you're not really running. You're "fake" running, ice-style. Get down in your knees, bend your elbows, and pretend run three or four or five steps. The second you stop feeling safe, stop "running." You will glide.
Swizzle
A lot of kids get a glide going by subtly letting their legs go wide, in other words, the front half of the swizzle. This is a push and is a perfectly acceptable way of finding out what gliding feels like. The only problem with it is that if you keep pushing out, eventually your legs are going to be really far apart, which looks silly and is hard for a beginner to recover from.
Now do it on one foot.
Nov 15, 2012
My child didn't win because
A parent wrote to me about her disappointment over her child's placement in competition. She was competing at Basic 8, although she skates at FS1 level. First, it is common, and appropriate, to compete 1 to 3 levels below your class level for non qualifying and recreational competitions. For ISI you must compete at your highest official test (as opposed to class test). Basic Skills encourages you to skate at your class level (there is no formal test registration process for Basic Skills), but also allows you to skate "up." My reader says,
Second of all, this parent is speculating as to why she got last place. You cannot tell why a skater placed a certain way at Basic Skills, because placements are based on ordinals, not points. It's equally possible she was just the worst skater. Speculations of this nature will make you crazy.
In basic skills competitions, there are selected restrictions on elements, but generally you are allowed to do most moves from higher levels. Sticking to the passed elements from the current level is a common and acceptable strategy. At another competition, this skater might well have been up against kids who were also skating only moves from their own level, in which case, she might have placed better. But there's no way to know this, so the best strategy is to use a program that the skater and the coach know that the skater does well.
Basic Skills competitions are particularly challenging, because judges have a lot of discretion in the marks; individual elements are not marked separately (unlike in IJS scoring and in ISI competitions), and the rules about acceptable elements are somewhat fluid from competition to competition.
It's alright to have a conversation with the coach expressing your concerns regarding competitions, and just asking why she chose some particular strategy. Make it non-confrontational, and with information, not "how can we get my daughter to win" as the goal.
Even a child who skates her absolute best doing stuff from higher levels is never guaranteed a win; you have no control over what other kids are skating, how well they do, what the judges are looking for on that day, and tons of other factors. Recreational competitions like Basic Skills and ISI are for fun.
Forget USFS's PR about how "Basic Skills is the path to the Olympics." A sure way to make sure your skater never gets that Olympic bug, or even just a simple desire to succeed, is to create anxiety over non-qualifying competitions at the Basic 8/Delta level. This is like assuming that the C on the third-grade spelling test will affect that Harvard admission.
All the girls at her level were doing moves and spins that were far higher than her level. She got last place because she was doing the requirements for that level. My question is should we have put her in basic 6 so that she can get a gold? Or let her lose knowing that most of these other children are in higher levels? Her coach wanted her to do basic 8 because that is the level she had just passed. What's the rule for these competitions?First of all, Rule #1 for competitions is follow the coach's advice. (Or as my old mentor Nick Belovol used to say, Rule #1 is 'coach is always right' and Rule #2 is 'remember Rule #1'). The objective is never to "get a gold" but rather to skate a personal best.
Second of all, this parent is speculating as to why she got last place. You cannot tell why a skater placed a certain way at Basic Skills, because placements are based on ordinals, not points. It's equally possible she was just the worst skater. Speculations of this nature will make you crazy.
In basic skills competitions, there are selected restrictions on elements, but generally you are allowed to do most moves from higher levels. Sticking to the passed elements from the current level is a common and acceptable strategy. At another competition, this skater might well have been up against kids who were also skating only moves from their own level, in which case, she might have placed better. But there's no way to know this, so the best strategy is to use a program that the skater and the coach know that the skater does well.
Basic Skills competitions are particularly challenging, because judges have a lot of discretion in the marks; individual elements are not marked separately (unlike in IJS scoring and in ISI competitions), and the rules about acceptable elements are somewhat fluid from competition to competition.
It's alright to have a conversation with the coach expressing your concerns regarding competitions, and just asking why she chose some particular strategy. Make it non-confrontational, and with information, not "how can we get my daughter to win" as the goal.
Even a child who skates her absolute best doing stuff from higher levels is never guaranteed a win; you have no control over what other kids are skating, how well they do, what the judges are looking for on that day, and tons of other factors. Recreational competitions like Basic Skills and ISI are for fun.
Forget USFS's PR about how "Basic Skills is the path to the Olympics." A sure way to make sure your skater never gets that Olympic bug, or even just a simple desire to succeed, is to create anxiety over non-qualifying competitions at the Basic 8/Delta level. This is like assuming that the C on the third-grade spelling test will affect that Harvard admission.
Feb 13, 2011
It's just the one skill
Unlike private lessons, skating school curricula have sets of skills at each level that you must master in order to pass to the next level.
In the USFS Basic Skills curriculum, each level contains testable skills that are critical for the next level (backwards one foot glides at Basic 4 before backward cross overs at Basic 5, for instance). The ISI curriculum contains all necessary skills for the "macro" skills within a single level, but the principal remains the same--you have to have the building skills before you can acquire the macro skills.
So what if a skater is missing "just one skill." Do you pass them on an "average?" Do you let it go?
ISI PreAlpha, Basic 1, 2, and 3 contain more or less only "building" skills, and no "macro" skills: forward and backward two foot and one foot glides, and marching or "push-and-glide" (weight shift from one foot to the other while moving forward), swizzles, one-foot pumps, forward to backwards two-foot turn, scooter pushes on a circle. I think everyone would agree that the ability to move forward on the ice and generate a two-foot glide is pretty basic, and that a skater that can't do this shouldn't move on.
But what about that one-foot glide? What if a kid does it really well on one foot but not at all on the other? This is the most common problem with kids on the cusp in these beginner levels. Well, next level, Alpha or Basic 4, is forward cross overs in both directions. If you can't balance on one foot, how are you going to cross? The building skill is necessary for the macro skill. I hate having to waste time in Alpha 1 class (much less Alpha 2) teaching kids this skill that they were supposed to master in the beginning level.
The next macro skill is backwards stroking and crossovers. Basic 3 and 4 include backwards one foot glides; again, this is necessary to the completion of a cross over, even the unfortunate swizzling ones that they allow in Basic Skills (snark snark This is the biggest problem with Basic Skills- USFS makes fun of the "ISI crossovers" with a lift, but ISI kids understand the weight shift in a backwards crossover better in my opinion. /digression). A good ISI teacher (that would be me) adds this Basic Skills skill into Beta class- gliding backwards on a circle.
How about t-stops? T-stops are stupid, and why do we have to do it in both directions? Well, that's essentially your hip/foot position for the mohawk turn in Gamma. Can't hold the "T"? You're gonna have trouble with the mohawk.
Both curricula are constructed to lead to later skills--proper bunny hops lead to proper waltz jumps which lead to proper axels. Proper understanding of 3-turns, equally strong in both directions, with the free hip held back, will make back 3s at FS4 or FreeSkate 1, and brackets at FS5 much easier. If you enter your ballet jump or mazurka with your toe pick facing forwards, you'll have difficulty learning a proper toe loop, and you'll never get the double.
