October 2007
Week of October 1, 2007
Camel Diagnosis
Since having my blades sharpened for the first time in far too long, I have been experiencing difficulty centering my camel. The trouble results from slipping off the "hook" that initiates the spin. Not being able to do a camel is not an option for a skater of my level who is trying to establish a career in coaching. I found ice time that is not associated with my teaching commitments to diagnose and correct my camel issues. Of course, I could have paid a coach to help me with this. Other than a general shortage of disposable income, I was motivated by my own expertise in this sport to try to recognize the source of failure in my own technique.
Once I cleared my mind of frustration (I just can't do this spin anymore!), the solution became obvious. The camel is a very precise spin. Timing must be perfect. Body position must be perfect. All movement into the spin must work in perfect synch. That's a whole lot of perfection in one place. No wonder why people of all skating levels struggle to achieve a strong camel spin. Lucky me, I almost always had a very nice camel from early in my skating career. I did a few camels and explored my performance objectively.
I was rushing the leading shoulder. Many coaches teach a "clear the table" sweeping motion of the employed arm into the camel. The "employed" side of the body is the skating side. I was clearing the imaginary table ahead of my spin entrance. Therefore, early arm movement (aggressive movement intended to lift the body into a camel spin and crank up rotational speed) was responsible for throwing my spin off center. I could not successfully hook the spin and maintain position. I allowed my arm to relax and barely used it entering a sample camel. Control returned. Then I modified my arm movement to synchronize it with my entrance to the spin. That solved the problem. I had a respectable camel spin once again.
Over many years of skating, I have developed an understanding of technique. Using myself as a guinea pig, I diagnosed and corrected a very real problem skaters experience with camel spins. I happily centered good camels throughout the rest of the session.
Early October 2007
The Adult Skater Who Coaches
Surprise, surprise! This entry is not about me. It is about someone who is in the process of inspiring me. Breaking into coaching is tough, especially at the beginning of the season before parents start signing their kids up en masse for lessons. Very little work is available to new pros, and I feel the pinch. I also feel discouraged. Then I started talking to a pro I will call "Mary"*** in honor of a special aunt. Mary works primarily at Ice Castle, though she also teaches at another rink, as do most pros. We have spent time together in the pro room and are developing a pleasant relationship. I met Mary on a public session at Ice Castle before I became employed there. As I tried to clean up my camel, Mary was teaching a low freestyle student.
Mary chased after me as I left the cold space to take off my skates. She asked me if I was interested in a joining an adult synchronized skating team. Of course, I was flattered and vaguely intrigued. I am not much of a competitor; never competed in anything as a child and have only taken a few skating tests as an adult more for a goof than anything else, but that was before I got serious about teaching. Meeting more adult skaters stimulated me. One can never have too many skating friends. Then Mary told me about the costs involved. This year I simply cannot afford that kind of out-lay. I am supposed to be earning money skating this season not spending more. Yes, the team would provide a valuable experience for my skating resume, but I just cannot finance it right now. Maybe next year if my coaching career starts to put me in the black.
Mary is a fulltime coach, meaning she does not work a traditional "day job" in addition to whatever she manages to do on the ice. She probably does not work a forty-hour week, but most coaches don’t have to. We make good hourly money. The problem is there just are not enough students to fill our available hours if we are new to the profession. Mary started as a part-time skating instructor picking up group lessons on the weekends and afternoons. Eventually she left her regular job. Mary's dance card is pretty full. She teaches on all of the available club sessions and some of the publics. She has students at two rinks. Mary has been coaching for about two years. That is not very long to be reasonably successful as a skating pro.
The title of this entry gives away Mary's history in the sport. She did not train as a child. She started in her twenties, as I did. Mary has been skating for about twenty years. She is older than me. I have been ice skating seriously for about fifteen years. Mary tested through the adult track. At one time, she could do an axel, but she doesn't anymore. I have never actually seen Mary skate beyond gliding around the rink with a student, so I cannot comment on the quality of that axel or any other skill she may possess. However, Mary is fond of my skating. She thought I started as a kid because I am very secure on the ice. At least, that is what she said. Most child-trained skaters demonstrate a level of security that their adult-trained counterparts struggle to develop. I credit my ability in this area to the years I spent fooling around on roller skates as a child and teenager. I literally grew up on the things and that experience gave me an advantage when I dedicated my time and money to figure skating.
In addition to making a new friend, Mary has given me the hope I need to continue doggedly pursuing my dream. I want to be a skating coach. I believe I have a lot to offer. I understand technique at a very precise level and can readily diagnose problems in other skaters. Maybe I will not coach someone to a double axel, but few pros do that anyway. Skaters at that level leave coaches like Mary and me and sign up with higher rated pros, and rightfully so. However, plenty of beginners and lower freestyle students can benefit from the expertise and perspective mature coaches bring to the sport.
