It's been seven months since I dropped all my group classes due to health and business pressures. (Oops, did I forget to mention that? Last April I had to drop all my staff positions due to health and business concerns. I guess I'll do a post about that!)
The result is that I haven't seen a freestyle warm up in seven months. And I haven't seen a warm up at a rink that doesn't train its beginning freestyle students in the challenging warm up skills in even longer than that.
A couple of weeks ago I went to watch my student H, who passed into Freestyle One this session. His mother was a little concerned, because both I and his class teacher had told her he'd be fine with the skills, it was the warm up that she should be worried about.
He, and the other baby freestylers actually do fine. They stumble through the skills, sometimes badly and fast, sometimes well, but slow, but pretty much clueless throughout.
The Ice Rink of the Damned actually got this one right-- they inserted a level between Delta and FS1 called "Pre Freestyle" with the express mandate of teaching the kids the warm up patterns. At my last rink, you didn't get out of Delta (or out of Beta for that matter) without the flow, speed and skating knowledge to handle the warm up. (Yes, all those kids skated better than me. It was a little intimidating. Fortunately I'm extremely arrogant.)
H's rink-- man, they just throw them in the deep end, or would have, if it wasn't frozen. Because those kids were drowning.
I don't think the kids knew this, and the coaches were handling it reasonably well, but I don't really understand the point of having kids try to figure out a complex skill like power 3-turns. They're just getting it wrong and are going to have to unlearn it, or they'll feel incompetent and will check out. (haha skating joke).
Here are some solutions:
Pre-Freestyle
As I noted, you can simply add a level. The Basic Skills and ISI curricula are not governed by force of law. You can mess around with them. The problem moving from Learn to Skate into Freestyle is that LTS teaches the skills in isolation; Freestyle requires flow, and the ability to move from one skill to another. (This is actually one of the areas where Basic Skills gets it better than ISI, because it does teach more flow than ISI.)
The skills that kids should learn are alternating 3-turns, waltz 3-turns, power 3-turns, alternating mohawks, stopping drills, cross rolls and cross steps, perimeter stroking (PrePre pattern), perimeter cross overs (forwards and backwards), 3-turn tap toes. That'll do it. Once they have these in their muscle memory, other warm up patterns will become more intuitive.
Divide the ice
If your rink doesn't have enough available ice to add a level, and you've got mixed high/mid and low in a single class, put the new freestylers on one side of the blue line (about a quarter of the rink), with the rest of the class sharing the remainder. Yes, the high skaters will be somewhat restricted, but on the other hand they won't be tripping over the low skaters anymore. You don't even need to do it for the whole session-- maybe the first month, until the newbies learn the moves.
Add it to Delta
Delta Is So Boring. Start teaching the kids to put the skills together. They'll be more engaged and they'll be more ready for freestyle.
Rearrange the classes
Instead of putting Gamma and Delta on the same ice, put Gamma with the Betas, and create a Delta-FS1-FS2 level. this is another place where Basic Skills gets it right, by putting beginning spins and jumps in their learn to skate curriculum. FS1 and FS2 (and maybe FS3) shouldn't even be considered "Freestyle" but should still be counted in Learn to Skate, because they are still introducing basic concepts. But nobody asks me.
Divide the ice, part duo
To get around the full-ice problem created by dividing the ice along the short axis, put the high freestyle kids on the perimeter, and run the beginners up the center so they can both learn the skills and go at their own speed. You won't be able to run any "five circle" warm ups using this traffic pattern, but on the other hand you won't have the highs tripping over the lows. You'll also teach the high freestyle kids to use the whole ice. It makes me insane when skaters avoid the end zone like there's a force field blocking it.
How does your rink integrate or prepare low freestyle into the freestyle curriculum?
Showing posts with label curriculum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label curriculum. Show all posts
Apr 30, 2013
Skating camp
Most figure skating programs now offer summer camp. These may be half or full day, be solely focused on figure skating, or be more traditional "day camp" that includes a figure skating component either specifically instructional, or just as a regular activity in a more "public skating" sort of mode.
In a camp that is focused on figure skating, with a couple of hours of ice a day, your skater can pass a couple of tests easily over the course of the summer, as well as just achieving a solid comfort level on the ice and improving their basic skating.
Camps are generally divided into Learn to Skate levels (beginner through Beta/Basic 5 or Gamma/Basic 6) and Freestyle levels, usually starting with students in Delta/Basic 7 (because those students will achieve freestyle levels during the course of the camp). The exact division will vary from program to program.
Less common are rinks that allow staff to form their own private camps. I ran such a camp at a prior rink. Any camp will offer some combination of the following components.
Moves-Edges-Stroking
At Xanboni camp freestyle students (although I never had many of those, by choice) learned USFS Moves-in-the-Field patterns for the Pre-Preliminary and Preliminary Tests. For Learn to Skate/Basic Skills students I used the "moves" periods to work on strong edges, crossovers and stroking, as well as learning basic skating patterns like periphery stroking.
Skating skills
My camps were small, so all classes were mixed level, but in a regular facility-run program there are usually enough skaters to divide students into discreet levels. The skills classes will be pretty much exactly the skills classes in an after school program. They just move faster because the kids are on the ice so much. Skating skills classes will also generally include skills from higher levels and so-called uncaptured moves (an ISI term for tricks and skills that are not included in the testable curriculum).
Stretching, cardio, outdoors games
As a personal philosophy, I do not condone dedicated strength training for children under the age of 10, and frankly consider it a little pointless for kids in a recreational program. And calisthenics can be boring. This does not mean strength training and calisthenics can't happen-- you just need to find ways to make it age appropriate and interesting. Lots of really fun activities, like Dance Dance Revolution, soccer, races, touch football, et cetera, give you all the benefits of cardio and strength training, at a level that young children enjoy. Sometimes I did off-ice on the playground, with the only rule being that the kids had to use every piece of equipment at least once.
Crafts and story telling
Even at a sports camp, engage their creative and quiet side for part of the day. Read them a book, or do "round robin" stories (where everyone contributes part of the story, line by line), or drawing, sewing, etc. One of our favorite activities was sidewalk chalking.
Field trips
Look for programs with extras like occasional (or regular) swimming, or rolling blading, museum or theater trips, a skating show, or the beach. (Make sure you have lots of parents helpers and a signed waiver, by the way). All skating and no play makes Susie a dull girl.
Private lesson time
While most camps will not specifically offer private lessons, many work lesson time into the day so that students who have private coaches don't have to make a separate trip back to the rink for their lesson; it's simply arranged as part of the camp day. In some camps these are designated times; for others the student may be allowed to take their private lesson instead of any given camp activity.
Other ideas
For older kids, see if your program offers a weekly or bi-weekly "how to teach" session to train future coaches. Look for camps with a supervised practice session, so kids get time to organize their own practice without being told what to do every minute. Over the years I've been teaching, I've observed kids getting less and less able to work on their own. I have no idea how they get through college, let alone a job. Some programs will offer kids a chance to learn a program, or get a taste of a specialized skill like synchro, dance, figures, or couples.
Camps are generally divided into Learn to Skate levels (beginner through Beta/Basic 5 or Gamma/Basic 6) and Freestyle levels, usually starting with students in Delta/Basic 7 (because those students will achieve freestyle levels during the course of the camp). The exact division will vary from program to program.
Less common are rinks that allow staff to form their own private camps. I ran such a camp at a prior rink. Any camp will offer some combination of the following components.
Moves-Edges-Stroking
At Xanboni camp freestyle students (although I never had many of those, by choice) learned USFS Moves-in-the-Field patterns for the Pre-Preliminary and Preliminary Tests. For Learn to Skate/Basic Skills students I used the "moves" periods to work on strong edges, crossovers and stroking, as well as learning basic skating patterns like periphery stroking.
Skating skills
My camps were small, so all classes were mixed level, but in a regular facility-run program there are usually enough skaters to divide students into discreet levels. The skills classes will be pretty much exactly the skills classes in an after school program. They just move faster because the kids are on the ice so much. Skating skills classes will also generally include skills from higher levels and so-called uncaptured moves (an ISI term for tricks and skills that are not included in the testable curriculum).
Stretching, cardio, outdoors games
As a personal philosophy, I do not condone dedicated strength training for children under the age of 10, and frankly consider it a little pointless for kids in a recreational program. And calisthenics can be boring. This does not mean strength training and calisthenics can't happen-- you just need to find ways to make it age appropriate and interesting. Lots of really fun activities, like Dance Dance Revolution, soccer, races, touch football, et cetera, give you all the benefits of cardio and strength training, at a level that young children enjoy. Sometimes I did off-ice on the playground, with the only rule being that the kids had to use every piece of equipment at least once.
Crafts and story telling
Even at a sports camp, engage their creative and quiet side for part of the day. Read them a book, or do "round robin" stories (where everyone contributes part of the story, line by line), or drawing, sewing, etc. One of our favorite activities was sidewalk chalking.
Field trips
Look for programs with extras like occasional (or regular) swimming, or rolling blading, museum or theater trips, a skating show, or the beach. (Make sure you have lots of parents helpers and a signed waiver, by the way). All skating and no play makes Susie a dull girl.
Private lesson time
While most camps will not specifically offer private lessons, many work lesson time into the day so that students who have private coaches don't have to make a separate trip back to the rink for their lesson; it's simply arranged as part of the camp day. In some camps these are designated times; for others the student may be allowed to take their private lesson instead of any given camp activity.
Other ideas
For older kids, see if your program offers a weekly or bi-weekly "how to teach" session to train future coaches. Look for camps with a supervised practice session, so kids get time to organize their own practice without being told what to do every minute. Over the years I've been teaching, I've observed kids getting less and less able to work on their own. I have no idea how they get through college, let alone a job. Some programs will offer kids a chance to learn a program, or get a taste of a specialized skill like synchro, dance, figures, or couples.
Does your skater go to skating camp? Tell us about it!
Apr 17, 2013
Having fun in beginning skating
Ask any skater what they love about skating and they won't give you a skill. Nobody skates because they like brackets, or axels, or spirals.
Skaters like speed.
They like the wind in their hair.
They best thing a coach can do for beginning skaters isn't teaching them how to swizzle or balance. It's just letting them skate.
I sometimes tell beginners' parents to skip the first year of lessons. Just buy your child pair of skates and bring them to public once a week for a year. It will cost about the same. If you really don't feel like they'll do anything without instruction, then hire one of the rink rats to babysit on the ice every Sunday afternoon. Just let the kid have fun.
But you can have lots of fun in class too, as long as your coach isn't asleep at the switch, or consider themselves too good for Pre Alpha (and therefore checked out of being an engaging coach).
Back and forth
The worst thing you can see in a beginning skating class is the kids just skating back and forth and back and forth and back and forth doing the same thing over and over. Especially in a class with really slow or really fast kids, just putting the kids on a circle instantly makes it easier to manage and more interesting. Or just switch it up-- sometimes back and forth, sometimes circles.
Repetition
I'm not saying the kids don't need to drill. They really do. But drills don't need to be boring. Have them count how long they glide on one foot, and let them count super fast. Make them start their one foot glide as a specific marker (this is very challenging for beginners and requires a lot of concentration, which also keeps the boredom at bay). Offer a challenge: have them see how many of a given skill they can do--how many dips, how many swizzles in a row, how many 5-second glides, or anything else you can think of.
Pattern
Even the beginningest beginner knows more than one skill. So make up a pattern that combines several skills. And if you only have three skills, or the skater moves so slowly that the pattern only takes them a couple of feet, add a clap, or a stomp, or jazz hands.
Hard stuff
There are all sorts of higher level skills that lower level skaters can learn. Pre Alpha/Basic 1-3 skaters can do pivots and spins and two-foot turns. Alphas/Basic 4 can do lunges and backward dips; betas/Basic 5 can do bunny hops, gammas/Basic 6 can do shoot-the-duck and backwards two foot turns. The coach needs to know the critical element that makes a skill possible. If you can do a one-foot glide, you can do a modified lunge. If you can swizzle, you can pivot. If you can march, you can spin. (This is one area where Basic Skills gets it right-- it puts choreographic skills in the curriculum, instead of relying on the coach to not be boring, for instance, one-foot spins in Basic 5.)
So here's the coach's oath: First, do not bore. (yourself, or anybody else)
Skaters like speed.
They like the wind in their hair.
They best thing a coach can do for beginning skaters isn't teaching them how to swizzle or balance. It's just letting them skate.
I sometimes tell beginners' parents to skip the first year of lessons. Just buy your child pair of skates and bring them to public once a week for a year. It will cost about the same. If you really don't feel like they'll do anything without instruction, then hire one of the rink rats to babysit on the ice every Sunday afternoon. Just let the kid have fun.
But you can have lots of fun in class too, as long as your coach isn't asleep at the switch, or consider themselves too good for Pre Alpha (and therefore checked out of being an engaging coach).
Back and forth
The worst thing you can see in a beginning skating class is the kids just skating back and forth and back and forth and back and forth doing the same thing over and over. Especially in a class with really slow or really fast kids, just putting the kids on a circle instantly makes it easier to manage and more interesting. Or just switch it up-- sometimes back and forth, sometimes circles.
Repetition
I'm not saying the kids don't need to drill. They really do. But drills don't need to be boring. Have them count how long they glide on one foot, and let them count super fast. Make them start their one foot glide as a specific marker (this is very challenging for beginners and requires a lot of concentration, which also keeps the boredom at bay). Offer a challenge: have them see how many of a given skill they can do--how many dips, how many swizzles in a row, how many 5-second glides, or anything else you can think of.