Especially in the lower levels (which I count as thru FS3), every skill must be at minimum passing level, and preferably better. The more time you take with the basics, the easier time you'll have with the higher levels. A lot of my kids go through Alpha or Beta or Gamma 2 or 3 or even 4 times, but very few of them spend more than one session in FS2 or 3, because their basics are strong.
It's not just one skill. It's the bottom of the pyramid, and it needs to hold the whole structure up.
In the USFS Basic Skills curriculum, each level contains testable skills that are critical for the next level (backwards one foot glides at Basic 4 before backward cross overs at Basic 5, for instance). The ISI curriculum contains all necessary skills for the "macro" skills within a single level, but the principal remains the same--you have to have the building skills before you can acquire the macro skills.
So what if a skater is missing "just one skill." Do you pass them on an "average?" Do you let it go?
ISI PreAlpha, Basic 1, 2, and 3 contain more or less only "building" skills, and no "macro" skills: forward and backward two foot and one foot glides, and marching or "push-and-glide" (weight shift from one foot to the other while moving forward), swizzles, one-foot pumps, forward to backwards two-foot turn, scooter pushes on a circle. I think everyone would agree that the ability to move forward on the ice and generate a two-foot glide is pretty basic, and that a skater that can't do this shouldn't move on.
But what about that one-foot glide? What if a kid does it really well on one foot but not at all on the other? This is the most common problem with kids on the cusp in these beginner levels. Well, next level, Alpha or Basic 4, is forward cross overs in both directions. If you can't balance on one foot, how are you going to cross? The building skill is necessary for the macro skill. I hate having to waste time in Alpha 1 class (much less Alpha 2) teaching kids this skill that they were supposed to master in the beginning level.
The next macro skill is backwards stroking and crossovers. Basic 3 and 4 include backwards one foot glides; again, this is necessary to the completion of a cross over, even the unfortunate swizzling ones that they allow in Basic Skills (snark snark This is the biggest problem with Basic Skills- USFS makes fun of the "ISI crossovers" with a lift, but ISI kids understand the weight shift in a backwards crossover better in my opinion. /digression). A good ISI teacher (that would be me) adds this Basic Skills skill into Beta class- gliding backwards on a circle.
How about t-stops? T-stops are stupid, and why do we have to do it in both directions? Well, that's essentially your hip/foot position for the mohawk turn in Gamma. Can't hold the "T"? You're gonna have trouble with the mohawk.
Both curricula are constructed to lead to later skills--proper bunny hops lead to proper waltz jumps which lead to proper axels. Proper understanding of 3-turns, equally strong in both directions, with the free hip held back, will make back 3s at FS4 or FreeSkate 1, and brackets at FS5 much easier. If you enter your ballet jump or mazurka with your toe pick facing forwards, you'll have difficulty learning a proper toe loop, and you'll never get the double.
Especially in the lower levels (which I count as thru FS3), every skill must be at minimum passing level, and preferably better. The more time you take with the basics, the easier time you'll have with the higher levels. A lot of my kids go through Alpha or Beta or Gamma 2 or 3 or even 4 times, but very few of them spend more than one session in FS2 or 3, because their basics are strong.
It's not just one skill. It's the bottom of the pyramid, and it needs to hold the whole structure up.
Jan 19, 2011
Patches, stickers, and rewards
There are two primary curricula in figure skating schools, promoted by the Ice Skating Institute (called Learn To Skate or weSkate) and by US Figure Skating (Basic Skills). Many rinks also use their own curricula, although my sense is that this is getting rarer; using an established curriculum means that standards are starting to, well, standardize nationwide. You can now move from Chicago to Tucson, and if you tell the ice rink there "I was in Basic 4" or "I just passed Delta" they know pretty much where to put you, regardless of the curriculum that they use.
Along with the curricula, come bells and whistles. Basic Skills in particular sends lots of fun stickers and pictures and posters and progress books. You're also automatically a member of Basic Skills when you register for a basic skills program. You don't have to sign up separately. ISI has patches for registering tests, but you have to join ISI, on your own (rather than through the rink, with them handling the paperwork) which I think is just a barrier to membership.
Anyway, the patches and stickers and poster are a great way to motivate kids, to promote figureskating...
And to drive skating coaches and directors to insanity.
The problem is carrying all this stuff, and coordinating the awards. Basic Skills has sticker books. The kid gets a book, listing all the skills, with a sheet of stickers. The teacher is supposed to put the sticker in the book when the skater masters the skill. Here's what actually happens:
1. The kid gets the book on the first day of class, and yay! stickers! All stickers go immediately into random spots in the book, if you're lucky, and on the car window if you're not.
2. The kids who haven't used up all the stickers already bring the book, as instructed on the last day of class. The teacher is now juggling 14 books and trying to remember which kid gets which sticker. This all has to happen in the last 5 minutes of class, because the parents aren't paying you to put stickers in some stupid book.
3. Unless of course, you don't manage to get the stickers into the book, making Princess cry, and what kind of skating teacher are you, anyway.
4. The kids who DON'T pass and therefore aren't entitled to stickers want stickers anyway, because kids today get rewarded for simply breathing, which I guess they wouldn't be motivated to do if they didn't get stickers.
5. The kids who pass some things but not others want to know why they can't just pass to the next level anyway, since they have stickers (plus I'm still unclear on what prevents them from simply putting the stickers in their own books.)
ISI doesn't overload you with crap to carry around, and intelligently does not trust children with stickers; what they have are patches.
The patches are great-- they're major bling for one thing, and look pretty cool on a bag or jacket. In the past, ISI membership was so cheap-- just $7--that rinks could work it into the cost of a class. Rinks also used to award the patches--I can remember the skating director having a drawful of patches that you got when you passed a test; I never paid for one, and my daughter's got all but the last two (FS 9 & 10, oh was that me bragging?) but apparently now they make you pay $3 per patch. Budget cuts, I assume. I haven't heard of anyone getting their ISI patch in years at my rink; I don't think they tell parents about this. You have to be motivated enough to learn about it on your own. Don't know about other rinks, but ISI still makes patches, so someone must be doing it.
The problem with the patches, is, when do you award them? I've suggested doing it in class, but of course you run up against the everyone's a winner in modern America problem: what about the kids that don't pass? They'll feel bad when they don't get a patch! Musn't have that. How do you know the kid's an ISI member? This costs $25 now, and the benefits of ISI membership are really unclear. Magazine? meh. Compete? meh. Test? Don't you do that in class anyway? You could just award it for passing the class, although some rinks will tell you that class standard is lower than "test" standard (gosh, you mean I could have been "cuting" all those kids up, rather than making them actually master the skill? Stupid me), plus the patch is supposed to denote that you've formally registered the test with ISI, and there's that $25 fee that parents aren't going to pay (did I mention that you have to pay it every year?). Also, parents can't register tests. Only rinks can register tests, and trust me, skating directors have better things to do than help ISI increase their membership.