***Not her real name.
Week of October 7, 2007
Various Revelations
Most people think of revelations as major break-throughs, usually regarding something big. Discovering the secret that makes your axel finally work would be an example of a revelation. However, in the skating world where there is much to perfect, revelations can be of a small seeming insignificant variety. One of my current objectives is to perfect some of my lower level skills in preparation for testing. So I am nit-picking myself to death, but some of my nits need to be picked. I have allowed myself to get away with a few bad habits for years. That must stop if I wish to pass skating tests. Unfortunately, I cannot afford much coaching right now, though I plan to take a few lessons before signing up for tests. I have experienced success diagnosing my own problems and continue to look at my skills objectively.
~Alternating Back Crossovers to Backward Outside Edges~
I have been able to do "alternating back crossovers to backward outside edges" for several years. They are a basic warm up pattern and are included in the Adult Bronze moves in the field (MITF) test. The primary emphasis is on flow and strength while secondary emphasis is placed on extension. This pattern can be a thing of simple beauty when performed by a skater who covers the ice effortlessly at an impressive speed. Adults struggle with effortlessness and speed. Many adult skaters tend to plod along and force their positions. I have never liked this pattern because I have trouble transitioning from the left back outside (BO) edge to the following backward crossover. This should not be an issue for a skater at my level; however, this skill has been pushed under the rug and never perfected.
I spent most of an hour session dissecting my problems with this pattern. I lacked control in the left BO edge. Why did I lack control on an edge that gives me a secure jump landing? I went back to fundamental BO edges on a hockey line. Yes, a slight lack of control existed in this foundation move, but why? Coaches deal with these issues every day when working with students. I examined my tracings and focused on my movement. On the right BO edge, I glided back to the hockey line completing the lobe and stepping smoothly to the left BO. On the left BO, I returned to the hockey line on a deep edge that reduced the radius of my semicircular lobe. Ideally, the skater should be able to maintain that edge and complete a full, symmetrical circle with the hockey line serving as its diameter. I was not tracing a circle on my left foot. I was creating a spiral of decreasing radius. That, my skating friends, is a revelation.
And it was easy to fix. All I had to do was control my edge such that the edge did not deepen. My BO edges on the hockey line instantly improved. The change transferred directly to my alternating back crossovers to backward outside edges pattern. I had to control that edge. Subconsciously, I hit a left BO and my body reverted to "jump landing" mode. This is not a jump landing. It is an edge skated on a lobe. Sounds like a trivial difference? In practice, it was profound. I skated the MITF pattern with new confidence.
~Upright Backspin~
A lot of skaters tend to drop to an inside edge on the backspin. Handy that the new code of points system rewards more difficult edgework in spins. However, judges can readily differentiate between an intentional variation and a mistake. A bronze adult skater on an inside edge is most likely making a mistake. Personally, I have made this mistake since I first started backspinning nearly fifteen years ago. I never have a problem with the back camel. Just try to get a back camel on an inside edge to score those advanced points. It is nearly impossible, hence the difficulty.
My analysis indicates the inside edge error originates from opening or dropping the unemployed hip. The skater will enter the upright backspin and achieve a position with the free leg extended to the side-front. In many instances the hip drops and/or opens forcing the blade to an inside edge. The skater either has to correct his/her hip position or enter the spin with the free leg extended directly in front on the body. This will maintain a closed hip and allow the skater to balance over the ball of the foot an remain on the correct outside edge. Taking a cue from the back camel (which I personally believe is an overall easier spin than the basic upright backspin), I experimented with placing my free foot behind the body, either hooking the foot behind the calf of the skating leg or otherwise placing it in a hopefully attractive position. This put me immediately on an outside edge and I held a smooth backspin for several rotations, more than enough to pass the Adult Bronze test. Once I the outside edging is engrained in my muscle memory, I will graduate to a back scratch spin position. Maybe someday I will actually blur one of these things.
Saturday October 13, 2007
When the Skating Director Calls
If you are trying to launch a career in coaching, you must jump when the skating director calls. It does not matter what you have planned. You must reschedule the rest of your life and get to the rink. Otherwise, next time, the director will call another struggling pro. You want every teaching opportunity you can get. You want to be seen by skaters, parents, other pros, and anyone who might be a potential client. This is how you establish a presence at the arena and eventually become known and secure private lessons.
The skating director left me a message asking if I could substitute for a pro who was out sick on Saturday morning. Of course, I had other plans. To supplement my budding coaching career, I am also tutoring academic subjects, and I had a student scheduled for the exact same timeslot. I called the student's parent and told her a conflict came up and I had to switch her to the afternoon. Fortunately, the family seemed to prefer this arrangement. I left a message for the director. You bet I'll be there. You say "jump"; I'll ask "how high?" No pun intended.