Pattern
Even the beginningest beginner knows more than one skill. So make up a pattern that combines several skills. And if you only have three skills, or the skater moves so slowly that the pattern only takes them a couple of feet, add a clap, or a stomp, or jazz hands.
Hard stuff
There are all sorts of higher level skills that lower level skaters can learn. Pre Alpha/Basic 1-3 skaters can do pivots and spins and two-foot turns. Alphas/Basic 4 can do lunges and backward dips; betas/Basic 5 can do bunny hops, gammas/Basic 6 can do shoot-the-duck and backwards two foot turns. The coach needs to know the critical element that makes a skill possible. If you can do a one-foot glide, you can do a modified lunge. If you can swizzle, you can pivot. If you can march, you can spin. (This is one area where Basic Skills gets it right-- it puts choreographic skills in the curriculum, instead of relying on the coach to not be boring, for instance, one-foot spins in Basic 5.)
So here's the coach's oath: First, do not bore. (yourself, or anybody else)
Apr 14, 2013
It doesn't have to be boring
There is nothing worse in the day of a figure skating coach than 15 minutes before the end of a Pre Alpha class.
More than any other level, Pre-alpha (Snowplow Sam 4, Basic 1) is going to have wildly divergent speeds and engagement from the students.
Once they get into the true Learn-to-Skate levels, most kids can at least "keep up"-- that is, move at the same speed as everyone else. By the time they get into low freestyle, they've self-selected to just kids who are really motivated to skate.
But at Pre Alpha there are days when you just know you shouldn't check the clock because you have another 15 minutes of trying to get the whole class across the ice together.
As far as I can tell, it's worse for the kids.
They get this glazed look.
They start looking wistfully at the Beta class next door that seem to be having so much fun.
They have to go to the bathroom, or give their hat to their mom.
They're tired.
And the classic clue that you are being boring: "how much longer?"
Here's the thing-- if coach is bored (boring), the kids are bored.
And why do that to yourself? There is simply no reason to run a boring class. Every time I'm helping in a class with a teacher whose lesson plan is "okay one foot glide, right foot. Okay, let's do it again. and again. Couple more times! Now let's do the other foot." For. Forty. Minutes.
I want to poke my eyes out with a skate.
Put the kids on a circle. Have a contest. Make up a pattern. Play a game. Do a challenge. Sing a freaking song. Make up a program.
It's not only boring to the kids. It's boring to you-- if you're boring them you're also boring yourself. Being boring, or disengaged, or unimaginative is not going to make Pre Alpha class go away. So you might as well have fun.
More than any other level, Pre-alpha (Snowplow Sam 4, Basic 1) is going to have wildly divergent speeds and engagement from the students.
Once they get into the true Learn-to-Skate levels, most kids can at least "keep up"-- that is, move at the same speed as everyone else. By the time they get into low freestyle, they've self-selected to just kids who are really motivated to skate.
But at Pre Alpha there are days when you just know you shouldn't check the clock because you have another 15 minutes of trying to get the whole class across the ice together.
As far as I can tell, it's worse for the kids.
They get this glazed look.
They start looking wistfully at the Beta class next door that seem to be having so much fun.
They have to go to the bathroom, or give their hat to their mom.
They're tired.
And the classic clue that you are being boring: "how much longer?"
Here's the thing-- if coach is bored (boring), the kids are bored.
And why do that to yourself? There is simply no reason to run a boring class. Every time I'm helping in a class with a teacher whose lesson plan is "okay one foot glide, right foot. Okay, let's do it again. and again. Couple more times! Now let's do the other foot." For. Forty. Minutes.
I want to poke my eyes out with a skate.
Put the kids on a circle. Have a contest. Make up a pattern. Play a game. Do a challenge. Sing a freaking song. Make up a program.
It's not only boring to the kids. It's boring to you-- if you're boring them you're also boring yourself. Being boring, or disengaged, or unimaginative is not going to make Pre Alpha class go away. So you might as well have fun.
Have you had a boring coach? What has a coach done with basic skating that made it interesting?
Sep 6, 2012
Back from vacation
Watching kids get back on the ice after a long, hot, skating-free summer gives you a whole new perspective on the concept of "slip 'n' slide."
For the elite, competitive kids, it's simple, because in fact summer isn't vacation time. Quite the opposite. Summer is preseason and one of the busiest training periods of the year. A lot of serious, competitive kids, but not in the elite or near-elite ranks, also spent a good part of the summer training several hours a day. But even they may have taken the last couple of weeks, or even month, before school on family vacation, or just hanging out in the sun.
And the "class" kids? The class kids have completely forgotten where the ice rink is.
This is not to say they don't want to skate again. Now that school has started, it's a place to hang with friends, and a fun thing to do after school. They're starting to remember about the Christmas ice shows for which you have to be enrolled. Their new best friend at school skates too, and now they want to skate together.
So off they go to class, and it's slip 'n' slide time, for the kid who had just about figured out crossovers. What to do.
Skate at your level
Did your skater barely pass Alpha and then stop skating for two and a half months? Take Alpha again. It won't kill her, and it'll be a good lesson in retaining knowledge, and the work that entails. There's nothing worse than a supposed Beta class full of Alpha skaters who can no longer hold a one foot glide, and their parents, standing in the door and complaining that "he already learned crossovers LAST year."
Skate at your level, part two
Did your skater not pass Alpha, but since she took it, you decide you're just going to pass her on your own? Please don't do this. It's unfair to the skater, the coach, and everyone else in the class. Skate at your level. I promise on my solemn honor that taking Alpha twice (or three times, or four), will not affect her ability to get into Harvard.
Skate
If you're going to wimp out and have Princess move up a level because she stomps her little feet, or her best friend is in the more advanced class, or the time is more convenient, or you like the coach (what excuses have I missed) you need to start going to the rink just to skate. After school, on the weekends, on your days off, if you have any. Doesn't have to be a lesson, and she doesn't have to "practice." Just get her back on the ice, a lot.
Cram
If your skater really did pass that level, and you really think she'll be fine in the more advanced class, don't leave it to chance. Do lessons for a month, or a couple a week for a couple of weeks. Tell the coach that you are doing this specifically to make sure she's ready for the class you want her to take.
Freestyle
Freestyle skaters who are not in serious training (serious training = 10+ hours per week, where even during your down time you're skating a couple times a week), have a special obligation, because jumping is dangerous when you're not in shape or in practice. If you're a serious, but not competitively training skater, then you need not only to follow the advice above, you also need to get back into shape. Even when you're spending a month at the beach, you need to continue your off-ice regimen of strength, cardio and off-ice jumping. Otherwise you're going to be learning that axel all over again.
Don't forget the practical stuff
Make sure the skates still fit, and that the blades are clean, sharp and rust-free. Ditto the skating clothes. Scrounge up the gloves, the leggings, and the skating jacket, and put them in a skating bag so it's always ready. (Please don't send your skater to class outfitted for Everest. It's not that cold in a rink.) If you're going to spend a lot of time at the rink, see if there are any available lockers so you don't have to haul the skates around. Renew the annual pass for public ice. Renew your Basic Skills or ISI membership.
I guess I should have posted this 2 weeks ago, but I was too busy wringing the last of the summer out of the slip 'n' slide.
For the elite, competitive kids, it's simple, because in fact summer isn't vacation time. Quite the opposite. Summer is preseason and one of the busiest training periods of the year. A lot of serious, competitive kids, but not in the elite or near-elite ranks, also spent a good part of the summer training several hours a day. But even they may have taken the last couple of weeks, or even month, before school on family vacation, or just hanging out in the sun.
And the "class" kids? The class kids have completely forgotten where the ice rink is.
This is not to say they don't want to skate again. Now that school has started, it's a place to hang with friends, and a fun thing to do after school. They're starting to remember about the Christmas ice shows for which you have to be enrolled. Their new best friend at school skates too, and now they want to skate together.
So off they go to class, and it's slip 'n' slide time, for the kid who had just about figured out crossovers. What to do.
Skate at your level
Did your skater barely pass Alpha and then stop skating for two and a half months? Take Alpha again. It won't kill her, and it'll be a good lesson in retaining knowledge, and the work that entails. There's nothing worse than a supposed Beta class full of Alpha skaters who can no longer hold a one foot glide, and their parents, standing in the door and complaining that "he already learned crossovers LAST year."
Skate at your level, part two
Did your skater not pass Alpha, but since she took it, you decide you're just going to pass her on your own? Please don't do this. It's unfair to the skater, the coach, and everyone else in the class. Skate at your level. I promise on my solemn honor that taking Alpha twice (or three times, or four), will not affect her ability to get into Harvard.
Skate
If you're going to wimp out and have Princess move up a level because she stomps her little feet, or her best friend is in the more advanced class, or the time is more convenient, or you like the coach (what excuses have I missed) you need to start going to the rink just to skate. After school, on the weekends, on your days off, if you have any. Doesn't have to be a lesson, and she doesn't have to "practice." Just get her back on the ice, a lot.
Cram
If your skater really did pass that level, and you really think she'll be fine in the more advanced class, don't leave it to chance. Do lessons for a month, or a couple a week for a couple of weeks. Tell the coach that you are doing this specifically to make sure she's ready for the class you want her to take.
Freestyle
Freestyle skaters who are not in serious training (serious training = 10+ hours per week, where even during your down time you're skating a couple times a week), have a special obligation, because jumping is dangerous when you're not in shape or in practice. If you're a serious, but not competitively training skater, then you need not only to follow the advice above, you also need to get back into shape. Even when you're spending a month at the beach, you need to continue your off-ice regimen of strength, cardio and off-ice jumping. Otherwise you're going to be learning that axel all over again.
Don't forget the practical stuff
Make sure the skates still fit, and that the blades are clean, sharp and rust-free. Ditto the skating clothes. Scrounge up the gloves, the leggings, and the skating jacket, and put them in a skating bag so it's always ready. (Please don't send your skater to class outfitted for Everest. It's not that cold in a rink.) If you're going to spend a lot of time at the rink, see if there are any available lockers so you don't have to haul the skates around. Renew the annual pass for public ice. Renew your Basic Skills or ISI membership.
I guess I should have posted this 2 weeks ago, but I was too busy wringing the last of the summer out of the slip 'n' slide.
May 2, 2012
Getting the class coach you want
It's (relatively) easy getting the private coach you want-- you identify her/him, you work out the schedule, you pay the fee, done.
But class coaches are another problem. What if you want a particular class coach, or DON'T want a particular class coach? Are there options?
Don't sign up until you know the schedule
If you're in a program that keeps registration open, then just wait until they post the schedule so you know who is teaching what. If your rink doesn't post the coaches' schedule, just ask the coach you want. They will know a couple of weeks before the session starts.
Ask
There are three ways you can ask: A "will you please assign Coach Wonderful to X level class at [time] or, B "who teaches X level class at [time] or C "when does Coach Wonderful teach X class" (or what classes does Coach Wonderful teach). Good luck with A.
There are all sorts of reasons that Coach Wonderful can't be assigned to Class X. They might not have that time available, or may want, or be needed on, a different level at the same time. They may not have the seniority to get assigned a class if someone else wants it. The Skating Director may be unreceptive to customer requests of this nature (even multiple customer requests, and especially if the SD doesn't like the coach in question or the parent doing the asking). This is especially common with the obverse-- "please stop assigning Coach Arschloch to Class X, everyone hates him, that's why no one ever signs up for that class."
But you can always ask.
Reconsider
What's the cost vs. benefit. Is it better to be in a large class with a beloved coach, or a small class with the coach you don't know?
Don't move up
If you really love a coach and you/your skater moves up but the coach doesn't, just stay in the class. There is almost no skater who can't benefit from another round at any level, and if they love the coach that much, they might be receptive to this.
Get over it
Your child is going to have to deal with a lot of people in his/her life that they don't click with, or that they in fact don't like, and certainly that they don't know. They're going to have to deal with people in authority who don't like/get them. Shyness/discomfort with new people is not an excuse, because it's completely unrealistic to control your child's contacts to that extent. So to some extent this is not just a skating, but also a parenting issue. Unless it's a question of abuse, inappropriate behavior, or actual shirking of responsibility on the teacher's part, a skater (child or adult) who refuses to get something out of a class because they don't like the teacher is not a disatisfied consumer, but rather a spoiled brat.
It's wonderful to have that teacher whom you love, but not always possible. Go ahead and ask, but then just take the class with the new teacher. You might discover that they are wonderful, too.
But class coaches are another problem. What if you want a particular class coach, or DON'T want a particular class coach? Are there options?
Don't sign up until you know the schedule
If you're in a program that keeps registration open, then just wait until they post the schedule so you know who is teaching what. If your rink doesn't post the coaches' schedule, just ask the coach you want. They will know a couple of weeks before the session starts.
Ask
There are three ways you can ask: A "will you please assign Coach Wonderful to X level class at [time] or, B "who teaches X level class at [time] or C "when does Coach Wonderful teach X class" (or what classes does Coach Wonderful teach). Good luck with A.
There are all sorts of reasons that Coach Wonderful can't be assigned to Class X. They might not have that time available, or may want, or be needed on, a different level at the same time. They may not have the seniority to get assigned a class if someone else wants it. The Skating Director may be unreceptive to customer requests of this nature (even multiple customer requests, and especially if the SD doesn't like the coach in question or the parent doing the asking). This is especially common with the obverse-- "please stop assigning Coach Arschloch to Class X, everyone hates him, that's why no one ever signs up for that class."
But you can always ask.
Reconsider
What's the cost vs. benefit. Is it better to be in a large class with a beloved coach, or a small class with the coach you don't know?