So what to do. My crankiness and poor juggling skills aside, the bling is a nice reward for mastering a set of skills. ISI and Basic Skills membership does help keep families in skating. So how do you get the bling into the hands of the kids that have earned it?
Along with the curricula, come bells and whistles. Basic Skills in particular sends lots of fun stickers and pictures and posters and progress books. You're also automatically a member of Basic Skills when you register for a basic skills program. You don't have to sign up separately. ISI has patches for registering tests, but you have to join ISI, on your own (rather than through the rink, with them handling the paperwork) which I think is just a barrier to membership.
Anyway, the patches and stickers and poster are a great way to motivate kids, to promote figureskating...
And to drive skating coaches and directors to insanity.
The problem is carrying all this stuff, and coordinating the awards. Basic Skills has sticker books. The kid gets a book, listing all the skills, with a sheet of stickers. The teacher is supposed to put the sticker in the book when the skater masters the skill. Here's what actually happens:
1. The kid gets the book on the first day of class, and yay! stickers! All stickers go immediately into random spots in the book, if you're lucky, and on the car window if you're not.
2. The kids who haven't used up all the stickers already bring the book, as instructed on the last day of class. The teacher is now juggling 14 books and trying to remember which kid gets which sticker. This all has to happen in the last 5 minutes of class, because the parents aren't paying you to put stickers in some stupid book.
3. Unless of course, you don't manage to get the stickers into the book, making Princess cry, and what kind of skating teacher are you, anyway.
4. The kids who DON'T pass and therefore aren't entitled to stickers want stickers anyway, because kids today get rewarded for simply breathing, which I guess they wouldn't be motivated to do if they didn't get stickers.
5. The kids who pass some things but not others want to know why they can't just pass to the next level anyway, since they have stickers (plus I'm still unclear on what prevents them from simply putting the stickers in their own books.)
ISI doesn't overload you with crap to carry around, and intelligently does not trust children with stickers; what they have are patches.
The patches are great-- they're major bling for one thing, and look pretty cool on a bag or jacket. In the past, ISI membership was so cheap-- just $7--that rinks could work it into the cost of a class. Rinks also used to award the patches--I can remember the skating director having a drawful of patches that you got when you passed a test; I never paid for one, and my daughter's got all but the last two (FS 9 & 10, oh was that me bragging?) but apparently now they make you pay $3 per patch. Budget cuts, I assume. I haven't heard of anyone getting their ISI patch in years at my rink; I don't think they tell parents about this. You have to be motivated enough to learn about it on your own. Don't know about other rinks, but ISI still makes patches, so someone must be doing it.
The problem with the patches, is, when do you award them? I've suggested doing it in class, but of course you run up against the everyone's a winner in modern America problem: what about the kids that don't pass? They'll feel bad when they don't get a patch! Musn't have that. How do you know the kid's an ISI member? This costs $25 now, and the benefits of ISI membership are really unclear. Magazine? meh. Compete? meh. Test? Don't you do that in class anyway? You could just award it for passing the class, although some rinks will tell you that class standard is lower than "test" standard (gosh, you mean I could have been "cuting" all those kids up, rather than making them actually master the skill? Stupid me), plus the patch is supposed to denote that you've formally registered the test with ISI, and there's that $25 fee that parents aren't going to pay (did I mention that you have to pay it every year?). Also, parents can't register tests. Only rinks can register tests, and trust me, skating directors have better things to do than help ISI increase their membership.
So what to do. My crankiness and poor juggling skills aside, the bling is a nice reward for mastering a set of skills. ISI and Basic Skills membership does help keep families in skating. So how do you get the bling into the hands of the kids that have earned it?
Jun 13, 2010
Basic Skills and Learn To Skate, side by side
There are two figure skating curricula for skating schools, designed and sold by the two main organizing structures for ice sports in the US- USFS Basic Skills and ISI Learn to Skate (I believe they actually call it weSkate now, but whatever). US Hockey and USFS also have hockey curricula.
Learn-to-Skate has a very open curriculum, based on outcomes: ("forward crossover" "3 turn"); the Basic Skills curriculum is process oriented, breaking each skill down into components and testing those: (edges on a circle, two foot turns in place, two foot turns moving, before crossovers and 3 turns). Conversely, ISI has very restrictive competition rules, i.e. you must do the moves up to your level, and only up to your level, to very exact standards and use 9 separate judging criteria. Basic Skills competitions have much fewer specific skills requirements, and use only 2 judging criteria.
You'll learn how to skate using either. I've taught in both, and I find the ISI curriculum more teacher-friendly because it allows me to break down the skills in a way that makes sense to me and to each individual class. People swear by Basic Skills because it makes teachers break down the skill in a logical way. Here's the side-by-side:
Learn-to-Skate has a very open curriculum, based on outcomes: ("forward crossover" "3 turn"); the Basic Skills curriculum is process oriented, breaking each skill down into components and testing those: (edges on a circle, two foot turns in place, two foot turns moving, before crossovers and 3 turns). Conversely, ISI has very restrictive competition rules, i.e. you must do the moves up to your level, and only up to your level, to very exact standards and use 9 separate judging criteria. Basic Skills competitions have much fewer specific skills requirements, and use only 2 judging criteria.
You'll learn how to skate using either. I've taught in both, and I find the ISI curriculum more teacher-friendly because it allows me to break down the skills in a way that makes sense to me and to each individual class. People swear by Basic Skills because it makes teachers break down the skill in a logical way. Here's the side-by-side:
Basic skating (forward and backward motion, gliding, stopping, falling)
ISI: PreAlpha, PreAlpha 1&2, PreAlpha and PreAlpha Plus etc. (different rinks break them down differently). Gliding forwards for your body height on two feet, and on one foot both sides. Forward and backward swizzles, backward wiggles. This level needs to be fun, because if you lose them here, they're gone. Like in all ISI levels, there are only 6 skills. (My rink also adds basic snowplow stop, two foot hop, and moving dip.) ISI classes will teach proper falling and getting up, but not as a testable skill.
USFS Basic 1 & 2, conversely, has 15 separate testable skills including all of the above including the hop and dip). They then add additional skills including things Rocking Horse (one forward, one backward swizzle over and over, essentially in place), backward two foot glide, turning in place, and half swizzle pumps (slalom) which is a pre-stroking and pre-crossover skill.
Xan's take: ISI teachers will learn that these extra things, like rocking horses and pumps, need to be taught; the USFS advantage is that it's handed to the teacher on a silver platter. There's a curriculum development philosophy called "deskilling" where you write the curriculum in such a way that the teacher doesn't need to have actual knowledge of the subject in order to follow the curriculum (in other words, the teacher doesn't need any skill). This is what Basic Skills feels like to me-- it is extremely restrictive for an experienced teacher, but a godsend if most coaches in the rink are high school students.
