February 2005
February 1-5, 2005
Rink Report
I wasted days freezing the patio rink to a barely skateable quality. If I had a liner, my labors would have been reduced. I could have filled the thing and let it freeze a couple of times instead of spraying it every few hours, or whenever possible. A week of cold weather went into preparing the rink. I worked on it diligently, spraying often and admiring its progress. I even skated on it twice, neither time would qualify as productive practice, but it was certainly a novelty.
In the dry cold, the snow barriers began to sublime, gradually decreasing in height. Then the weather turned warm. A thick sheet of ice can survive a brief snap into the forties, and mine did quite well. I sprayed it again and layered on more ice at night when the temperature dropped. However, a whole week of warm days ruins a backyard rink. I came home from work and found puddles on the bad side of my rink. One corner had turned crispy with scaly, cracked surface ice. The snow walls are melting to the level of the ice itself. We need another snow storm and more cold days!
An outdoor rink is a gamble. It’s trying to cut a deal with Mother Nature. I won’t bitch about the cold, as long as it stays cold enough to maintain my rink. You cannot make a pact with Mother Nature, she always reneges on the deal. I only skated on the stupid little ice patch twice before it turned into a slushy mess.
First Week of February 2005
I Should Be Committed
Instead of moaning and complaining about my teaching situation at the rink, I have decided (with the help of my adult skating friend, Autumn) to take control of my destiny. Earlier this season, the skating director reassigned my weekday classes to another instructor. The instructor is an Eastern European woman with excellent skating skills. I was not surprised to be passed over for a more qualified person. However, I am also being pushed aside for the director’s relatives, who are poorly qualified and have passed no more tests than I took as an experiment a few years ago. Just comparing our performance on the ice, I am a much better skater than these people. However, on paper we look about the same.
Autumn suggested I take some tests. Originally, I decided to stop testing because it made me nervous and was a tremendous financial investment for club membership, testing fees, lessons, etc. The whole process diminished my joy in the sport. Besides, with Adult Gold Freestyle as my ultimate goal, I spent considerable time on the notoriously difficult axel. The best I could achieve was a cheated landing with about a 75% success rate, if an under-rotated landing can even be considered a success. Without that test, I saw no potential for coaching, even though I had known people who could not skate their way out of a wet paper bag teaching group and private lessons. However, I did not want to be one of those pathetic coaches. So I abandoned testing and returned to skating for fun.
Last year, I fell into teaching group lessons and my life was forever changed. Now a resume of passed tests may offer me an advantage. Although my husband believes the skating director will still give classes to whomever she pleases even if I have passed senior freestyle, she cannot take my accomplishments away from me. These tests would help me to find employment at other rinks, especially after I retire or semi-retire and want to earn some extra money. With rinks springing up like mushrooms, opportunities may develop in the coming years to expand my teaching horizons.
So, I looked into the requirements for adult tests. I plan to concentrate initially on moves in the field because these tests do not involve a program. Programs are very time consuming to choreograph and perfect. This translates into a hefty bill for private lessons. Moves may not require more than a fifteen minute lesson per week. Assuming Eileen finds nothing glaringly wrong with my current moves, I should be able to pass Pre-bronze and Bronze right away. In order to qualify for Silver, I will have to improve my forward outside to back inside three-turns in the field. I also have to learn the slide chassé pattern. The Gold test, as expected, presents two major stumbling blocks: brackets in the field and a back inside to forward inside three-turn novice move that is widely recognized for its near impossibility. It might be five years before I sign up for this exam.
If I had a program, I could test up to Adult Silver Freestyle tomorrow. The lutz and dreaded axel do not appear until the gold test. I may also start work on a new program soon. Instead of the fast-paced music my former coach, Geoff, selected for me, I prefer a slower more elegant piece with clean simple choreography; no awkward footwork or bizarre movements, just stuff I can do that looks classic. I am a fast, powerful skater; but I do not need to stumble through clumsy steps or try weird moves that are not captured on the skills list. I want to pass the test, I do not need to compete with other skaters. I have no objection to including an advanced spin that far exceeds the standard, as this might compensate for deficiencies elsewhere. I might even try Eileen’s axel methods. Now I sound like a babbling idiot.
These are my plans. I have limited skating time, so I must prioritize and have a serious discussion with my coach. I hope to start in a couple of weeks. This ambition makes me skate more aggressively and focus on each movement. I want those credentials.