Don't move up
If you really love a coach and you/your skater moves up but the coach doesn't, just stay in the class. There is almost no skater who can't benefit from another round at any level, and if they love the coach that much, they might be receptive to this.
Get over it
Your child is going to have to deal with a lot of people in his/her life that they don't click with, or that they in fact don't like, and certainly that they don't know. They're going to have to deal with people in authority who don't like/get them. Shyness/discomfort with new people is not an excuse, because it's completely unrealistic to control your child's contacts to that extent. So to some extent this is not just a skating, but also a parenting issue. Unless it's a question of abuse, inappropriate behavior, or actual shirking of responsibility on the teacher's part, a skater (child or adult) who refuses to get something out of a class because they don't like the teacher is not a disatisfied consumer, but rather a spoiled brat.
It's wonderful to have that teacher whom you love, but not always possible. Go ahead and ask, but then just take the class with the new teacher. You might discover that they are wonderful, too.
Nov 8, 2011
How good is good enough?
A reader asks:
All the curricula: ISI weSkate, USFS Basic Skills, UK Levels, and CANSkate, have very specific descriptions of passing standards for each skill, right down to "fall and get up" and all the way up to triple axels. Here's an example for the edge skill above, from the USFS Basic Skills book:
If I had my preferences, a strong skating director willing to hold the line with parents, and a culture that supported it, absolutely, every single skater should be held to the standard. There is a reason for it, namely that the next skill up (cross overs in this instance) requires mastery of the prior skill or it will be too difficult. I'm working with a hockey skater right now who has never been required to balance on one foot. Needless to say, he's having difficulty keeping up in games and drills.
I know that there are rinks that are able to hold the line, but this is what happens out here in reality:
Blame the Skating Director
This is where it starts. If the skating director caves when a parent complains, rather than backing up her staff; if she lets one coach pass according to that coach's standards (this also happens with coaches who are too strict; it works both ways), then your rink effectively has no passing standards.
Blame the Coach
This is the number one reason why rinks start getting reputations for poor skaters and low standards--coaches don't care enough to hold a kid back. They pass a kid on because they don't like her or because he's a disruptive student (not kidding). They pass their own students up, sometimes skipping multiple levels, as a marketing ploy, or to consolidate all their kids in a single level for their own scheduling ease or ego-gratification. Some coaches are just incompetent, and don't understand the passing standard, or can't teach it properly. Coaches should not be allowed to skip students without an objective panel, preferably comprising people who don't know the coach OR the kid, agreeing to it (even in recreational programs).
Blame the student
Each of the curricula have about 6 to 9 skills to master per level. Often, a student will perfectly master all but one of them, and I'll tell you it is really hard, in a recreational class situation, to not pass a clearly superior student because their t-stop sucks even though you know it's going to come back to haunt them.
Blame the program
Sometimes the student will be just skimming the passing standard--they need 2 more weeks, not 3 more months at the level. This can be dealt with by splitting every level in an A, B, and even C sub-level, but not all programs have the creativity or will to do this. As far as I'm concerned, this is the obvious solution--you feel like you're passing and you get a little ego boost. Rinks don't need to have entire separate sections for the As, Bs, and Cs; they can all be in the exact same class, just working on the skills at a different standard. Which brings us to...
Blame the curriculum
Rinks routinely divide up the cross-over levels (Alpha and Beta, or Basic 4-5-6) into sublevels, but for some reason stop doing this at the higher levels, which is just mystifying. If rinks would divide FS5 (Axel) for instance, into as many as four sub-levels, kids would not be complaining they are "stuck" because they'd be passing something. This would get rid of the parents' complaints that a child couldn't pass. It would allow softy coaches to pass a student who's just too cute to leave behind.
If the reader's rink or federation has decided enough with the fuzzy passing standards, good for them. I hope they can hold the line.
Should you enforce perfect technique at lower levels (and hence hold people back until it is perfect) – or should you accept that there are differences in acceptable technique depending on your level? My local rink has started insisting on proper technique for even for the lowest levels, such as properly bent skating leg and properly extended free leg for the outside curves (UK or USFS Basic Skills Level 4, ISI does not have a corollary to this), rather than passing them if they can just hold the edge properly for a set time. What they seem to want is the easier moves at the lower levels to be done at the standard they would be done by someone who had passed the top levels.So what should a passing standard be?
All the curricula: ISI weSkate, USFS Basic Skills, UK Levels, and CANSkate, have very specific descriptions of passing standards for each skill, right down to "fall and get up" and all the way up to triple axels. Here's an example for the edge skill above, from the USFS Basic Skills book:
Forward edges held two times the skater's height, right and left forward outside. The edges are skated while moving in a circle. After balancing on two feet, begin the edges by placing the skating side arm and shoulder forward with the free shoulder held firmly behind. Pick up the foot on the outside of the circle and glide on a forward edge in a balanced position over the skating side for two counts (instructor will count)[NB- I gather for the UK, the skating foot must be held back in a stroking position]Pretty specific and clear.
If I had my preferences, a strong skating director willing to hold the line with parents, and a culture that supported it, absolutely, every single skater should be held to the standard. There is a reason for it, namely that the next skill up (cross overs in this instance) requires mastery of the prior skill or it will be too difficult. I'm working with a hockey skater right now who has never been required to balance on one foot. Needless to say, he's having difficulty keeping up in games and drills.
I know that there are rinks that are able to hold the line, but this is what happens out here in reality:
Blame the Skating Director
This is where it starts. If the skating director caves when a parent complains, rather than backing up her staff; if she lets one coach pass according to that coach's standards (this also happens with coaches who are too strict; it works both ways), then your rink effectively has no passing standards.
Blame the Coach
This is the number one reason why rinks start getting reputations for poor skaters and low standards--coaches don't care enough to hold a kid back. They pass a kid on because they don't like her or because he's a disruptive student (not kidding). They pass their own students up, sometimes skipping multiple levels, as a marketing ploy, or to consolidate all their kids in a single level for their own scheduling ease or ego-gratification. Some coaches are just incompetent, and don't understand the passing standard, or can't teach it properly. Coaches should not be allowed to skip students without an objective panel, preferably comprising people who don't know the coach OR the kid, agreeing to it (even in recreational programs).
Blame the student
Each of the curricula have about 6 to 9 skills to master per level. Often, a student will perfectly master all but one of them, and I'll tell you it is really hard, in a recreational class situation, to not pass a clearly superior student because their t-stop sucks even though you know it's going to come back to haunt them.
Blame the program
Sometimes the student will be just skimming the passing standard--they need 2 more weeks, not 3 more months at the level. This can be dealt with by splitting every level in an A, B, and even C sub-level, but not all programs have the creativity or will to do this. As far as I'm concerned, this is the obvious solution--you feel like you're passing and you get a little ego boost. Rinks don't need to have entire separate sections for the As, Bs, and Cs; they can all be in the exact same class, just working on the skills at a different standard. Which brings us to...
Blame the curriculum
Rinks routinely divide up the cross-over levels (Alpha and Beta, or Basic 4-5-6) into sublevels, but for some reason stop doing this at the higher levels, which is just mystifying. If rinks would divide FS5 (Axel) for instance, into as many as four sub-levels, kids would not be complaining they are "stuck" because they'd be passing something. This would get rid of the parents' complaints that a child couldn't pass. It would allow softy coaches to pass a student who's just too cute to leave behind.
If the reader's rink or federation has decided enough with the fuzzy passing standards, good for them. I hope they can hold the line.
Nov 4, 2010
Turn, turn, turn
My Wednesday night Gamma-Delta adults are a class with more ability than confidence ( what adult class isn't like that?). I went in last night without an idea in my head about what to do; there was a private on the ice working on Mohawks, so I thought, okay, turns "in the field."
Gamma and Delta classes, especially adults, spend inordinate amounts of time doing "patchy" little turns on half circles, in place. But once you start working on turns, especially once you've actually turned a few, you can start doing the fun stuff- moving across the ice and working toward those mysteriously effortless-looking transitions from forwards to backwards.
We started with a weight-shift warm up and then moved to turns on a Serpentine pattern (alternating half-circle lobes along a long axis). The trick to these patterns is to maintain flow (not necessarily speed) and to place the elements in the correct spot (push at the long axis, turns at the right place on the lobe, etc.)
Warm up: Forward wide-footed slaloms up the long axis, forward crossover to forward outside edge glide (or make it a spiral, if you like). Forward mohawk, repeat pattern backwards. Do this along a continuous axis, i.e. all the way around the rink.
Forward power 3 turns (from the Adult Bronze Moves in the Field test). Forward outside 3 turn on one side of the long axis, cross the long axis backwards, back crossover takes you around the lobe back to the long axis, step forward to outside edge and repeat. If you do a left 3-turn you do a right cross over. We then did this pattern substituting a Mohawk for the three turn (add an extra step after the forward outside edge-- instead of just a 3 turn, do forward inside edge, Mohawk).
Alternating three turns, inside and outside. Just what it sounds like, alternating 3-turns down a long axis.
Five-step Mohawk, another alternating pattern on a Serpentine along a long axis. Forward inside edge to mohawk, change feet to back outside edge, step forward to forward outside edge, slide chasse to forward inside edge; repeat on other foot on the other side of the long axis. You can fit five to seven lobes on a full size rink; if you can do this in four you're a superstar.
Adult Pre-Bronze inside-outside 3 turns. This one's a brain-freezer. Forward inside three turn from the long axis, step forward along the same lobe to forward outside three turn; back power cross over on the other side of the axis, step to forward inside edge, repeat from forward inside three turn (in other words, there's a cross over and a step on the second lobe, unlike the power 3- turn pattern, where you step into the three turn straight out of the cross over)
All of these patterns must be skated with as much confidence as you can muster-- make sure you are making these shapes, or it's easy to get lost.
These are not the only patterns you can do with turns. Make up your own, and see what combinations you can invent. If you have a cool one, share it here! I'll add it to the repertoire.
UPDATE: you can find all the Moves in the Fields patterns in pdf form at the US Figure Skating site.
Gamma and Delta classes, especially adults, spend inordinate amounts of time doing "patchy" little turns on half circles, in place. But once you start working on turns, especially once you've actually turned a few, you can start doing the fun stuff- moving across the ice and working toward those mysteriously effortless-looking transitions from forwards to backwards.
We started with a weight-shift warm up and then moved to turns on a Serpentine pattern (alternating half-circle lobes along a long axis). The trick to these patterns is to maintain flow (not necessarily speed) and to place the elements in the correct spot (push at the long axis, turns at the right place on the lobe, etc.)
Warm up: Forward wide-footed slaloms up the long axis, forward crossover to forward outside edge glide (or make it a spiral, if you like). Forward mohawk, repeat pattern backwards. Do this along a continuous axis, i.e. all the way around the rink.
Forward power 3 turns (from the Adult Bronze Moves in the Field test). Forward outside 3 turn on one side of the long axis, cross the long axis backwards, back crossover takes you around the lobe back to the long axis, step forward to outside edge and repeat. If you do a left 3-turn you do a right cross over. We then did this pattern substituting a Mohawk for the three turn (add an extra step after the forward outside edge-- instead of just a 3 turn, do forward inside edge, Mohawk).
Alternating three turns, inside and outside. Just what it sounds like, alternating 3-turns down a long axis.
Five-step Mohawk, another alternating pattern on a Serpentine along a long axis. Forward inside edge to mohawk, change feet to back outside edge, step forward to forward outside edge, slide chasse to forward inside edge; repeat on other foot on the other side of the long axis. You can fit five to seven lobes on a full size rink; if you can do this in four you're a superstar.
Adult Pre-Bronze inside-outside 3 turns. This one's a brain-freezer. Forward inside three turn from the long axis, step forward along the same lobe to forward outside three turn; back power cross over on the other side of the axis, step to forward inside edge, repeat from forward inside three turn (in other words, there's a cross over and a step on the second lobe, unlike the power 3- turn pattern, where you step into the three turn straight out of the cross over)
All of these patterns must be skated with as much confidence as you can muster-- make sure you are making these shapes, or it's easy to get lost.
These are not the only patterns you can do with turns. Make up your own, and see what combinations you can invent. If you have a cool one, share it here! I'll add it to the repertoire.
UPDATE: you can find all the Moves in the Fields patterns in pdf form at the US Figure Skating site.
Oct 8, 2010
Power Class
At the ISI District 8 seminar two weeks ago students and coaches from Northbrook Ice Arena demonstrated moves from the High Power Class that they developed over the summer.
The great thing about these moves is that you can actually do them at any level from Beta on up. I just tried them out this morning with the NoisyBoys, and if they can handle and enjoy them, it's a winner.
The coach's object was to make a power class that teaches skaters power and acceleration, keeps moving, is fun, and obviates the coach's need for detailed explanations and demonstrations and allows the kids to talk and interact, so you're not constantly yelling at them to stop talking. Most of the moves can be done by any skaters with solid backward skating (so Beta-Gamma/BS5-6 on up). The only moves that I wouldn't do with Basic Skills skaters are the Lunges and the Butterfly Waltz Jumps; other than that enhancement comes with increasing power rather than increasing difficulty.
This is such a great set of moves, they really need to name and copyright it. In the meantime, stealing it for y'all.
Northbrook's Partner Power Class
All moves are done in teams of two skaters of equal ability, either facing or side-by-side. Use a wrapped hand hold rather than interlocking fingers, for quick disentanglement in case of a fall. Start the class with the safety lecture (equal ability NOT the same as "skate with my best friend", let go in case of fall, get up quickly).