USFS Basic 3: Forward stroking, half swizzle pumps on circle, moving turns, backwards one-foot glides, forward slaloms, two-foot spin, plus part of Basic 4: forward edges on a circle, forward crossovers
Xan's take: ISI Alpha makes sense to a customer. When you or your kid passes Alpha, you know exactly what's been learned. Crossovers. Stroking. If you don't pass Alpha, it's easy to see why. Basic Skills 3 feels like a "non" level--you have to explain every single skill in it to a non-skater. To a layman, the skills in it don't relate to recognizable skills like "crossover." Basic Skills takes an awfully long time to get to crossovers-- four levels-- and it mixes in skills that kids will need two and three levels on (by which time, by the way, they will have forgotten them). As a skating instructor, I can see the sense in the Basic Skills curriculum, and in fact I use these skills within the ISI structure to teach the named skills like crossovers and the various turns. But I think it would be hard for a parent to understand exactly why Suzy in the ISI program down the street is already doing crossovers, while my Johnny, who has been skating the same amount of time, is only doing something called "slaloms" and isn't that for skiing?
USFS Basic 1 & 2, conversely, has 15 separate testable skills including all of the above including the hop and dip). They then add additional skills including things Rocking Horse (one forward, one backward swizzle over and over, essentially in place), backward two foot glide, turning in place, and half swizzle pumps (slalom) which is a pre-stroking and pre-crossover skill.
Xan's take: ISI teachers will learn that these extra things, like rocking horses and pumps, need to be taught; the USFS advantage is that it's handed to the teacher on a silver platter. There's a curriculum development philosophy called "deskilling" where you write the curriculum in such a way that the teacher doesn't need to have actual knowledge of the subject in order to follow the curriculum (in other words, the teacher doesn't need any skill). This is what Basic Skills feels like to me-- it is extremely restrictive for an experienced teacher, but a godsend if most coaches in the rink are high school students.
Forward skating: cross overs and stroking
ISI Alpha: Forward stroking, forward crossovers, snowplow stop. That's it.USFS Basic 3: Forward stroking, half swizzle pumps on circle, moving turns, backwards one-foot glides, forward slaloms, two-foot spin, plus part of Basic 4: forward edges on a circle, forward crossovers
Xan's take: ISI Alpha makes sense to a customer. When you or your kid passes Alpha, you know exactly what's been learned. Crossovers. Stroking. If you don't pass Alpha, it's easy to see why. Basic Skills 3 feels like a "non" level--you have to explain every single skill in it to a non-skater. To a layman, the skills in it don't relate to recognizable skills like "crossover." Basic Skills takes an awfully long time to get to crossovers-- four levels-- and it mixes in skills that kids will need two and three levels on (by which time, by the way, they will have forgotten them). As a skating instructor, I can see the sense in the Basic Skills curriculum, and in fact I use these skills within the ISI structure to teach the named skills like crossovers and the various turns. But I think it would be hard for a parent to understand exactly why Suzy in the ISI program down the street is already doing crossovers, while my Johnny, who has been skating the same amount of time, is only doing something called "slaloms" and isn't that for skiing?
Backward skating: cross overs and backward stroking (backwards one-foot glides)
ISI Beta: Backward stroking, backward crossovers from lift, T-stop.
Basic 4: backward half-swizzle pumps on circle, backward stroking, hockey backward snowplow stops, and part of 5: backward edges on circle, backward crossovers from cut-back, one-foot spin with optional entry, side toe hop. (lost yet? And I left out some stuff for the next level.)
Xan's take: You start to see the problem. Basic Skills teaches necessary things, but they are all things that you have to teach anyway. When kids learn backward crossovers, they learn how to balance (i.e. one-foot glide) going backwards. If you can't do it, you can't do the crossover. No need to test it separately. Teach, yes. Test, no. Backwards glides are an integral part of backwards crossovers and stroking, and one-foot turns. For me it's like testing spelling by learning half a word at a time.
Basic 4: backward half-swizzle pumps on circle, backward stroking, hockey backward snowplow stops, and part of 5: backward edges on circle, backward crossovers from cut-back, one-foot spin with optional entry, side toe hop. (lost yet? And I left out some stuff for the next level.)
Xan's take: You start to see the problem. Basic Skills teaches necessary things, but they are all things that you have to teach anyway. When kids learn backward crossovers, they learn how to balance (i.e. one-foot glide) going backwards. If you can't do it, you can't do the crossover. No need to test it separately. Teach, yes. Test, no. Backwards glides are an integral part of backwards crossovers and stroking, and one-foot turns. For me it's like testing spelling by learning half a word at a time.
Turns
ISI Gamma and Delta: 3-turns inside and outside, forward inside open mohawks and mohawk combination (essentially skating into the turn), forward inside and outside edges on serpentine pattern, bunny hop, lunge, shoot-the-duck
Basic 4, forward outside three turn on half circle (they call it "from stand still" but they mean on half circle); Basic 6 forward inside three turn on half circle, moving backward two-foot three turn, lunge, bunny hop, spiral, T-stop; Basic 7 forward inside open mohawk, back outside to forward outside step on a circle (this is the same step that is part of the ISI mohawk combination), back crossovers to landing position (back one-foot glide with free foot extended), inside pivots.
Xan's take: At this level, I start to like Basic Skills better. There are fun skills mixed in with the difficult ones, like mohawks, and the progression from half-circle three turns to moving three-turns is nice. But you can see the problem-- parents can understand "three turn" and "combination" but everything else in this level is very wordy. You have to be a skater to understand the skills. I also disagree with taking the alternating forward edges out of the curriculum. This is skill left over from the old School Figures days, and is the first place where kids have to really think about precise upper body control in a considered way. (That's supposed to happen with turning skills, but it really doesn't.) Again, however, ISI is much more customer friendly-- you can really understand exactly what you need to do to pass, and the skills have short, familiar names.
USFS Basic 8: This includes Waltz Jumps, Mazurka (also known as an Albright or Scissor, essentially a backward-entry bunny hop from an outside edge. It's my favorite jump.) moving three turns on a circle, and a mohawk combination move (crossover into mohawk, forward step).
Xan's take: Basic Skills finally gets it right. ISI needs to add a pre-freestyle level.
Update: Here's a discussion from FSUniverse that brought up this post!
Basic 4, forward outside three turn on half circle (they call it "from stand still" but they mean on half circle); Basic 6 forward inside three turn on half circle, moving backward two-foot three turn, lunge, bunny hop, spiral, T-stop; Basic 7 forward inside open mohawk, back outside to forward outside step on a circle (this is the same step that is part of the ISI mohawk combination), back crossovers to landing position (back one-foot glide with free foot extended), inside pivots.