Read about my minimal testing experiences: Pre-preliminary and Adult Pre-Bronze.
Week of February 13, 2005
Freestyle Lesson
Eileen listened to my testing goals and agreed to teach me. She believes I will pass the adult tests without difficulty. Of course, she does not know I am a choker. Hopefully, I can overcome those trivial problems. Since my last test, I have faced challenges in my life far more profound than anything that might befall me on the ice. Skating in front of a few judges should not faze me. A few days later, Eileen approached me at the rink. After considering my request for moves lessons, she decided to recommend someone else. Eileen never formally learned moves in the field. She competed during the era of figures and coached as a primary occupation before moves existed. She would have to learn the patterns along with me and did not feel comfortable charging for inexpert instruction. Respecting her honestly, I made an initial contact with the person Eileen recommended. We still have not arranged a schedule, but he is interested in coaching me.
I have retained Eileen as a freestyle coach and told her I want to try her axel method. I must be completely insane, but am excited about giving it another shot. Maybe I will change my mind when my aching buttocks turns black and blue. Eileen and I met for an exploratory lesson this week. She brought a list of adult freestyle test elements and reviewed them with me, while I performed my version of each skill. Eileen made comments as required.
For the salchow, she demonstrated riding a longer three-turn exit edge before jumping. This can be achieved by stretching the free leg directly behind and creating a straight line glide. Eileen said this technique yields a bigger jump. I like big jumps, so I absorbed the advice immediately.
I have a good flip jump, but I execute it with a very open air position. Eileen suggested crossing my legs and pulling in. I had to slow down to do this. Since my days with Geoff, I have strived for maximum speed and jump height. An open position prevents rotation. Always leery of doubles, this wide-openness serves as a safety net. If I cannot cross my legs tightly, Eileen recommended avoiding a high free foot position, as in the early stages of a scratch spin. She said this is more aesthetically pleasing. Abandoning my familiar open pose invited over-rotation. I landed forward repeatedly. If I had a smidgen more nerve, I would just do the double. It is virtually complete anyway.
Something similar occurred with the loop. I have always owned a big, floating loop. Of course, I do it in an open, airy position. Eileen told me to take off with my feet already crossed. This nearly scared the crap out of me. Now I know where one finds the rotation for a double. I can do enormous loops because I skate stupidly fast and jump without contracting. If I pulled in, I would lose control. Maybe I should not mess with a good thing. But Eileen is right. The elite skaters all take off for triple loops with their legs pre-crossed. Eileen employed this technique to prepare young skaters for multi-revolution jumps.
Finally, she observed my upright back spin. A simple spin in the grand scheme of things, I never consistently had a good one. I can blur a forward scratch, but my back scratch would not impress anyone. It is decent and not much more. However, my back spin improves exponentially if initiated with a back camel, one of my best spins. Eileen asserted the back spin is easier if entered as a change foot combination. Following only a couple of turns in a forward upright spin, I pushed a change of foot. This centered beautifully and allowed me to pull in with confidence.
Eileen asked me to let her know when I want to work on the axel. I think it will be soon.
Week of February 20, 2005
To Rotate or Not to Rotate
Although I had planned to begin moves lessons with the new guy, an unforeseen afternoon meeting at work forced me to cancel. Fortunately, I had his card in my purse and could call him before he wasted his time waiting for me. Since I have decided to alternate between freestyle and moves, I will not have another opportunity to meet with my new instructor for a couple of weeks. Of course, I could always arrange for two lessons next week, but that would be wasteful. I cannot manage enough ice time to justify two lessons. With the high cost of private instruction, I prefer to distribute it for optimum effectiveness.
My independent practice has focused on the skills I learned last week from Eileen; namely the extended salchow entrance and the contracted backspin position for the flip jump. Both of these techniques lead to more efficient rotation. As a result, I am over-rotating basic jumps and have to slow my approach to control the landing. Eileen’s flip technique causes increased rotation even in a small jump. I have to learn how to delay my air spin before speeding into this element. I never struggled with preventing rotation before. Controlling distance and height without turning presents an unfamiliar challenge.