Partner swizzles: one skater swizzles forward, the facing one backwards. Advanced skaters switch places while in motion. Lower-level skaters stop and reverse (so that each person has the opportunity to go both forwards and backwards). Variations: both swizzle at the same time, skaters alternate swizzle-glide (one pushes out while other is pulling in); do as 60-second drill; add hop; alternating pumps instead of swizzles
Partner alternating lunges (advanced skaters only): stroke to alternating lunges. Variations: both lunge at same time; one up, one down; add turn in lunge position. Variation for lower level skaters: forward-backward swizzle and dip
Butterfly waltz jumps, left and right (i.e. clockwise and counterclockwise) on a serpentine pattern. (Freestyle 1 and up)
Power Pushes or Train Tracks: Skaters face each other. Forward skater pushes, backward skater digs toe picks into the ice and tries to keep the forward skater from making forward progress. This will dig parallel gouges into the ice (hence my nomenclature of "train tracks") and is hilariously fun.
Partner side to side hops: Beginning skaters simply jump from foot to foot; advanced skaters hop to inside edges or inside chasses. Variations: skaters can jump to same foot or opposite foot.
Push glide: Both skaters face forward, skater in front just stands in two-foot glide, back skater holds and pushes front skater some designated distance (blue line to blue line, or end zone to blue line for instance) building as much speed as she/he can; at the designated spot she gives a hard shove. Gliding skater just rides the push as far as she can. Object is to build enough speed to make it all the way back to the starting point. Variations: one foot glide, switch to spiral position after final push, pushed skater facing backwards.
Push-pull acceleration: skaters start at a standstill and attempt to build speed pushing and pulling arms only
Partner slaloms: this one's hard to describe. Skaters do slalom with feet pointing always same direction, so that they snake past each other with each push.
All these excercises can also be done in Kilian, Waltz, and Fox Trot holds.
The great thing about these moves is that you can actually do them at any level from Beta on up. I just tried them out this morning with the NoisyBoys, and if they can handle and enjoy them, it's a winner.
The coach's object was to make a power class that teaches skaters power and acceleration, keeps moving, is fun, and obviates the coach's need for detailed explanations and demonstrations and allows the kids to talk and interact, so you're not constantly yelling at them to stop talking. Most of the moves can be done by any skaters with solid backward skating (so Beta-Gamma/BS5-6 on up). The only moves that I wouldn't do with Basic Skills skaters are the Lunges and the Butterfly Waltz Jumps; other than that enhancement comes with increasing power rather than increasing difficulty.
This is such a great set of moves, they really need to name and copyright it. In the meantime, stealing it for y'all.
Northbrook's Partner Power Class
All moves are done in teams of two skaters of equal ability, either facing or side-by-side. Use a wrapped hand hold rather than interlocking fingers, for quick disentanglement in case of a fall. Start the class with the safety lecture (equal ability NOT the same as "skate with my best friend", let go in case of fall, get up quickly).
Partner swizzles: one skater swizzles forward, the facing one backwards. Advanced skaters switch places while in motion. Lower-level skaters stop and reverse (so that each person has the opportunity to go both forwards and backwards). Variations: both swizzle at the same time, skaters alternate swizzle-glide (one pushes out while other is pulling in); do as 60-second drill; add hop; alternating pumps instead of swizzles
Partner alternating lunges (advanced skaters only): stroke to alternating lunges. Variations: both lunge at same time; one up, one down; add turn in lunge position. Variation for lower level skaters: forward-backward swizzle and dip
Butterfly waltz jumps, left and right (i.e. clockwise and counterclockwise) on a serpentine pattern. (Freestyle 1 and up)
Power Pushes or Train Tracks: Skaters face each other. Forward skater pushes, backward skater digs toe picks into the ice and tries to keep the forward skater from making forward progress. This will dig parallel gouges into the ice (hence my nomenclature of "train tracks") and is hilariously fun.
Partner side to side hops: Beginning skaters simply jump from foot to foot; advanced skaters hop to inside edges or inside chasses. Variations: skaters can jump to same foot or opposite foot.
Push glide: Both skaters face forward, skater in front just stands in two-foot glide, back skater holds and pushes front skater some designated distance (blue line to blue line, or end zone to blue line for instance) building as much speed as she/he can; at the designated spot she gives a hard shove. Gliding skater just rides the push as far as she can. Object is to build enough speed to make it all the way back to the starting point. Variations: one foot glide, switch to spiral position after final push, pushed skater facing backwards.
Push-pull acceleration: skaters start at a standstill and attempt to build speed pushing and pulling arms only
Partner slaloms: this one's hard to describe. Skaters do slalom with feet pointing always same direction, so that they snake past each other with each push.
All these excercises can also be done in Kilian, Waltz, and Fox Trot holds.
Sep 18, 2010
Landings
I love to quote an old coach of mine (imagine Russian accent): "Most important part of jahmp is JAHMP"
True. But I'd almost now say that most important part of the jump is the landing. You hear more masturbatory commentary at competitions about jump landings than about any single other issue in figure skating. The figure skating world has gotten so obsessed with the so-called "clean landing" that they actually have changed the rules to parse out the turns by quarters, so that good strong jumps get credit, even if the landing is not quite "clean." Essentially, an attempted triple that is a little short will now get credit for the attempt, rather than a harsh downgrade to the double, because the skaters were starting to go for the GOE on the lesser jumps rather than risk the point loss associated with downgrades (think Lysacek and the infamously nonexistent quad).
The parts of a jump are the entry (lift off), the creation of rotation, air position, and landing. Interestingly, one of the first things you teach a beginning free style student is not the entry, but the landing, starting with the touch down and the check-out position. A classic landing touches down toe first on a straight leg, free leg in front and head turned towards the direction of rotation.
That's right-- you land on a straight leg, with your free leg in front. The misnamed "landing position"-- bent skating knee, free leg extended behind-- is actually the checkout. That's the position you hit to stop the rotation as you glide out of the jump. If you don't land correct position, you'll pitch forward, digging your toe pick across the ice, in a spray of snow, kicking out a big divot. Snowy landings are dramatic, but they indicate technical problems. A clean landing is not just full rotation. It's also a light, snow-free touch down with no rotation on the ice.
There are lots of drills to teach that moment, and here's a few:
Backward pumps to backwards outside edge glide: Strong pumps on a circle, then back outside edge glide on a straight leg, free foot in front, pull the leg through to a back extension while bending the skating knee. Arms are in an L (skating arm pointing into the circle, free arm in front) and head turned towards the center of the circle. You should be able to hold this without letting the edge get tighter for at least halfway around a hockey circle. I make my students do this in both directions, no matter which way they rotate.
Moving hops: Once a student has mastered the above, add 5 short hops to the final glide: just up and down from the landing foot, pushing off the toe. Bonus points for staying on the curve.
Stationary hops: Skater stands in a neutral position, arms and head in landing position, then balances on landing foot and does several small hops, first in actual landing pose (free foot in front), and then jumping up in landing position and doing landing-check (extended free foot behind). Again, both these exercises should be done by all students on both feet.
Rotating hops: Otherwise known as back scratch-loop. Student enters a back scratch spin from any entry- inside three or back pivot- and then does a serious of increasingly rotated hops while still rotating- half way, single loop, double loop. Arm position is optional: in checkout position, or pulled in tight.
There are also numerous moving exercises you can do using turns and both two-foot and one-foot jump combinations and sequences to help you feel the sensation of full rotation while moving at speed across the ice.
True. But I'd almost now say that most important part of the jump is the landing. You hear more masturbatory commentary at competitions about jump landings than about any single other issue in figure skating. The figure skating world has gotten so obsessed with the so-called "clean landing" that they actually have changed the rules to parse out the turns by quarters, so that good strong jumps get credit, even if the landing is not quite "clean." Essentially, an attempted triple that is a little short will now get credit for the attempt, rather than a harsh downgrade to the double, because the skaters were starting to go for the GOE on the lesser jumps rather than risk the point loss associated with downgrades (think Lysacek and the infamously nonexistent quad).
The parts of a jump are the entry (lift off), the creation of rotation, air position, and landing. Interestingly, one of the first things you teach a beginning free style student is not the entry, but the landing, starting with the touch down and the check-out position. A classic landing touches down toe first on a straight leg, free leg in front and head turned towards the direction of rotation.
That's right-- you land on a straight leg, with your free leg in front. The misnamed "landing position"-- bent skating knee, free leg extended behind-- is actually the checkout. That's the position you hit to stop the rotation as you glide out of the jump. If you don't land correct position, you'll pitch forward, digging your toe pick across the ice, in a spray of snow, kicking out a big divot. Snowy landings are dramatic, but they indicate technical problems. A clean landing is not just full rotation. It's also a light, snow-free touch down with no rotation on the ice.
There are lots of drills to teach that moment, and here's a few:
Backward pumps to backwards outside edge glide: Strong pumps on a circle, then back outside edge glide on a straight leg, free foot in front, pull the leg through to a back extension while bending the skating knee. Arms are in an L (skating arm pointing into the circle, free arm in front) and head turned towards the center of the circle. You should be able to hold this without letting the edge get tighter for at least halfway around a hockey circle. I make my students do this in both directions, no matter which way they rotate.
Moving hops: Once a student has mastered the above, add 5 short hops to the final glide: just up and down from the landing foot, pushing off the toe. Bonus points for staying on the curve.
Stationary hops: Skater stands in a neutral position, arms and head in landing position, then balances on landing foot and does several small hops, first in actual landing pose (free foot in front), and then jumping up in landing position and doing landing-check (extended free foot behind). Again, both these exercises should be done by all students on both feet.
Rotating hops: Otherwise known as back scratch-loop. Student enters a back scratch spin from any entry- inside three or back pivot- and then does a serious of increasingly rotated hops while still rotating- half way, single loop, double loop. Arm position is optional: in checkout position, or pulled in tight.
There are also numerous moving exercises you can do using turns and both two-foot and one-foot jump combinations and sequences to help you feel the sensation of full rotation while moving at speed across the ice.
Sep 16, 2010
Using Features in teaching and practicing
Pre-competition season education has started! You want to be an informed fan, if for no other reason than that you can follow the tweets (and by the way, I'll live tweet every competition I can).
If you're a skater or a coach, one of the ways you can do this is by utilizing components of the IJS (ISU Judging System) in your teaching or practice. And, no, you don't have to be Yuna to be successful at this.
A feature is simply any addition or enhancement to a basic jump, spin, footwork, or spiral position that increases difficulty and uniqueness. Unusual or difficult arm or leg positions in spins, footwork and spirals; additional rotations; the length of time you hold a single position, etc. all are features. Here's some examples of features that you can add, at any level:
Spins
Simply spinning in both directions is a feature. In today's competitive world it's a really good idea to be able to spin both directions (ballet dancers have always done this). Start at Basic 5/Beta getting the kids to spin in both directions from a stand still. Add a feature to a one-foot spin by spinning with arms over the head or behind the back. Sit spins? Try "broken leg" (foot to the side) and "pancake" (foot folded under, or to the back). Spin with arms doing a windmill. Any variation you can come up with is fine.
Jumps
Believe it or not, you can add features to jumps. I'm kind of amazed that we haven't started seeing jumping in both directions yet. ISI high level tests have required this forever, so I'm not sure why USFS is so slow to pick this up. At the very least, every skater should be able to do all of the half-jumps in both directions (waltz jump, half flip/stag, half toe-walley, scissor or mazurka, half lutz, split, falling leaf, Russian split; what else am I missing?) Then there are alternative arms-- for very secure skaters, (VERY secure) try jumping with arms behind. Then there's the "Tano" jumps-- one arm over the head, and the "Rippon" jumps-- both arms over the head.
Spirals
Edge changes (without an additional push), then variations on the 3 basic spiral positions (belly button facing the ice, the wall, or the cieling)-- waving or windmill arms, grabbing the knee or the blade, "haircutters" (blade pulled to the back of the head). Plus the Sasha spiral, leg pulled up in front, although the judges are discouraging this (get an image of this position coming straight at you on a forward glide and you'll understand why. The position has a very crude alternative name.) For low level skaters do catch foot with an upright back rather than a true spiral position, or moving between spiral, lunge and shoot the duck in various orders.
Footwork
This is the hardest thing to add features to at high level competition, because the requirement for footwork is so complex in and of itself. But you can use this for intermediate skaters, simply to get them used to the concept of "features." Have them do all the basic turns (through counters) with different arm positions, or have them jump the turns (in a jumped turn the edge and/or foot change occurs in the air, so these are essentially half-jumps). With twizzles (moving spins) no so important, and part of the Moves in the Field tests, you can easily add features-- alternate arm and foot positions, or catch foot. You can also do two-foot "twizzles" (not really twizzles but again, it starts to familiarize even beginning skaters with the terms).
In other words, get yourself and your students ready to understand what you're seeing by doing it/teaching it yourself. How fun would it be to be watching skating with an 8-year old PreJuv and have her say "Hey-- I did that thing that YuNa just did!"
If you're a skater or a coach, one of the ways you can do this is by utilizing components of the IJS (ISU Judging System) in your teaching or practice. And, no, you don't have to be Yuna to be successful at this.
A feature is simply any addition or enhancement to a basic jump, spin, footwork, or spiral position that increases difficulty and uniqueness. Unusual or difficult arm or leg positions in spins, footwork and spirals; additional rotations; the length of time you hold a single position, etc. all are features. Here's some examples of features that you can add, at any level:
Spins
Simply spinning in both directions is a feature. In today's competitive world it's a really good idea to be able to spin both directions (ballet dancers have always done this). Start at Basic 5/Beta getting the kids to spin in both directions from a stand still. Add a feature to a one-foot spin by spinning with arms over the head or behind the back. Sit spins? Try "broken leg" (foot to the side) and "pancake" (foot folded under, or to the back). Spin with arms doing a windmill. Any variation you can come up with is fine.