Xan's take: At this level, I start to like Basic Skills better. There are fun skills mixed in with the difficult ones, like mohawks, and the progression from half-circle three turns to moving three-turns is nice. But you can see the problem-- parents can understand "three turn" and "combination" but everything else in this level is very wordy. You have to be a skater to understand the skills. I also disagree with taking the alternating forward edges out of the curriculum. This is skill left over from the old School Figures days, and is the first place where kids have to really think about precise upper body control in a considered way. (That's supposed to happen with turning skills, but it really doesn't.) Again, however, ISI is much more customer friendly-- you can really understand exactly what you need to do to pass, and the skills have short, familiar names.
Getting ready for freestyle
ISI: ISI does not have a formal transitional level, which I think is a failure of this curriculum. At the freestyle levels, they are still teaching skills in isolation, rather than making kids move into them. Many rinks add a "pre-freestyle" or "delta plus" level to overcome this omission, using patterns from USFS Moves, or making up their own, and adding in specific testable freestyle skills like Waltz Jumps, two-foot spins from backward crossover entry, etc.USFS Basic 8: This includes Waltz Jumps, Mazurka (also known as an Albright or Scissor, essentially a backward-entry bunny hop from an outside edge. It's my favorite jump.) moving three turns on a circle, and a mohawk combination move (crossover into mohawk, forward step).
Xan's take: Basic Skills finally gets it right. ISI needs to add a pre-freestyle level.
Update: Here's a discussion from FSUniverse that brought up this post!
Have you taught or learned in either or both? Which did you like better?
Mar 8, 2010
Alphabet Soup
There are two established curricula for figure skating schools across the US: the Ice Skating Institute's Learn to Skate or weSkate program, and US Figureskating's Basic Skills. Both these programs take skaters from first-time on the ice up through triple jumps (in USFS kids transition to high freestyle through their Bridge program), as well as specialties like Pairs, Dance, Figures, etc. Basic Skills also has speed skating and hockey curricula. In Canada the skating federation (Skate Canada) promotes the CanSkate curriculum (see what they did there? Cute.).
There are also rinks that use their own curriculum, but if you then compete in any ISI or USFS competition you have to adhere to the curriculum as laid out in the two federations (ISI has greater restrictions on elements that can be in programs than USFS believe it or not).
ISI is strictly recreational. Although it does have local, national and even international competitions, and trains to the highest level (most difficult test in figureskating is not USFS Senior, but ISI FreeStyle 10) the focus is on fun. Even if you start in an ISI program, if you want to compete in qualifying competitions leading to Nationals, you must eventually switch to the USFS Moves and Free Style tests. It is possible and common for skaters to do both.
So that's the outline. What's the difference?
Both curricula are designed to lead the skater in a logical progression through the skills; to "build" each skill as it were. From two foot to one foot glide, to glide on a circle (edge), to crossovers. Then do it all over again backwards. Then combine forwards and backwards (turns). Add jumps, spins, more complex turns, etc.
ISI is a goal oriented curriculum. The skills are basically stated as "Forward Crossovers," "Backward Crossovers" "Three-turns" et cetera, leaving the instructor to break the skill down into the necessary glides, rotations, body alignment etc. A successful coach in ISI needs to understand the details of each move, because the curriculum doesn't hand it to you.
Basic Skills is very process oriented, and relies less on the knowledge and creativity of the teacher, but it forces students to really master each individual component of each skill.
I like the way Basic Skills forces a teacher to break the skill down. The drawback with the curriculum is that it breaks the skill down so far, with 7 testable skills at every level, that it removes a lot of discretion and creativity on the part of the coach, and just takes up a lot more class time on each line item skill. This is part of an educational approach called "deskilling" as in the teacher doesn't need actual skills to teach. It is directed at the idea of anyone being able to teach anything if they just follow the curriculum exactly, whether they're a trained teacher or not.
I like the way ISI makes it very clear to the student (and the parent) exactly what it is they are learning. "Forward Crossovers" is way clearer than "forward alternating half pumps on a line, then pumps on a circle, then forward inside and outside edges on a circle, then crossovers" (which spans 3 separate levels, but are all aimed at teaching crossovers). ISI forces skaters to connect the dots. My experience of Basic Skills was that kids just do not really get the connection between stroking, pumps, one-foot glides and crossovers, because the curriculum decouples the skill from the goal.
The drawback with ISI is that kids get "stuck" and it's harder to demonstrate why to the frustrated parent. In Basic Skills you can see that you have to have a solid one-foot glide on a circle before the crossovers. In ISI it's just "can't do crossovers."
Kids learn to skate no matter which curriculum they use, or neither. The key to learning how to skate is mileage. If you keep taking classes and lessons, you will get better, ipso facto. You will get best if you allow the teacher, and not the parent or the kid, decide when a child can move on. Slower is better. As I said to a child today, bored with edges, "in 5 minutes, you will get to do whatever you want. Is agonizing boredom for 5 minutes something you can handle?"
I like the way ISI leaves the breakdown up to the coach. Unfortunately this does not work if the coach does not know how to break down the skill.
So what's the solution? ISI requires coaches with a clue. USFS has the better skills progression. Coming up with better skills progressions and lesson plans is a favorite coaching parlor game.
There are also rinks that use their own curriculum, but if you then compete in any ISI or USFS competition you have to adhere to the curriculum as laid out in the two federations (ISI has greater restrictions on elements that can be in programs than USFS believe it or not).
ISI is strictly recreational. Although it does have local, national and even international competitions, and trains to the highest level (most difficult test in figureskating is not USFS Senior, but ISI FreeStyle 10) the focus is on fun. Even if you start in an ISI program, if you want to compete in qualifying competitions leading to Nationals, you must eventually switch to the USFS Moves and Free Style tests. It is possible and common for skaters to do both.
So that's the outline. What's the difference?
Both curricula are designed to lead the skater in a logical progression through the skills; to "build" each skill as it were. From two foot to one foot glide, to glide on a circle (edge), to crossovers. Then do it all over again backwards. Then combine forwards and backwards (turns). Add jumps, spins, more complex turns, etc.
ISI is a goal oriented curriculum. The skills are basically stated as "Forward Crossovers," "Backward Crossovers" "Three-turns" et cetera, leaving the instructor to break the skill down into the necessary glides, rotations, body alignment etc. A successful coach in ISI needs to understand the details of each move, because the curriculum doesn't hand it to you.
Basic Skills is very process oriented, and relies less on the knowledge and creativity of the teacher, but it forces students to really master each individual component of each skill.
I like the way Basic Skills forces a teacher to break the skill down. The drawback with the curriculum is that it breaks the skill down so far, with 7 testable skills at every level, that it removes a lot of discretion and creativity on the part of the coach, and just takes up a lot more class time on each line item skill. This is part of an educational approach called "deskilling" as in the teacher doesn't need actual skills to teach. It is directed at the idea of anyone being able to teach anything if they just follow the curriculum exactly, whether they're a trained teacher or not.