To prolong my back inside salchow preparatory edge, I reach my free leg straight back while placing it neatly low to the ice. The skating knee bends in anticipation of take-off. This automatically flattens and elongates the entry, which can otherwise be difficult to achieve. Jumping from this edge yields additional spring, power, and rotation. I unintentionally over-shot the endpoint and fell on my backside. Strangely, this precise approach may facilitate the double but complicate the fundamental single.
Single jumps really do not require a complete 360º of rotation. Since the jump begins and ends on a curve, the actual turn in the air amounts to quite a bit less than a full 360º. In fact, the air spin may consist of a half or three-quarter turn, depending on the jump. Skaters actually face forward to perform “backward” take-off jumps like the salchow and toe loop. This does not imply that the skater actually spins on the ice and cheats the jump. However, a certain amount of push must occur on the ice to initiate rotation. As the skater leaves the ice, his employed foot pushes off. Rotational speed increases when the athlete contracts into the backspin position, snaps the hips, pulls in the arms, etc. The long, straight backward inside salchow edge seems to encourage factors that contribute to quicker rotation once airborne.
Of course, one little voice inside my head encourages: “Just go for the double, you chicken” while its conservative alter ego retorts: “Don’t listen to that suicidal maniac. Just learn to do a big single without breaking your neck.” So, the battle continues. I plan to ask Eileen to begin work with me on the axel next week.
Week of February 20, 2005 Part Two
Who’s Got the Button?
After teaching groups, I sat in the locker room with the other instructors unlacing my skates. One of the counter girls popped her head in and told the head pro a parent is looking for his child’s coach. The father was furious because the coach did not show up for a scheduled lesson and failed to cancel. That is unprofessional no matter how you slice it. Let me insert here that this “coach” is a high school boy who skates at the preliminary to pre-juvenile level. Of course, I hope the guy is alright, but apparently he did phone the rink to say he would not be in to teach his groups today. Young and inexperienced, maybe he thought this was adequate, and the rink would handle the private lesson problem.
I observed this instructor (who I will call Johnny**) teaching his student a few weeks ago. The student is about seven years old, shy, and easily intimidated. The kid stopped short of trying a waltz jump because someone else glided by. Johnny asked the student why she stopped skating. The poor little girl whined that somebody was in her way. Johnny provided the child with the following advice: “If someone is in your path, just run them over.” That is just brilliant! No coach has the right to propagate such a foul attitude. Even if the student has lesson priority, no one should intentionally crash into another skater. This reveals Johnny’s immaturity, lack of ability, and poor understanding of the sport. Kids like him should not be hired to coach. What else might he be telling his students? He could be spreading bad technique as well as poor etiquette.
Everyone else in the locker room apparently charges more per hour than Johnny, which makes sense. However, I have never given privates but would be willing to gain some experience. I volunteered to take Johnny’s student. The head pro, a gawky adult skater who functions at about the bronze or silver level (on a good day), said; “We don’t have a key for you.”
I had no idea what she meant by this seemingly inane statement. “Excuse me?” I asked innocently.
“A key…um…we don’t have a button for you on the cash register.”
I simply let it drop. If I were in charge, I would have sought a way to solve the problem and satisfy the client. Maybe this individual is also too inexperienced to demonstrate good business sense. Instead, she presented me with a silly excuse that spoke volumes of her lack of professionalism and potential insecurity. This woman is related to someone in the rink hierarchy, and probably would not have a job there otherwise.
When I related this story to my husband, he equated it with a previous corporate job where he worked for an inept manager. Beneath the manager’s colossal ego was a person who realized his deficiencies and wielded sufficient power to conceal them by belittling his underlings. Fortunately, my husband no longer works for that pitiful company, and the place was recently bought out. He suggested the head pro and skating director may prefer that I do not start teaching privates for fear that I could absorb some of the willing and able students, especially if I do not charge an exorbitant fee. Further reinforcing the possible concerns of the less impressive instructors, I have befriended the adult skaters at the rink, may of whom take group lessons. I did not do this to solicit students, but because I enjoy camaraderie with other adults. Often, they initiate a relationship with me, opening the dialogue with a flattering remark about my skating. Recently, an adult beginner told me I am the best skater in the rink, which is probably true, not that I have much competition. My only competition is from the other coaches, some of whom are no longer able to skate aggressively due to advanced age and injuries rather than lack of pre-existing ability.
Although, I do not have much time to devote to privates, I would certainly like to teach a few private students. Maybe I should ask the manager how I can get a button on the cash register.
** Pseudonym
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