Jumps
Believe it or not, you can add features to jumps. I'm kind of amazed that we haven't started seeing jumping in both directions yet. ISI high level tests have required this forever, so I'm not sure why USFS is so slow to pick this up. At the very least, every skater should be able to do all of the half-jumps in both directions (waltz jump, half flip/stag, half toe-walley, scissor or mazurka, half lutz, split, falling leaf, Russian split; what else am I missing?) Then there are alternative arms-- for very secure skaters, (VERY secure) try jumping with arms behind. Then there's the "Tano" jumps-- one arm over the head, and the "Rippon" jumps-- both arms over the head.
Spirals
Edge changes (without an additional push), then variations on the 3 basic spiral positions (belly button facing the ice, the wall, or the cieling)-- waving or windmill arms, grabbing the knee or the blade, "haircutters" (blade pulled to the back of the head). Plus the Sasha spiral, leg pulled up in front, although the judges are discouraging this (get an image of this position coming straight at you on a forward glide and you'll understand why. The position has a very crude alternative name.) For low level skaters do catch foot with an upright back rather than a true spiral position, or moving between spiral, lunge and shoot the duck in various orders.
Footwork
This is the hardest thing to add features to at high level competition, because the requirement for footwork is so complex in and of itself. But you can use this for intermediate skaters, simply to get them used to the concept of "features." Have them do all the basic turns (through counters) with different arm positions, or have them jump the turns (in a jumped turn the edge and/or foot change occurs in the air, so these are essentially half-jumps). With twizzles (moving spins) no so important, and part of the Moves in the Field tests, you can easily add features-- alternate arm and foot positions, or catch foot. You can also do two-foot "twizzles" (not really twizzles but again, it starts to familiarize even beginning skaters with the terms).
In other words, get yourself and your students ready to understand what you're seeing by doing it/teaching it yourself. How fun would it be to be watching skating with an 8-year old PreJuv and have her say "Hey-- I did that thing that YuNa just did!"
What features do you like to practice or teach?
Jun 23, 2010
Planning a figure skating lesson
As Icemom pointed out, a lot of planning goes into getting a skater to his or her lessons, but what about the lessons themselves? What's the plan?
There is no standard curriculum for private lessons, of course. You proceed according to the skater's needs and goals. But individual coaches do fall into categories, and you can spot the differences from the stands, by style, if not by outcome.
Some coaches have a standard lesson plan that they follow with every skater. Call them the planners. Others like to have an outcome in mind and build toward that by increments or leaps (the spanners?). There are coaches who are really good at some single skills-- jumps or gliding maneuvers or spins-- and will focus on those things (the fanners!). Some will be a little more fluid and see what happens lesson to lesson (oh, let's call them the xanners, just for sh*ts and giggles).
The planners
Every lesson follows the same pattern, for instance: 10 minutes of moves warm up with technique secondary and the focus on power, building endurance, and ice coverage; 5 minutes of jump drills like back-scratch to loop, one foot hops, check-position drills; run through jumps up to highest mastered, then do some number of repetitions of the most solid jump, and then some number of repetitions of your problem jump. Program run through, then finish with spins. Every lesson will follow this plan.
The pros: The student knows exactly what to expect from every lesson, so the coach focuses on quick, targeted comments and spends no time laying out the lesson plan. The mystique is removed from the difficult move, because it's just part of the plan. The goal here is not to finally get the jump, but simply to move through the familiar lesson. The skater has a fair amount of autonomy with this plan. These kids are always moving, which looks really good to the parents in the stands. It's a great way to run freestyle group lessons, especially where there's a wide range of age, talent or ability.
The cons: It is tempting for the coach to check out, because no one is pushing the envelope. This plan works best mid pre-season, when new things are already solidifying and the pressure is least. In some ways, this is not a lesson; it's more of a supervised practice. The skater is not getting a lot of specific technical advice. Students under this sort of tutelage run the risk of then putting their unsupervised practice on automatic pilot, and feeling like they've accomplished something simply by completing the lesson plan, without actually working on anything other than moving from item to item.
These coaches develop strong camaraderie with and among their students, and solid, workaday skaters.
The spanners
This coach knows exactly what should be mastered by when, and will step up the intensity on a given problem area, or focus area to stay with the calendar he or she has set. Not only the lesson content, but the pedagogical approach and the lesson attitude may be wildly different from week to week or even lesson to lesson with this sort of coaching.
The pros: this coach is intensely engaged in the student's progress, and will be able to zero in on problem areas while letting solid parts of the skill and program work themselves out. A coach who follows a span of progress spends a lot of off-ice time working out lesson plans. You will be able to track progress easily; further it allows both coach and student to know when to abandon something that isn't working.
The cons: the skater gets very little autonomy with a coach like this, and parent input is unheard of. Skaters will spend a lot of time at the boards getting instruction, because each lesson is different. Parents can misinterpret this as "hanging around at the boards." This coach is also likely to work either on many different things, or intensely at a geek level on one thing in a lesson, making it hard for parents in the stands to keep track of what's going on.
In my observation, these are the coaches with the champions.
The fanners
Fanners (because they're fans of one skill) will have kids who are absolutely fantastic at, for instance, spins or spirals. They'll spend a lot of time helping their kids perfect these skills, and will revert to Planner-type lessons for other skills.
The pros: The favored skill will be brilliant, and especially at the lower levels of competition, one brilliant skill will often catapult a mediocre skater up the ranks. Kids get a huge burst of confidence from their mastery of this skill, which colors their approach to everything else. Huge bragging rights to the parents of these kids-- "did you see that spiral! She's only 6!"
The cons: These coaches sometimes neglect other skills, and especially basic skating like stroking and crossovers. The skaters can't do anything else, or don't do other skills up to par. You'll get sloppy or heedless skating with this one flash of brilliance. If your skater doesn't naturally excel at the selected skill, she'll have a difficult time with this coach.
These coaches will often be seen teaching the skill to other coach's skaters, having developed a specialty niche.
The xanners
This coach has a general idea about what the skater is learning (Alpha, Basic 7, axel, etc.) but will move through the lesson more at seeming random, adjusting the intensity and type of exercise to a skater's current mood, and introducing new skills by feel.
The pros: this approach is very skater-friendly and puts the students in more control than other types of lesson plans. It focuses on building confidence and love of the sport, rather than on specific outcomes. These coaches will fix a problem area before they move on. Kids in these types of lessons will understand exactly what they're doing wrong or right, because it's been broken down very specifically for their idiosyncratic issues. I have it on good authority that coaches like taking on students who have been taught under this type of plan.
The cons: this type of coaching will not work for competitive or even test-track skaters, and is more recreational. Skaters with these coaches may take longer to move through the levels, because the coach wants them absolutely solid before they pass up.
These are the skaters with the smiles on their faces.
There is no standard curriculum for private lessons, of course. You proceed according to the skater's needs and goals. But individual coaches do fall into categories, and you can spot the differences from the stands, by style, if not by outcome.
Some coaches have a standard lesson plan that they follow with every skater. Call them the planners. Others like to have an outcome in mind and build toward that by increments or leaps (the spanners?). There are coaches who are really good at some single skills-- jumps or gliding maneuvers or spins-- and will focus on those things (the fanners!). Some will be a little more fluid and see what happens lesson to lesson (oh, let's call them the xanners, just for sh*ts and giggles).
The planners
Every lesson follows the same pattern, for instance: 10 minutes of moves warm up with technique secondary and the focus on power, building endurance, and ice coverage; 5 minutes of jump drills like back-scratch to loop, one foot hops, check-position drills; run through jumps up to highest mastered, then do some number of repetitions of the most solid jump, and then some number of repetitions of your problem jump. Program run through, then finish with spins. Every lesson will follow this plan.
The pros: The student knows exactly what to expect from every lesson, so the coach focuses on quick, targeted comments and spends no time laying out the lesson plan. The mystique is removed from the difficult move, because it's just part of the plan. The goal here is not to finally get the jump, but simply to move through the familiar lesson. The skater has a fair amount of autonomy with this plan. These kids are always moving, which looks really good to the parents in the stands. It's a great way to run freestyle group lessons, especially where there's a wide range of age, talent or ability.
The cons: It is tempting for the coach to check out, because no one is pushing the envelope. This plan works best mid pre-season, when new things are already solidifying and the pressure is least. In some ways, this is not a lesson; it's more of a supervised practice. The skater is not getting a lot of specific technical advice. Students under this sort of tutelage run the risk of then putting their unsupervised practice on automatic pilot, and feeling like they've accomplished something simply by completing the lesson plan, without actually working on anything other than moving from item to item.
These coaches develop strong camaraderie with and among their students, and solid, workaday skaters.
The spanners
This coach knows exactly what should be mastered by when, and will step up the intensity on a given problem area, or focus area to stay with the calendar he or she has set. Not only the lesson content, but the pedagogical approach and the lesson attitude may be wildly different from week to week or even lesson to lesson with this sort of coaching.
The pros: this coach is intensely engaged in the student's progress, and will be able to zero in on problem areas while letting solid parts of the skill and program work themselves out. A coach who follows a span of progress spends a lot of off-ice time working out lesson plans. You will be able to track progress easily; further it allows both coach and student to know when to abandon something that isn't working.
The cons: the skater gets very little autonomy with a coach like this, and parent input is unheard of. Skaters will spend a lot of time at the boards getting instruction, because each lesson is different. Parents can misinterpret this as "hanging around at the boards." This coach is also likely to work either on many different things, or intensely at a geek level on one thing in a lesson, making it hard for parents in the stands to keep track of what's going on.
In my observation, these are the coaches with the champions.
The fanners
Fanners (because they're fans of one skill) will have kids who are absolutely fantastic at, for instance, spins or spirals. They'll spend a lot of time helping their kids perfect these skills, and will revert to Planner-type lessons for other skills.
The pros: The favored skill will be brilliant, and especially at the lower levels of competition, one brilliant skill will often catapult a mediocre skater up the ranks. Kids get a huge burst of confidence from their mastery of this skill, which colors their approach to everything else. Huge bragging rights to the parents of these kids-- "did you see that spiral! She's only 6!"
The cons: These coaches sometimes neglect other skills, and especially basic skating like stroking and crossovers. The skaters can't do anything else, or don't do other skills up to par. You'll get sloppy or heedless skating with this one flash of brilliance. If your skater doesn't naturally excel at the selected skill, she'll have a difficult time with this coach.
These coaches will often be seen teaching the skill to other coach's skaters, having developed a specialty niche.
The xanners
This coach has a general idea about what the skater is learning (Alpha, Basic 7, axel, etc.) but will move through the lesson more at seeming random, adjusting the intensity and type of exercise to a skater's current mood, and introducing new skills by feel.
The pros: this approach is very skater-friendly and puts the students in more control than other types of lesson plans. It focuses on building confidence and love of the sport, rather than on specific outcomes. These coaches will fix a problem area before they move on. Kids in these types of lessons will understand exactly what they're doing wrong or right, because it's been broken down very specifically for their idiosyncratic issues. I have it on good authority that coaches like taking on students who have been taught under this type of plan.
The cons: this type of coaching will not work for competitive or even test-track skaters, and is more recreational. Skaters with these coaches may take longer to move through the levels, because the coach wants them absolutely solid before they pass up.
These are the skaters with the smiles on their faces.
What type of coach do you have?
(If you make up another type, by the way, it has to rhyme!)
(If you make up another type, by the way, it has to rhyme!)
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?
May 24, 2010
Using visuals
Kids learn in different ways. One of the challenges of teaching is identifying the best way to get information from the coach's brain into the student's muscles. "Learning styles" are now an accepted philosophy of teaching, although when they were first proposed, it was extremely controversial, because, gasp, it treated each student like an individual.
It's especially challenging to work with different learning styles in a group class, where you might have representatives of every type, and every one of those kids needs to be reached. The kinetic/spatial learner can't stand still, and won't learn by listening anyway. The visual learner needs a map, and a demonstration. The aural learner has to hear you describe it. The tactile learner must be placed in the proper position.
This is the first of a series on ways to use all these styles in group teaching.
There are lots of things you can do to help the visual learners. If you're lucky enough to be teaching in a rink that lets you draw on the ice (with heavy markers), it's easy-- you can draw pictures. For tots, this might be icons-- a bunny or a frog for jumping, an ice cream cone for "dip" a big 1 for one-foot glide. But on-ice visuals work for older students as well. Of course, there are the actual hockey markings already in most rinks. Want a circle? Put the kids on a hockey circle (believe it or not, there are kids who can't follow a circle, even if it's drawn. If these kids are spatial learners, you can tell them to follow someone, or touch a marker- the wall, you, a cone, etc.) I love to amaze everyone by taking a big marker and drawing a perfect circle (I'd say it's from years of figures classes, but frankly I've always been able to do this.)
Other drawings that help some kids are the different turns, stroking, jumps. One of the things coaches learn to recognize, in fact, is the proper "print" for each jump-- the skate leaves a distinctive mark on the ice for each jump. It's very important for a visual learner to know this mark, because like as not, they can't "feel" it. But they can see it.
Visual learners are also good at visualization, meaning, giving them concrete images to imagine to help them understand where their bodies are in space, which is often difficult even for the athletic kids in this group. Visualizing is also fun, and can make a challenging, frustrating or difficult skill more enjoyable to work on.