I like the way ISI makes it very clear to the student (and the parent) exactly what it is they are learning. "Forward Crossovers" is way clearer than "forward alternating half pumps on a line, then pumps on a circle, then forward inside and outside edges on a circle, then crossovers" (which spans 3 separate levels, but are all aimed at teaching crossovers). ISI forces skaters to connect the dots. My experience of Basic Skills was that kids just do not really get the connection between stroking, pumps, one-foot glides and crossovers, because the curriculum decouples the skill from the goal.
The drawback with ISI is that kids get "stuck" and it's harder to demonstrate why to the frustrated parent. In Basic Skills you can see that you have to have a solid one-foot glide on a circle before the crossovers. In ISI it's just "can't do crossovers."
Kids learn to skate no matter which curriculum they use, or neither. The key to learning how to skate is mileage. If you keep taking classes and lessons, you will get better, ipso facto. You will get best if you allow the teacher, and not the parent or the kid, decide when a child can move on. Slower is better. As I said to a child today, bored with edges, "in 5 minutes, you will get to do whatever you want. Is agonizing boredom for 5 minutes something you can handle?"
I like the way ISI leaves the breakdown up to the coach. Unfortunately this does not work if the coach does not know how to break down the skill.
So what's the solution? ISI requires coaches with a clue. USFS has the better skills progression. Coming up with better skills progressions and lesson plans is a favorite coaching parlor game.
Mar 1, 2010
Xan's all-purpose answer to every skating question
Beta means B for backwards. I always liked that accidental coincidence in the ISI curriculum. Aside from backward swizzles, this is the first place that sustained backwards skating is introduced.
By definition, backwards crossovers are a continuous backward movement around a circle, pushing with the “outside” foot, then crossing it over the “inside” foot; the crossed foot then pushes to the outside of the circle (the “undercut”), and returns to the starting position. To pass, you must demonstrate a strong first push without dragging the toe pick, smoothly lifting that foot to cross the skating foot, and pushing to the outside of the circle with the second foot. (USFS Basic Skills teaches cutbacks, i.e., no lift. More on that in a minute.) Five consecutive cross-overs are required to pass, with no additional pumps or pushes.
Backward Stroking is also in this level: Continuous alternating backwards pushes along an axis. Finally, Beta includes forward T-Stops (right and left): A one-foot stop in a “T” position, using the outside edge of the rear foot to stop. To pass, you must be able to use either foot to stop and you must be able to come to a complete stop after three strong pushes.
Throughout the ISI curriculum, a great deal of independent thinking is required on the part of the coach. Inexperienced coaches will jump in on the first day of Alpha or Beta with crossovers, forgetting that you can't do crossovers with a hinky one foot glide. The USFS Basic Skills curriculum solves this by making testable skills of one foot glides and pumps around a circle, forwards (Basic 2 & 3) and backwards (Basic 3 & 4). Unfortunately, these skills are in the levels BEFORE the crossovers. I also think Basic Skills gets it backwards, teaching pumps before edges. You can't do a proper pump if you don't know how to balance on a curve (i.e. edge). Further, separating these skills disguises their connection to each other. You'd be amazed at the number of kids who tell me there are no one-foot glides in crossovers.
Cut backs, with no lift over, are actually correct backwards crossovers. High level skaters don't generally lift the foot on back crossovers. However, in the lower levels, unless you're in a program that's willing to let a kid languish in Beta for a while, it's difficult to start with the tricky weight shift in a cut back when you've never done back crossovers before. Unfortunately, ISI does not then put cutbacks into the curriculum farther up, and some coaches expect the kids to just pick it up, or to learn them in private lessons. (ISI, are you reading this? Can you please add a pre-freestyle level for cutbacks, moving turns, and stationery spins? Thank you.)
Unlike at the Alpha level, where "correct" is good enough to pass (i.e. a "C" grade or even a D), your Beta skater should start working towards As and Bs. Coming out of Beta, the skater should be starting to use backward crossovers to generate power. This means no toe scraping, and a clear understanding of how to generate the underpush. Not every teacher will continue to work on crossover skills in the following levels, so if they don't learn it here, they'll suddenly turn up in a freestyle class in a few months with everyone whizzing past them. Personally I think Beta should be divided into Beta 1 and Beta 2, but no ever asks my opinion, for some reason.
So how do you generate the underpush? The key is to sink down as you stroke through. Watch a low level freestyle or under class sometime. You'll see kids nicely bend their knees for the first pump, and then straighten up as the leg crosses under. Crossovers bend down and then down again. (Can't use your knees for power if they're straight, after all.)
Bend your knees. It's what the title of the post means.
By definition, backwards crossovers are a continuous backward movement around a circle, pushing with the “outside” foot, then crossing it over the “inside” foot; the crossed foot then pushes to the outside of the circle (the “undercut”), and returns to the starting position. To pass, you must demonstrate a strong first push without dragging the toe pick, smoothly lifting that foot to cross the skating foot, and pushing to the outside of the circle with the second foot. (USFS Basic Skills teaches cutbacks, i.e., no lift. More on that in a minute.) Five consecutive cross-overs are required to pass, with no additional pumps or pushes.
Backward Stroking is also in this level: Continuous alternating backwards pushes along an axis. Finally, Beta includes forward T-Stops (right and left): A one-foot stop in a “T” position, using the outside edge of the rear foot to stop. To pass, you must be able to use either foot to stop and you must be able to come to a complete stop after three strong pushes.
Throughout the ISI curriculum, a great deal of independent thinking is required on the part of the coach. Inexperienced coaches will jump in on the first day of Alpha or Beta with crossovers, forgetting that you can't do crossovers with a hinky one foot glide. The USFS Basic Skills curriculum solves this by making testable skills of one foot glides and pumps around a circle, forwards (Basic 2 & 3) and backwards (Basic 3 & 4). Unfortunately, these skills are in the levels BEFORE the crossovers. I also think Basic Skills gets it backwards, teaching pumps before edges. You can't do a proper pump if you don't know how to balance on a curve (i.e. edge). Further, separating these skills disguises their connection to each other. You'd be amazed at the number of kids who tell me there are no one-foot glides in crossovers.
Cut backs, with no lift over, are actually correct backwards crossovers. High level skaters don't generally lift the foot on back crossovers. However, in the lower levels, unless you're in a program that's willing to let a kid languish in Beta for a while, it's difficult to start with the tricky weight shift in a cut back when you've never done back crossovers before. Unfortunately, ISI does not then put cutbacks into the curriculum farther up, and some coaches expect the kids to just pick it up, or to learn them in private lessons. (ISI, are you reading this? Can you please add a pre-freestyle level for cutbacks, moving turns, and stationery spins? Thank you.)
Unlike at the Alpha level, where "correct" is good enough to pass (i.e. a "C" grade or even a D), your Beta skater should start working towards As and Bs. Coming out of Beta, the skater should be starting to use backward crossovers to generate power. This means no toe scraping, and a clear understanding of how to generate the underpush. Not every teacher will continue to work on crossover skills in the following levels, so if they don't learn it here, they'll suddenly turn up in a freestyle class in a few months with everyone whizzing past them. Personally I think Beta should be divided into Beta 1 and Beta 2, but no ever asks my opinion, for some reason.