One of the most difficult concepts in figure skating is the "open" hip. Hips, of course, are not a hinged joint, or in fact a joint at all, and yet skating coaches are always yelling at kids to "open your hip! lift your hip! you dropped your hip!" Huh?
I like to take a metaphorical arrow, and stick it through a skater's hip (pretending, folks, just pretending). Then I'll tell them where the arrow should be pointed. For a mohawk, the arrows have to point away from each other. For a cross over, they have to be parallel.
The other difficult thing in a crossover is the shoulder position--hips closed, shoulders open. Again, huh? So you tell them to hug the circle with their arms. Want them to lean? Have them lean against you, then step away and tell them to lean "on the invisible coach."
When learning swizzles, kids never glide between swizzles--they just go from swizzle to swizzle to swizzle. So I tell them "it's shaped like a spoon, with a bowl and a handle. Don't forget the handle" I might actually draw a giant spoon, and then trace it myself, skating the swizzle over it.
Visual learners also do well with physical objects, i.e. something they can see. Using objects is great, because it also reaches the spatial and tactile learners, so everyone benefits. Hula hoops can be used to keep a skaters arms in proper position, to get them to stand straight, and to learn shoulder rotation and check. The coach's hand or body is a great tool for both visual and spatial learners, both in demonstration (although I cringe when I see coaches demonstrating things badly-- please don't demonstrate if you are not absolutely positive that you are doing it right). Objects on the ice are great too--kicking a puck, or aiming for cones, for instance.
What style learner is your skater, and what are some clever teaching tactics that have helped her?
It's especially challenging to work with different learning styles in a group class, where you might have representatives of every type, and every one of those kids needs to be reached. The kinetic/spatial learner can't stand still, and won't learn by listening anyway. The visual learner needs a map, and a demonstration. The aural learner has to hear you describe it. The tactile learner must be placed in the proper position.
This is the first of a series on ways to use all these styles in group teaching.
There are lots of things you can do to help the visual learners. If you're lucky enough to be teaching in a rink that lets you draw on the ice (with heavy markers), it's easy-- you can draw pictures. For tots, this might be icons-- a bunny or a frog for jumping, an ice cream cone for "dip" a big 1 for one-foot glide. But on-ice visuals work for older students as well. Of course, there are the actual hockey markings already in most rinks. Want a circle? Put the kids on a hockey circle (believe it or not, there are kids who can't follow a circle, even if it's drawn. If these kids are spatial learners, you can tell them to follow someone, or touch a marker- the wall, you, a cone, etc.) I love to amaze everyone by taking a big marker and drawing a perfect circle (I'd say it's from years of figures classes, but frankly I've always been able to do this.)
Other drawings that help some kids are the different turns, stroking, jumps. One of the things coaches learn to recognize, in fact, is the proper "print" for each jump-- the skate leaves a distinctive mark on the ice for each jump. It's very important for a visual learner to know this mark, because like as not, they can't "feel" it. But they can see it.
Visual learners are also good at visualization, meaning, giving them concrete images to imagine to help them understand where their bodies are in space, which is often difficult even for the athletic kids in this group. Visualizing is also fun, and can make a challenging, frustrating or difficult skill more enjoyable to work on.
One of the most difficult concepts in figure skating is the "open" hip. Hips, of course, are not a hinged joint, or in fact a joint at all, and yet skating coaches are always yelling at kids to "open your hip! lift your hip! you dropped your hip!" Huh?
I like to take a metaphorical arrow, and stick it through a skater's hip (pretending, folks, just pretending). Then I'll tell them where the arrow should be pointed. For a mohawk, the arrows have to point away from each other. For a cross over, they have to be parallel.
The other difficult thing in a crossover is the shoulder position--hips closed, shoulders open. Again, huh? So you tell them to hug the circle with their arms. Want them to lean? Have them lean against you, then step away and tell them to lean "on the invisible coach."
When learning swizzles, kids never glide between swizzles--they just go from swizzle to swizzle to swizzle. So I tell them "it's shaped like a spoon, with a bowl and a handle. Don't forget the handle" I might actually draw a giant spoon, and then trace it myself, skating the swizzle over it.
Visual learners also do well with physical objects, i.e. something they can see. Using objects is great, because it also reaches the spatial and tactile learners, so everyone benefits. Hula hoops can be used to keep a skaters arms in proper position, to get them to stand straight, and to learn shoulder rotation and check. The coach's hand or body is a great tool for both visual and spatial learners, both in demonstration (although I cringe when I see coaches demonstrating things badly-- please don't demonstrate if you are not absolutely positive that you are doing it right). Objects on the ice are great too--kicking a puck, or aiming for cones, for instance.
What style learner is your skater, and what are some clever teaching tactics that have helped her?
May 17, 2010
Turn with your elbow!
I get all my best ideas from the kids.
S kept forcing her three-turns with her hip this morning. I asked her "which body part helps you turn? It's not your hip or your knee, so what is it?" So she tried some serious answers-- your foot? your head? and then got silly-- your pinky finger! your elbow!
Wait. And I thought about it, and then tested it, and then told her, yes. Your elbow. I want you to turn with your elbow. She pushed off, moved her elbow into position (which forced her shoulder into the proper position) and presto-chango, 3 turn.
Gamma and Delta (variously Basic 5 thru 7) are about turns and edges. These aren't hard to do, but they are hard to do correctly, because there are lots of easy cheats that make it look like the correct thing, but are subtly wrong, like turning with your hip. Here's my 10-week curriculum for Gamma.
Week one: as always, start the class with 25 each, forward and backward right and left crossovers. Depending on how good they are, in an ISI program start introducing progressives for forward crossovers (foot hits the ice before the cross) and "cut backs" for backward crossovers. (USFS Basic Skills teach these with the basic crossover curriculum). Introduce two foot turns CW & CCW forward to backward, and back Mohawks both inside and outside (stepping forward from one foot to the other).
Gamma has a lot going on-- at my rink we start refining cross over skills, and kids learn 3 different turns, which also includes of course, back edges and confident backward gliding. (Skaters in USFS Basic Skills have theoretically mastered back edges in the level before introducing three turns.) So they have to learn back inside edges (for three turns and mohawks) and back outside edges (for the required Mohawk step pattern). I always teach these, plus proper rotation, first, before trying to get the kids to turn on one foot.
Week two: start class with 25 each, F&B R&L XO, and review 2 foot turns. I'll start working on outside three turns right away in week two, emphasizing upper body control and what DH just called "ambiflexterity:" the ability to turn both clockwise and CCW with equal facility. I like to take a figures approach to 3-turns. I make the skaters break the skill down-- forward edge from a strong push, then forward edge plus strong rotation thru the shoulders (or the elbow!), and only then checking the shoulders to create the turn. This helps the skaters understand that it is the check and not the rotation that makes the turn happen. Otherwise they just spin.
In a sharp class, I may have time to introduce Mohawks.
Week three: cross over drills, including lots of work on backwards freestyle crossovers, and crossover patterns, like half-circle forward/turn/half circle backwards, step to forwards, repeat, as well as crossovers in a figure eight pattern. Introduce hockey stop. Review and practice forward outside 3s, introduce inside 3s, and start Mohawk drills like teacups, wall crawling (doing Mohawks while facing the wall and holding on--this shows skaters how open your upper body is for a mohawk). I'll also introduce the ISI Mohawk combination pattern, but with a two-foot turn instead of the Mohawk for the first timers. This gives the kids who are in the level for the second time a chance to work at their level.
Week four: crossover drills and patterns, then review. Week five is often a mid-session evaluation, so I try to get through all of the required elements, even the ones they haven't worked on much, like hockey stops.
Week five: mid session evaluation. Start with crossover drills and patterns anyway.
I consider a mid session evaluation to be an evaluation of my curriculum as much as an evaluation of the skaters. I need to see what the class as a whole is struggling with, because that's where the focus needs to be for the next couple of weeks. I also look for individual skaters who are struggling with one or more elements. I almost never advance a student to the next level at this point, because they've missed too much from the new level. It won't kill them to spend another 5 weeks in Gamma. However, I want to note who is really advanced, so I can start coming up with enhanced skills for them to work on, so they don't get bored.
Week six: crossover drills and patterns; focus on the problem areas, and start enhanced patterns and skills for the stronger skaters. Start doing the combination with the actual mohawk.
I like to try to reserve the last five minutes of any class for fun stuff-- higher level skills, or add on games, or skaters' choice. In Gamma class, however, there is often not a lot of time to give the kids reward skills for their hard work. After the mid session, however, it's a good idea to start throwing them a bone and let them work on lunges, bunny hops, turning two-foot jumps, shoot the duck and spins. They need to have some unstructured fun.
Week seven: crossover drills and patterns, then drill and review all skills. Reserve 5 or more minutes for off-level skills (this can also be things like crossover challenges-- who can do the fewest crossovers on a circle, forwards or backwards, who can do the mohawk straight out of a forward crossover, etc.)
Week eight: crossover drills and patterns, then drill and review all skills for test next week. Freak kids out by reminding them that the test is next week.
Week nine: This is test week. Here are the proper passing standards for ISI Gamma:
Send them on to Delta, where they will all forget how to do Mohawks.
S kept forcing her three-turns with her hip this morning. I asked her "which body part helps you turn? It's not your hip or your knee, so what is it?" So she tried some serious answers-- your foot? your head? and then got silly-- your pinky finger! your elbow!
Wait. And I thought about it, and then tested it, and then told her, yes. Your elbow. I want you to turn with your elbow. She pushed off, moved her elbow into position (which forced her shoulder into the proper position) and presto-chango, 3 turn.
Gamma and Delta (variously Basic 5 thru 7) are about turns and edges. These aren't hard to do, but they are hard to do correctly, because there are lots of easy cheats that make it look like the correct thing, but are subtly wrong, like turning with your hip. Here's my 10-week curriculum for Gamma.
Week one: as always, start the class with 25 each, forward and backward right and left crossovers. Depending on how good they are, in an ISI program start introducing progressives for forward crossovers (foot hits the ice before the cross) and "cut backs" for backward crossovers. (USFS Basic Skills teach these with the basic crossover curriculum). Introduce two foot turns CW & CCW forward to backward, and back Mohawks both inside and outside (stepping forward from one foot to the other).
Gamma has a lot going on-- at my rink we start refining cross over skills, and kids learn 3 different turns, which also includes of course, back edges and confident backward gliding. (Skaters in USFS Basic Skills have theoretically mastered back edges in the level before introducing three turns.) So they have to learn back inside edges (for three turns and mohawks) and back outside edges (for the required Mohawk step pattern). I always teach these, plus proper rotation, first, before trying to get the kids to turn on one foot.
Week two: start class with 25 each, F&B R&L XO, and review 2 foot turns. I'll start working on outside three turns right away in week two, emphasizing upper body control and what DH just called "ambiflexterity:" the ability to turn both clockwise and CCW with equal facility. I like to take a figures approach to 3-turns. I make the skaters break the skill down-- forward edge from a strong push, then forward edge plus strong rotation thru the shoulders (or the elbow!), and only then checking the shoulders to create the turn. This helps the skaters understand that it is the check and not the rotation that makes the turn happen. Otherwise they just spin.
In a sharp class, I may have time to introduce Mohawks.
Week three: cross over drills, including lots of work on backwards freestyle crossovers, and crossover patterns, like half-circle forward/turn/half circle backwards, step to forwards, repeat, as well as crossovers in a figure eight pattern. Introduce hockey stop. Review and practice forward outside 3s, introduce inside 3s, and start Mohawk drills like teacups, wall crawling (doing Mohawks while facing the wall and holding on--this shows skaters how open your upper body is for a mohawk). I'll also introduce the ISI Mohawk combination pattern, but with a two-foot turn instead of the Mohawk for the first timers. This gives the kids who are in the level for the second time a chance to work at their level.
Week four: crossover drills and patterns, then review. Week five is often a mid-session evaluation, so I try to get through all of the required elements, even the ones they haven't worked on much, like hockey stops.
Week five: mid session evaluation. Start with crossover drills and patterns anyway.
I consider a mid session evaluation to be an evaluation of my curriculum as much as an evaluation of the skaters. I need to see what the class as a whole is struggling with, because that's where the focus needs to be for the next couple of weeks. I also look for individual skaters who are struggling with one or more elements. I almost never advance a student to the next level at this point, because they've missed too much from the new level. It won't kill them to spend another 5 weeks in Gamma. However, I want to note who is really advanced, so I can start coming up with enhanced skills for them to work on, so they don't get bored.
Week six: crossover drills and patterns; focus on the problem areas, and start enhanced patterns and skills for the stronger skaters. Start doing the combination with the actual mohawk.
I like to try to reserve the last five minutes of any class for fun stuff-- higher level skills, or add on games, or skaters' choice. In Gamma class, however, there is often not a lot of time to give the kids reward skills for their hard work. After the mid session, however, it's a good idea to start throwing them a bone and let them work on lunges, bunny hops, turning two-foot jumps, shoot the duck and spins. They need to have some unstructured fun.
Week seven: crossover drills and patterns, then drill and review all skills. Reserve 5 or more minutes for off-level skills (this can also be things like crossover challenges-- who can do the fewest crossovers on a circle, forwards or backwards, who can do the mohawk straight out of a forward crossover, etc.)
Week eight: crossover drills and patterns, then drill and review all skills for test next week. Freak kids out by reminding them that the test is next week.
Week nine: This is test week. Here are the proper passing standards for ISI Gamma:
- Forward outside 3 turns: strong forward push to outside edge at least as long as the skater's height, clean turn with proper shoulder rotation, keeping free leg and hip back; strong back inside edge check at least the skater's height. Must be on a curve (edge).
- Forward inside Mohawks: strong forward push to inside edge at least as long as the skater's height, proper step for open mohawk (there is also such as thing as a closed mohawk, and an outside mohawk, just to complicate things) to back inside edge, which should be held in proper checked position with leg back for length equal to skater's height. Got that?
- Mohawk combination: three forward strokes, forward inside open mohawk, to back outside edge and back outside mohawk for step to forward. Must be equally solid both clockwise and counterclockwise (right and left mohawks).
- Hockey stop: Proper sideways stop from three strokes, with skids on both blades.
Send them on to Delta, where they will all forget how to do Mohawks.
Apr 28, 2010
A free style curriculum
By popular request, I'll be posting my lesson plans for Gamma through Freestyle levels over the next several weeks. You'll find prior posts on tots, Alpha, Beta and Figures; look under "curriculum" in the tag cloud.
Most free style levels, not just Freestyle 3, can use the following lesson plan, simply with the jumps/spins substituted per level. Freestyle curricula in both ISI and USFS Free Skate generally have one to three jumps, turns both in isolation and within footwork, a spin, and one or more gliding maneuvers. USFS adds in jump sequences and combinations as a testable skill, as well as the Pre-preliminary Moves test patterns.
This is my lesson plan for Freestyle 3 (USFS Freeskate 3)
Warm up: It's a good idea in freestyle classes to start using a standard warm up, or a couple of different standard warm ups, to start giving kids an idea of what they should be doing for warm up on their own. At my current rink, where freestyle classes are a full hour, we often run the warm up for 20 or even 30 minutes, with a serious emphasis on power, pattern, and covering the ice. Generally we do 5 minutes of stroking and alternating back crossovers, then "5 circle pattern" forward and backward crossovers, waltz 3s, forward and backward edges, edge pulls, power 3s, bunny hops, spiral and lunge, left and right. Warm up is mixed levels and full ice. Parents often don't like the long warm up, but I have found that it really helps kids develop not only power, but also confidence. For a USFS program, the warm up should include the Pre-pre moves patterns on full ice.
Week one: After warm up, review waltz jump, half lutz (ISI), toe loop (USFS), ballet jump (ISI) or mazurka (USFS), moving forward 3 turns (especially inside), and one-foot spin (not scratch spin). If there are problems or inadequacies with these skills, freestyle 3 becomes challenging. I like to introduce the toe loop from a standing position, and then from a forward inside 3-turn in the first week. Also using that forward inside 3-turn, I'll start working on edge and body alignment for the back spin (which in FS 3 is used in the change foot spin). We'll do spin drills like spinning without pulling in, and backwards glides lightly dragging the toe.
Week two: Warm up waltz jumps, review toe loop and one foot spin; introduce salchow, introduce forward outside mohawk. If the class is small and/or sharp, you can start introducing a scratch spin in this lesson as well. Work on the first two parts of the change foot spin-- one foot spin 4 rotations, and a change to other foot back spin just one full rotation without losing the check. I never let my students add rotations to the back spin until they have one solid back spin on the proper edge; if you encourage multiple rotation too soon, they just drop to the inside edge. I know that ISI now says that the change foot doesn't have to change to a proper back spin, really, what's the point of teaching this wrong.
Week three: Forward and backward spirals should be added to the warm up in this week; work on improving waltz jumps, introduce waltz jump combos: with ballet jump and wj/toe loop, emphasizing proper toe pick entry and upper body movement, start working on toe loop from stroking and inside 3 turn. Review salchows, review & drill one foot spins including strong entry edge, intro 3 leg of spin, the return to the forward spin. Still just looking for 4-1-3 rotations foot to foot to foot. Drill outside forward mohawks left and right. If time, intro waltz 8 pattern.
Week four: Introduce jump combo; if it's a USFS program, this is prescribed, otherwise set one up, or let the skaters figure out 2, 3, and 4 jump combos or sequences on their own utilizing all jumps starting with bunny hop. If there are parts of the testable skills that have not yet been touched on, introduce them here. In week 4, the coach should be aware which students are in this level for the first time, and which are repeating and how many times they have repeated. The coach needs to decide if any student should move up mid-session. (I don't encourage this, but sometimes it's okay; now is the time to figure this out.) The coach will need to juggle week four to give each student help with his or her weakest elements, in preparation for:
Week five, mid session evaluation: review and evaluate jumps and spins; if other skills are testable do these as well. Remember that the mid-term evaluation has two purposes: to let you as the teacher know where the students or your lesson plan have been weak, and therefore where the focus should be for the remaining time, and as an encouragement to the students. Never give a mid term without some positive marks. Be prepared to justify your marks to all the freaked out parents.
Week six: Review progress report, focusing on both class-wide and individual weaknesses; teach a full rink jump entry pattern for each jump in the level, review all moves and footwork patterns; major effort on back spin part of change foot, trying to reach 3 full rotations on proper edge.
Week seven: review all, correcting common errors. Common errors in FS 3 are over rotation on jump entries, wrong toe pick placement on toe loop, salchow free leg, checking landings on combo, losing the check on back spin (forcing an inside edge), underrotation on back spin, wrong edges or steps on footwork, spiral not held long enough, etc.). For USFS programs, all moves patterns should be run at test standard on full ice if you can get it.
Week eight: review all for testing following week. Try to fit every skill in, but if there isn't time make sure to get all jumps and spins, and any new turns that are part of footwork (e.g. the outside mohawk). It's also a good idea to try out moves that indicate readiness for the next level. At freestyle three, you'd want to see kids able to do backward shoot the duck (for sit spin), at least one back outside three (these can be taught in a single session), two foot loop jump.
Week nine: Test week in most rinks. This is not an encouragement test. This is the real deal for class purposes. The skater should show easy, confident ability at every maneuver. ISI has rather specific breakdown of marks. I'm not sure what their language is, but I break it down like this: 0= did not try; 1=tried, but hopeless; 2=tried, can't do; 3=good understanding of maneuver but not at passing standard; 4 (F)= almost there; 5 (D)=passing standard; 6 (C)=very good, above passing standard; 7 (B)=excellent; 8 (A)=superior; 9 (A+)=pro; 10= perfect. No one gets a 10. I've given out 2 nines in 11 years of teaching. I once had a teacher give me a "1." This is just mean. ISI lets you pass with what I consider a "D," i.e. a 5, but I tell my kids I want them passing with 6s and 7s. When I do a test, I watch for kids who will be able to succeed at new skills on the first day of the next level. At most rinks class level and competition level will be different, with the skater competing one to two levels lower than their most recently passed class.
Week ten: You can have a "Game Day" in freestyle classes, tailored for the greater range of skating skills, age range, and ability of the class. I like to introduce a skill from the next level, or even from two levels up, as well as things like jump and spin games-- most waltz jumps in a row, longest jump combo or sequence, biggest jump; most rotations, best feature. You can also have the skaters put together 20-second programs. This is enough time to do one jump, one spin and one gliding maneuver with transitions.
Skaters who are not taking private lessons should expect to take every freestyle level twice or even three times. This moves you up 1 to 2 levels per year. If you start freestyle classes at the age of 10 this gets you to Freestyle 8/Intermediate (all double jumps) by sophomore year of high school. It's a very rare rink that has enough freestyle skaters still in levels classes beyond FS 8. Please remember that it's not a race, and there are no prizes for being the youngest freestyle skater in the program. If you want to move through faster, take private lessons and practice properly; however, I still firmly believe in taking the classes one at a time, and in their full 10-week span. At the very least, it's a really cheap way to get a second or third lesson per week.
Most free style levels, not just Freestyle 3, can use the following lesson plan, simply with the jumps/spins substituted per level. Freestyle curricula in both ISI and USFS Free Skate generally have one to three jumps, turns both in isolation and within footwork, a spin, and one or more gliding maneuvers. USFS adds in jump sequences and combinations as a testable skill, as well as the Pre-preliminary Moves test patterns.
This is my lesson plan for Freestyle 3 (USFS Freeskate 3)
Warm up: It's a good idea in freestyle classes to start using a standard warm up, or a couple of different standard warm ups, to start giving kids an idea of what they should be doing for warm up on their own. At my current rink, where freestyle classes are a full hour, we often run the warm up for 20 or even 30 minutes, with a serious emphasis on power, pattern, and covering the ice. Generally we do 5 minutes of stroking and alternating back crossovers, then "5 circle pattern" forward and backward crossovers, waltz 3s, forward and backward edges, edge pulls, power 3s, bunny hops, spiral and lunge, left and right. Warm up is mixed levels and full ice. Parents often don't like the long warm up, but I have found that it really helps kids develop not only power, but also confidence. For a USFS program, the warm up should include the Pre-pre moves patterns on full ice.
Week one: After warm up, review waltz jump, half lutz (ISI), toe loop (USFS), ballet jump (ISI) or mazurka (USFS), moving forward 3 turns (especially inside), and one-foot spin (not scratch spin). If there are problems or inadequacies with these skills, freestyle 3 becomes challenging. I like to introduce the toe loop from a standing position, and then from a forward inside 3-turn in the first week. Also using that forward inside 3-turn, I'll start working on edge and body alignment for the back spin (which in FS 3 is used in the change foot spin). We'll do spin drills like spinning without pulling in, and backwards glides lightly dragging the toe.
Week two: Warm up waltz jumps, review toe loop and one foot spin; introduce salchow, introduce forward outside mohawk. If the class is small and/or sharp, you can start introducing a scratch spin in this lesson as well. Work on the first two parts of the change foot spin-- one foot spin 4 rotations, and a change to other foot back spin just one full rotation without losing the check. I never let my students add rotations to the back spin until they have one solid back spin on the proper edge; if you encourage multiple rotation too soon, they just drop to the inside edge. I know that ISI now says that the change foot doesn't have to change to a proper back spin, really, what's the point of teaching this wrong.
Week three: Forward and backward spirals should be added to the warm up in this week; work on improving waltz jumps, introduce waltz jump combos: with ballet jump and wj/toe loop, emphasizing proper toe pick entry and upper body movement, start working on toe loop from stroking and inside 3 turn. Review salchows, review & drill one foot spins including strong entry edge, intro 3 leg of spin, the return to the forward spin. Still just looking for 4-1-3 rotations foot to foot to foot. Drill outside forward mohawks left and right. If time, intro waltz 8 pattern.
Week four: Introduce jump combo; if it's a USFS program, this is prescribed, otherwise set one up, or let the skaters figure out 2, 3, and 4 jump combos or sequences on their own utilizing all jumps starting with bunny hop. If there are parts of the testable skills that have not yet been touched on, introduce them here. In week 4, the coach should be aware which students are in this level for the first time, and which are repeating and how many times they have repeated. The coach needs to decide if any student should move up mid-session. (I don't encourage this, but sometimes it's okay; now is the time to figure this out.) The coach will need to juggle week four to give each student help with his or her weakest elements, in preparation for:
Week five, mid session evaluation: review and evaluate jumps and spins; if other skills are testable do these as well. Remember that the mid-term evaluation has two purposes: to let you as the teacher know where the students or your lesson plan have been weak, and therefore where the focus should be for the remaining time, and as an encouragement to the students. Never give a mid term without some positive marks. Be prepared to justify your marks to all the freaked out parents.
Week six: Review progress report, focusing on both class-wide and individual weaknesses; teach a full rink jump entry pattern for each jump in the level, review all moves and footwork patterns; major effort on back spin part of change foot, trying to reach 3 full rotations on proper edge.
Week seven: review all, correcting common errors. Common errors in FS 3 are over rotation on jump entries, wrong toe pick placement on toe loop, salchow free leg, checking landings on combo, losing the check on back spin (forcing an inside edge), underrotation on back spin, wrong edges or steps on footwork, spiral not held long enough, etc.). For USFS programs, all moves patterns should be run at test standard on full ice if you can get it.
Week eight: review all for testing following week. Try to fit every skill in, but if there isn't time make sure to get all jumps and spins, and any new turns that are part of footwork (e.g. the outside mohawk). It's also a good idea to try out moves that indicate readiness for the next level. At freestyle three, you'd want to see kids able to do backward shoot the duck (for sit spin), at least one back outside three (these can be taught in a single session), two foot loop jump.
Week nine: Test week in most rinks. This is not an encouragement test. This is the real deal for class purposes. The skater should show easy, confident ability at every maneuver. ISI has rather specific breakdown of marks. I'm not sure what their language is, but I break it down like this: 0= did not try; 1=tried, but hopeless; 2=tried, can't do; 3=good understanding of maneuver but not at passing standard; 4 (F)= almost there; 5 (D)=passing standard; 6 (C)=very good, above passing standard; 7 (B)=excellent; 8 (A)=superior; 9 (A+)=pro; 10= perfect. No one gets a 10. I've given out 2 nines in 11 years of teaching. I once had a teacher give me a "1." This is just mean. ISI lets you pass with what I consider a "D," i.e. a 5, but I tell my kids I want them passing with 6s and 7s. When I do a test, I watch for kids who will be able to succeed at new skills on the first day of the next level. At most rinks class level and competition level will be different, with the skater competing one to two levels lower than their most recently passed class.
Week ten: You can have a "Game Day" in freestyle classes, tailored for the greater range of skating skills, age range, and ability of the class. I like to introduce a skill from the next level, or even from two levels up, as well as things like jump and spin games-- most waltz jumps in a row, longest jump combo or sequence, biggest jump; most rotations, best feature. You can also have the skaters put together 20-second programs. This is enough time to do one jump, one spin and one gliding maneuver with transitions.