So how do you generate the underpush? The key is to sink down as you stroke through. Watch a low level freestyle or under class sometime. You'll see kids nicely bend their knees for the first pump, and then straighten up as the leg crosses under. Crossovers bend down and then down again. (Can't use your knees for power if they're straight, after all.)
Bend your knees. It's what the title of the post means.
Feb 4, 2010
A skating career starts in Alpha class
As a firm believer in building figure skating skills from the ground up, I've pulled out the description of what skaters learn, class by class. I already did tots (where you'll find the answer to "teaching kids to glide on ice"). Here's an Alpha/Basic 3-4 outcome.
To be successful at Alpha/Basic 3-4, you must have a comfortable, steady one-foot glide right and left before starting class; I always make my students learn how to hold a one-foot glide on a circle as well, both inside and outside edges. (I teach in an ISI program. The Basic Skills program makes forward edges around a circle a testable skill.)
A strong one-foot glide is the key to successful beginner cross overs. Don't be fooled by speed at beginning levels. If your skater wants to be more than what I call a "pond skater," make sure they can glide on one foot before they start to work on cross overs. If your child is in an Alpha class where the teacher seems to be spending "too much time on one foot glides, why aren't they learning cross overs," it's because the beginning level teacher passed the kids without the skills necessary to even start the next level. See the post called "Cute" about the phenomenon of passing children based on their bright smiles.
Alpha/Basic 3&4 is all about strong forward skating-- stroking, crossovers, stops.
Forward Crossovers
Crossovers are a power move, useful for getting around corners and covering a lot of ice with minimal effort. They travel in either direction (Right over Left (counter-clockwise) and Left over right (clockwise) and are, by definition, continuous forward stroking around a circle, pushing with the “outside” foot, then crossing it over the “inside” foot, and returning to the starting position. You'll also hear these referred to as "progressives," especially in a hockey program. Not quite the same thing, but close enough for our purposes today. There is also something called a cross-behind, which is a dance step and does not generate any power. (In skating you can never do anything actually wrong. We just give it another name.)
To pass beginning crossovers (for skating schools that divide the ISI "weSkate" classes into level 1 and level 2) you must be able to hold the first stroke, cross easily over the skating foot, glide briefly with feet crossed, and return to starting position. You must do five in a row with no extra pumps or pushes. A two-footed glide between crossovers is acceptable in Alpha 1. Toe pushes on the first stroke are not. I take the toe push on the undercut under advisement with Alpha 1, depending on the quality of the rest of the skating. (Don’t tell.)
In Alpha 2, Advanced Forward Cross-Overs, the crossed foot pushes (in a move called the “undercut”) to the outside of the circle, and then returns to the starting position. To pass, you must demonstrate proper arm position, a strong first push with no toe pick, understanding of the undercut, and be able to lift and return the crossed foot to the starting position without catching the toe pick. Five consecutive cross-overs are required to pass, with no additional pumps, pushes, or two-footed glides. In my classes, I don’t insist on an actual undercut push at Alpha 2, just that the student is not toe pushing on the undercut and has a correct weight shift. At any Alpha 2 skill I'm not looking for power, but for proper understanding of the technique.
My neglect, if you will, of the true power undercut is controversial. Technically, students should be required to do this. However, I have found that especially younger and more recreational skaters will translate power into a mongo-toe push, rather than just learning to be comfortable with the set up for the undercut. It takes a lot of patience and nerves of steel with parents who don't understand why their kid didn't pass alpha "when she's the fastest one in the class."
Necessary to proper crossovers—understanding that you’re skating on a circle, and the distinction between inside and outside edges. ISI leaves the teaching of this to the discretion of the coach; USFS Basic Skills makes it a testable skill. In the USFS Basic Skills curriculum crossovers are taught without lifting on the first stroke. Personally I don’t like introducing this here because I think it makes it harder for kids to understand the necessary weight shift, but either method of teaching is fine.
Forward Stroking
Continuous alternating pushes side to side to move straight down the ice. To pass a level 1 class you must be able to stroke from foot to foot, with free leg straight and extended behind. Toe pushes not allowed, but we usually let the kids do a brief two-foot glide between strokes (see more about toe pushes below). To pass Alpha 2, and the ISI registered test, you must be able to stroke from foot to foot, with good posture, free leg straight and extended behind, no toe pushes, no two-footed glides, and some evidence of ability to accelerate. You must sustain good flow for six pushes. A pointed toe is nice!
Forward Snowplow Stop:
A one-foot stop pushing forward with the inside edge of either foot, creating snow and gliding to a full stop. To pass, you must demonstrate the ability to stop from a slow glide. You get to choose the foot. I always tell my students that they can tell that their stopping technique is correct if they actually stop.
A word about toe pushes:
I consider an unacceptable toe push to be of what I call the “slip and grip” variety. This is when the skater slides the blade straight back until the toe pick catches, then bends his knee and blasts off. I tell the kids “slip and grip leads to trip.” They all groan, then someone trips on a toe pick and I get to say I told you so.
There is however an “acceptable” toe push. This is when the skater catches the toe after pushing with the side of the blade, and is a very common error at the Learn-to-Skate/Basic Skills level. It can almost always be attributed to not enough knee bend or not staying down in the ice as you push, and leading with the wrong part of the blade, and is an easy error for an observant coach to fix. But if the student is pushing with the whole blade, this should not be an error that holds them back. You may tell your coach I said so.
To be successful at Alpha/Basic 3-4, you must have a comfortable, steady one-foot glide right and left before starting class; I always make my students learn how to hold a one-foot glide on a circle as well, both inside and outside edges. (I teach in an ISI program. The Basic Skills program makes forward edges around a circle a testable skill.)
A strong one-foot glide is the key to successful beginner cross overs. Don't be fooled by speed at beginning levels. If your skater wants to be more than what I call a "pond skater," make sure they can glide on one foot before they start to work on cross overs. If your child is in an Alpha class where the teacher seems to be spending "too much time on one foot glides, why aren't they learning cross overs," it's because the beginning level teacher passed the kids without the skills necessary to even start the next level. See the post called "Cute" about the phenomenon of passing children based on their bright smiles.
Alpha/Basic 3&4 is all about strong forward skating-- stroking, crossovers, stops.
Forward Crossovers
Crossovers are a power move, useful for getting around corners and covering a lot of ice with minimal effort. They travel in either direction (Right over Left (counter-clockwise) and Left over right (clockwise) and are, by definition, continuous forward stroking around a circle, pushing with the “outside” foot, then crossing it over the “inside” foot, and returning to the starting position. You'll also hear these referred to as "progressives," especially in a hockey program. Not quite the same thing, but close enough for our purposes today. There is also something called a cross-behind, which is a dance step and does not generate any power. (In skating you can never do anything actually wrong. We just give it another name.)