Skaters who are not taking private lessons should expect to take every freestyle level twice or even three times. This moves you up 1 to 2 levels per year. If you start freestyle classes at the age of 10 this gets you to Freestyle 8/Intermediate (all double jumps) by sophomore year of high school. It's a very rare rink that has enough freestyle skaters still in levels classes beyond FS 8. Please remember that it's not a race, and there are no prizes for being the youngest freestyle skater in the program. If you want to move through faster, take private lessons and practice properly; however, I still firmly believe in taking the classes one at a time, and in their full 10-week span. At the very least, it's a really cheap way to get a second or third lesson per week.
Apr 21, 2010
B is for Backwards
I've always liked the confluence of B-Beta-Backwards. Just my obsessive compulsive tendencies kicking in I suppose.
Beta is my favorite level to teach. For one thing, I think I'm really good at it. It also tends to hit at right about the ages of 7-9 when kids are old enough to carry on intelligent conversation, but still too young to have figured out what idiots most adults are. Plus, not one of them ever believes that backward crossovers are actually possible, so it's fun when they get it. (Don't get me started on adults and backwards crossovers. That's a whole alternate universe right there.)
One of the first things I did when I started teaching was to work out a weekly lesson plan for every level through Freestyle 3. This really helped when I was an inexperienced teacher, because it kept me on track and gave me a prop around which to organize my lessons. I worked in drilling and games, to keep the kids interested. Here's the Beta lesson plan (in practice, it varies from this considerably depending on the class):
Week one
Review forward crossovers with 25 fwd XO each direction; Straight line backward swizzles with glide; straight line forward and backward pumps, L & R, straight line pumps alternating (slalom); introduce back 1-ft glide from slalom and on circle
Week two
Review forward crossovers with 25 fwd XO each direction; review back slaloms with one-foot lift/glide, introduce stroking concept (foot held forward); back pumps & I/O edges on circle; start cross if class is ready. (You're ready for the cross if you can hold the one-foot back glide, foot in front for 2wce your body height, on a curve.)
This is the basic drill portion for backward crossovers, and I always go back to this lesson when kids are having trouble-- pumps and one foot glides on the circle.
Week three
Review forward crossovers with 25 fwd XO each direction; back stroking review & refine; back pumps with 1-foot glide on circle; start crosses (most of class time). Reward skill.
Week three is the money week. To get at least some of the kids solid in Beta by Week 10, you have to start the crossovers by week three. A kid who isn't at least stumbling through them at this point is going to repeat beta without divine intervention. Don't tell anyone I told you. Most of the lesson will be going round and round and round in circles just throwing out terrible crossovers. I never try to get kids to bend, pump, or stay off their toe picks at this stage. I just want crossovers and continual backwards movement. Introduce t-stops.
Usually, because this is hard and boring, I'll throw in something fun, the "reward skill" for the last 5 minutes. Kids love learning shoot-the-duck, spirals, spins, and synchro moves at this level.
Week four
Review. Week five is often a mid-session evaluation, so in week four you want to review everything in Beta, let the kids know where they should be for the evaluation, and encourage them to come on their own and practice. I wish rinks would hand out discount or free coupons for public skating the week before evaluation, but they never do this.
Week five
Evaluation week. For mid-term evaluation, a coach with sense will always pass something and never pass everything, especially if it's the skater's first time through the level. Only the rare exceptional skater can step into the next level 5 weeks in and not be utterly lost, and only the rare exceptional skater can't spend an extra 5 weeks getting better at the level they're at. I think it is lazy and irresponsible of coaches to pass kids up halfway through a session; I almost never do it. If you're a skater that I passed halfway through, pat yourself on the back. You were really really good.
Also, coaches? Please never give a child only "needs improvement" marks. It's not going to kill you to make a little white lie and tell them they are good at ONE thing. I've seen more skaters quit at mid-term because the coach decided to be brutally honest. Really, what's the point? If worse comes to worse, I'll write "Alpha review exceptional!" on a struggling skater's evaluation form. By extension, don't pass everything, because it confuses the kid and their parent. They think they should now get to move up, and it isn't true. You can't drop a kid into the next level when they've missed the first five classes (unless you're using this as a marketing tactic-- "oh have him take a few lessons with me, I'll help him catch up").
One of the things I like to emphasize at midterm is that the test is not about how well the skater is doing, more it lets me know what the class, and I, need to work on as we move toward real evaluation week in a month.
Week six
Week six is a work week. First, review forward crossovers: start with 25 fwd XO each direction...
Okay, wait. What's with all the forward crossovers? I thought this was Beta?
Every skill a skater learns, right up through quad jumps, doesn't stop improving once you've "learned" it. Kids barely understand this, and it drives their parents crazy. But especially because class skaters seldom practice, it takes a lot of drilling to remind them to do prior-learned skills properly. I try to sweeten the pot by telling kids we're now working on "freestyle" crossovers, with improved rhythm, power, and body alignment.
After their 25 forward crossovers, we start just putting mileage on the backwards ones, starting with 25 bwd XO each direction. I watch for common and specific weaknesses (generally toe-pick dragging, and opening up the hip so that they face the circle when they cross) plus I'll introduce moving two foot turns & step forward, which they'll need on the first day of Gamma. Review stroking and t-stops.
Week seven
Here we go again: start with 25 fwd XO each direction, then 25 bwd XO each direction. Work on noted weaknesses, two foot turns & step forward; Review stroking and t-stops. Introduce freestyle skills such as spins, waltz jump, pivot for fun.
Because they've been working really hard and they deserve a reward.
Week eight
Another serious review week, because next week is The Test.
Week nine
Evaluation week! Expect tears, because some silly mother has told her kid that she's going to pass without consulting the coach first. (That's me crying; the kids are usually fine.) Review standards, practice the move, observe a demonstration, and then have them skate one at a time, attempting to keep all the ones not skating from getting bored and killing each other. Pry the adults who are ready out of Beta with a crowbar.
So what should proper Beta/Basic 5 backwards crossovers look like? Skater should be able to do 6 backward crossovers in a row with no extraneous pumps or wiggles in between. Skater should have a clear understanding of the first pump, with proper push and knee bend, and be able to cross fully either by lifting (ISI) or cut back (USFS Basic Skills) with a clear understanding of proper edges and weight shift, and strong arm position. Backward stroking should be smooth and continuous, and at least one T-stop should be mastered; a clear understanding of proper edge should be demonstrated on the "hard" side.
Because many rinks don't split Beta into Beta 1 and Beta 2, absolutely no toe pick dragging is allowed to pass, or you'll never get rid of it. Students should expect to go through Beta twice. I always call my second-timers "Beta 2" just to make them feel better, even though it's not a real level.
I also feel strongly that someone entering Gamma should understand moving rotation and be able to do a two footed turn from a glide both clockwise and counterclockwise. This is part of the Basic Skills, but not of the ISI curriculum at this level.
Week ten
Every damned rink in America calls this Game Day. I hate Game Day. I hate it with a passion. Please please please no more relay races on the ice. Or maybe ONE. They are boring, pointless, and leave out the kids who are intimidated by speed.
Here's some better things to do with Game Day.
Beta is my favorite level to teach. For one thing, I think I'm really good at it. It also tends to hit at right about the ages of 7-9 when kids are old enough to carry on intelligent conversation, but still too young to have figured out what idiots most adults are. Plus, not one of them ever believes that backward crossovers are actually possible, so it's fun when they get it. (Don't get me started on adults and backwards crossovers. That's a whole alternate universe right there.)
One of the first things I did when I started teaching was to work out a weekly lesson plan for every level through Freestyle 3. This really helped when I was an inexperienced teacher, because it kept me on track and gave me a prop around which to organize my lessons. I worked in drilling and games, to keep the kids interested. Here's the Beta lesson plan (in practice, it varies from this considerably depending on the class):
Week one
Review forward crossovers with 25 fwd XO each direction; Straight line backward swizzles with glide; straight line forward and backward pumps, L & R, straight line pumps alternating (slalom); introduce back 1-ft glide from slalom and on circle
Week two
Review forward crossovers with 25 fwd XO each direction; review back slaloms with one-foot lift/glide, introduce stroking concept (foot held forward); back pumps & I/O edges on circle; start cross if class is ready. (You're ready for the cross if you can hold the one-foot back glide, foot in front for 2wce your body height, on a curve.)
This is the basic drill portion for backward crossovers, and I always go back to this lesson when kids are having trouble-- pumps and one foot glides on the circle.
Week three
Review forward crossovers with 25 fwd XO each direction; back stroking review & refine; back pumps with 1-foot glide on circle; start crosses (most of class time). Reward skill.
Week three is the money week. To get at least some of the kids solid in Beta by Week 10, you have to start the crossovers by week three. A kid who isn't at least stumbling through them at this point is going to repeat beta without divine intervention. Don't tell anyone I told you. Most of the lesson will be going round and round and round in circles just throwing out terrible crossovers. I never try to get kids to bend, pump, or stay off their toe picks at this stage. I just want crossovers and continual backwards movement. Introduce t-stops.
Usually, because this is hard and boring, I'll throw in something fun, the "reward skill" for the last 5 minutes. Kids love learning shoot-the-duck, spirals, spins, and synchro moves at this level.
Week four
Review. Week five is often a mid-session evaluation, so in week four you want to review everything in Beta, let the kids know where they should be for the evaluation, and encourage them to come on their own and practice. I wish rinks would hand out discount or free coupons for public skating the week before evaluation, but they never do this.
Week five
Evaluation week. For mid-term evaluation, a coach with sense will always pass something and never pass everything, especially if it's the skater's first time through the level. Only the rare exceptional skater can step into the next level 5 weeks in and not be utterly lost, and only the rare exceptional skater can't spend an extra 5 weeks getting better at the level they're at. I think it is lazy and irresponsible of coaches to pass kids up halfway through a session; I almost never do it. If you're a skater that I passed halfway through, pat yourself on the back. You were really really good.
Also, coaches? Please never give a child only "needs improvement" marks. It's not going to kill you to make a little white lie and tell them they are good at ONE thing. I've seen more skaters quit at mid-term because the coach decided to be brutally honest. Really, what's the point? If worse comes to worse, I'll write "Alpha review exceptional!" on a struggling skater's evaluation form. By extension, don't pass everything, because it confuses the kid and their parent. They think they should now get to move up, and it isn't true. You can't drop a kid into the next level when they've missed the first five classes (unless you're using this as a marketing tactic-- "oh have him take a few lessons with me, I'll help him catch up").
One of the things I like to emphasize at midterm is that the test is not about how well the skater is doing, more it lets me know what the class, and I, need to work on as we move toward real evaluation week in a month.
Week six
Week six is a work week. First, review forward crossovers: start with 25 fwd XO each direction...
Okay, wait. What's with all the forward crossovers? I thought this was Beta?
Every skill a skater learns, right up through quad jumps, doesn't stop improving once you've "learned" it. Kids barely understand this, and it drives their parents crazy. But especially because class skaters seldom practice, it takes a lot of drilling to remind them to do prior-learned skills properly. I try to sweeten the pot by telling kids we're now working on "freestyle" crossovers, with improved rhythm, power, and body alignment.
After their 25 forward crossovers, we start just putting mileage on the backwards ones, starting with 25 bwd XO each direction. I watch for common and specific weaknesses (generally toe-pick dragging, and opening up the hip so that they face the circle when they cross) plus I'll introduce moving two foot turns & step forward, which they'll need on the first day of Gamma. Review stroking and t-stops.
Week seven
Here we go again: start with 25 fwd XO each direction, then 25 bwd XO each direction. Work on noted weaknesses, two foot turns & step forward; Review stroking and t-stops. Introduce freestyle skills such as spins, waltz jump, pivot for fun.
Because they've been working really hard and they deserve a reward.
Week eight
Another serious review week, because next week is The Test.
Week nine
Evaluation week! Expect tears, because some silly mother has told her kid that she's going to pass without consulting the coach first. (That's me crying; the kids are usually fine.) Review standards, practice the move, observe a demonstration, and then have them skate one at a time, attempting to keep all the ones not skating from getting bored and killing each other. Pry the adults who are ready out of Beta with a crowbar.
So what should proper Beta/Basic 5 backwards crossovers look like? Skater should be able to do 6 backward crossovers in a row with no extraneous pumps or wiggles in between. Skater should have a clear understanding of the first pump, with proper push and knee bend, and be able to cross fully either by lifting (ISI) or cut back (USFS Basic Skills) with a clear understanding of proper edges and weight shift, and strong arm position. Backward stroking should be smooth and continuous, and at least one T-stop should be mastered; a clear understanding of proper edge should be demonstrated on the "hard" side.
Because many rinks don't split Beta into Beta 1 and Beta 2, absolutely no toe pick dragging is allowed to pass, or you'll never get rid of it. Students should expect to go through Beta twice. I always call my second-timers "Beta 2" just to make them feel better, even though it's not a real level.
I also feel strongly that someone entering Gamma should understand moving rotation and be able to do a two footed turn from a glide both clockwise and counterclockwise. This is part of the Basic Skills, but not of the ISI curriculum at this level.
Week ten
Every damned rink in America calls this Game Day. I hate Game Day. I hate it with a passion. Please please please no more relay races on the ice. Or maybe ONE. They are boring, pointless, and leave out the kids who are intimidated by speed.
Here's some better things to do with Game Day.
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.
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.
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