To pass beginning crossovers (for skating schools that divide the ISI "weSkate" classes into level 1 and level 2) you must be able to hold the first stroke, cross easily over the skating foot, glide briefly with feet crossed, and return to starting position. You must do five in a row with no extra pumps or pushes. A two-footed glide between crossovers is acceptable in Alpha 1. Toe pushes on the first stroke are not. I take the toe push on the undercut under advisement with Alpha 1, depending on the quality of the rest of the skating. (Don’t tell.)
In Alpha 2, Advanced Forward Cross-Overs, the crossed foot pushes (in a move called the “undercut”) to the outside of the circle, and then returns to the starting position. To pass, you must demonstrate proper arm position, a strong first push with no toe pick, understanding of the undercut, and be able to lift and return the crossed foot to the starting position without catching the toe pick. Five consecutive cross-overs are required to pass, with no additional pumps, pushes, or two-footed glides. In my classes, I don’t insist on an actual undercut push at Alpha 2, just that the student is not toe pushing on the undercut and has a correct weight shift. At any Alpha 2 skill I'm not looking for power, but for proper understanding of the technique.
My neglect, if you will, of the true power undercut is controversial. Technically, students should be required to do this. However, I have found that especially younger and more recreational skaters will translate power into a mongo-toe push, rather than just learning to be comfortable with the set up for the undercut. It takes a lot of patience and nerves of steel with parents who don't understand why their kid didn't pass alpha "when she's the fastest one in the class."
Necessary to proper crossovers—understanding that you’re skating on a circle, and the distinction between inside and outside edges. ISI leaves the teaching of this to the discretion of the coach; USFS Basic Skills makes it a testable skill. In the USFS Basic Skills curriculum crossovers are taught without lifting on the first stroke. Personally I don’t like introducing this here because I think it makes it harder for kids to understand the necessary weight shift, but either method of teaching is fine.
Forward Stroking
Continuous alternating pushes side to side to move straight down the ice. To pass a level 1 class you must be able to stroke from foot to foot, with free leg straight and extended behind. Toe pushes not allowed, but we usually let the kids do a brief two-foot glide between strokes (see more about toe pushes below). To pass Alpha 2, and the ISI registered test, you must be able to stroke from foot to foot, with good posture, free leg straight and extended behind, no toe pushes, no two-footed glides, and some evidence of ability to accelerate. You must sustain good flow for six pushes. A pointed toe is nice!
Forward Snowplow Stop:
A one-foot stop pushing forward with the inside edge of either foot, creating snow and gliding to a full stop. To pass, you must demonstrate the ability to stop from a slow glide. You get to choose the foot. I always tell my students that they can tell that their stopping technique is correct if they actually stop.
A word about toe pushes:
I consider an unacceptable toe push to be of what I call the “slip and grip” variety. This is when the skater slides the blade straight back until the toe pick catches, then bends his knee and blasts off. I tell the kids “slip and grip leads to trip.” They all groan, then someone trips on a toe pick and I get to say I told you so.
There is however an “acceptable” toe push. This is when the skater catches the toe after pushing with the side of the blade, and is a very common error at the Learn-to-Skate/Basic Skills level. It can almost always be attributed to not enough knee bend or not staying down in the ice as you push, and leading with the wrong part of the blade, and is an easy error for an observant coach to fix. But if the student is pushing with the whole blade, this should not be an error that holds them back. You may tell your coach I said so.
Nov 18, 2009
From the keyword search
Here's what people want to know (the following phrases turned up on my keyword search list)
How long before my daughter tests out of alpha figure skating?
I've had students step onto the ice able to do cross overs and proper stroking, and I've had kids take 1 year to get there. A better question is "what should my daughter be able to do when she passes alpha?" She should be able to skate across a full sized rink with proper full blade pushes and leg extension. She should be able to do what I call a "true cross," that is place the crossing foot truly inside the circle so that her feet are side-by-side in the crossed position. She should be able to hold a two-foot glide in the position, and she should be able to uncross without pushing her toe pick into the ice. A strong alpha skater will have an undercut push, but I don't insist on this myself at the Alpha level as long as there is no toe push.
How fast can I move up in figure skating?
This is the skating variation of "how do I get to Carnegie Hall?" The answer of course, is "practice." A reasonable rule of thumb, however, is that with application and more than one time on the ice per week, most people (kids and adults) can progress two to three levels per year at the learn-to-skate/Basic Skills level, and one level maybe every 6 to 15 months (2 to 5 sessions) at the free style levels, with a long stop over at FS5 to learn the axel. (Take your time at 5.) For children, if you start skating by age 10 you will be landing doubles by the time you graduate highschool, provided you work at it. You can pretty much take that to the bank.
10 year olds at figure skating nationals
I'd love to know what this person was looking for! Yes there are 10-year olds at nationals, but mostly at Junior Nationals (Juvenile and Intermediate). There are minimum age limitations for the Senior Level at international (you must be 16), and national (you must be 15) competitions. As far as I've been able to find, there are no minimum age requirements at other qualifying levels. (Anyone have better info on this?) So yes, there might be 10 year-olds at Nationals, especially at the novice level. But I don't see the point-- what's the hurry? Coaches or parents in this situation-- why have kids skate so high so young? Let us know in the comments.
How long before my daughter tests out of alpha figure skating?
I've had students step onto the ice able to do cross overs and proper stroking, and I've had kids take 1 year to get there. A better question is "what should my daughter be able to do when she passes alpha?" She should be able to skate across a full sized rink with proper full blade pushes and leg extension. She should be able to do what I call a "true cross," that is place the crossing foot truly inside the circle so that her feet are side-by-side in the crossed position. She should be able to hold a two-foot glide in the position, and she should be able to uncross without pushing her toe pick into the ice. A strong alpha skater will have an undercut push, but I don't insist on this myself at the Alpha level as long as there is no toe push.
How fast can I move up in figure skating?
This is the skating variation of "how do I get to Carnegie Hall?" The answer of course, is "practice." A reasonable rule of thumb, however, is that with application and more than one time on the ice per week, most people (kids and adults) can progress two to three levels per year at the learn-to-skate/Basic Skills level, and one level maybe every 6 to 15 months (2 to 5 sessions) at the free style levels, with a long stop over at FS5 to learn the axel. (Take your time at 5.) For children, if you start skating by age 10 you will be landing doubles by the time you graduate highschool, provided you work at it. You can pretty much take that to the bank.
10 year olds at figure skating nationals
I'd love to know what this person was looking for! Yes there are 10-year olds at nationals, but mostly at Junior Nationals (Juvenile and Intermediate). There are minimum age limitations for the Senior Level at international (you must be 16), and national (you must be 15) competitions. As far as I've been able to find, there are no minimum age requirements at other qualifying levels. (Anyone have better info on this?) So yes, there might be 10 year-olds at Nationals, especially at the novice level. But I don't see the point-- what's the hurry? Coaches or parents in this situation-- why have kids skate so high so young? Let us know in the comments.
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