I taught two Saturday morning classes. One was a burgeoning group of tots. Three pros worked with this stumbling crew of little ones who needed help standing up, falling, and getting back up again. We taught them all to march with varying degrees of success. I took the lead in this class over veteran coaches with superior skating resumes. I have experience working in public education, which is a huge advantage coming into this profession. I have also taught plenty of group skating lessons by now. We played some games, got them moving and made them smile. I held a little girl's hand who looked like she was ready to cry. She loved the attention of having the teacher as her special partner.
After the tots got off the ice, I helped another coach with a group of beginners. She had two students skating at a slightly higher level. They needed separate instruction. We worked on swizzles, gliding on two feet, one-foot glides, backward wiggling, and basic stroking pushes. The kids really fought for their one-foot glides. They need to practice this skill during the week. One of the children made significant progress on backward swizzles. I encouraged both of them to bend their knees. Beginning skaters (children or adults) do not seem to grasp the importance of knee bend. If you don't bend your knees, you simply cannot push. If you cannot push, you cannot move. The cause and effect relationship is really that simple.
A problem that seems to plague young beginning skaters is ill-fitting rental boots. The kids’ ankles knock inward forcing the children onto an inside edge. The poor kids cannot even stand up straight. I try to position their feet properly under their hips with blades perpendicular to the ice. I have them march and glide that way. Somehow, once they start moving, the skates take over and the kids' ankles collapse again. Not only does this prevent proper stroking and other types of propulsion, the skater can develop bad habits or become injured. Whenever possible, I talk to the parents after class and remind them to have their children wear thin socks and try a smaller size boot.
To me, nothing is more rewarding than teaching people to skate. It does not matter if I am helping a four-year-old take his first steps or teaching a jump or spin to an adult. The result is the same; the skater's face lights up with joy. I love that.
Sunday October 14, 2007
Face Plant
Most rinks require coaches to carry their own liability insurance. In many cases, coaches are paid as independent contractors and not as employees of the facility. Insurance is obtained from a professional organization and the coach must present proof of coverage to every rink where s/he teaches. The insurance is intended to cover the coach in case of a law suit where a student is injured and the student and/or family decide to try to prove the coach is liable. Many rinks have skaters or their parents (if the skater is a minor) sign a disclaimer when enrolling in group lessons or merely paying for ice time. One rink where I skated while on vacation had all participants sign a waiver before they got on the ice. Skating is an inherently dangerous sport. Ice skating, by nature, involves falling. People will fall when they skate whether they are beginners or trained athletes. Sometimes skaters will get hurt. It took me over thirty years of ice and roller skating to break a bone, but eventually it happened. No one was to blame; it was merely an accident. However, we live in a law suit happy culture where fewer and fewer people take responsibility for their own actions or the day to day risk of getting out of bed in the morning.
While teaching a beginning group class of pre-teen children, the kids propelled themselves backward across the width of the arena in backward swizzles. Two of the kids smiled brightly, pleased with their progress. Their speed had improved and with increased knee bend, they worked their legs smoothly and confidently. One child pitched forward, caught her toe pick and face planted into the ice. The kid bounced back up and continued to swizzle. I called out to her and she assured me she was okay, as I helped another student understand the rhythm of the maneuver. The group reconvened at the opposite side of the rink ready to work on something else. One child noticed blood on the chin of the kid who fell. I asked the girl to let me see the cut. She tilted her head back and revealed a deep gash. I knew it needed stitches. I asked if her parents were in the rink. She said they were. She was not nervous or in pain. I told her she needed to see a doctor, and I would help her off the ice. She motioned to her parents as I wrapped my arms around her waist and led her to the doorway. Another coach who had a helper to watch her class assisted the child off the ice.
I was horrified. A student fell and got hurt during my class, under my tutelage. My first concern was the for the safety of the child, but visions of law suits and finger pointing entered my consciousness. I felt ashamed of these thoughts and forced them from my mind.
After the class ended without any more harm done, I found the child in the arms of her mother. The girl had broken a sweat from shock. The mother assured me she was taking her daughter to the emergency room as soon as her husband brought the car around. The skating director had already provided the girl with an ice pack and paper towels and had completed an accident report. Ass coverage on the part of the rink. My student looked up at me with adoringly starry eyes. “You’re such a good teacher,” the parent said. “The kids just love you.”
I patted the girl’s arm, praised her bravery and strong skating. I told her she would be okay and I would see her next week. The mother thanked me again. I did not expect kindness from the mother of a kid who split her chin on my watch. Some of my recent experiences in another profession have soured my perceptions. I have dealt with many rotten people. I am glad they are still the minority.
Week of October 14, 2007
Forbidden
I am finally getting some classes at Elite Arena, but nothing like what I was promised in my interview. Marilyn, the skating director, seems to think things will get very busy in November. I hope she is right. I still have not been offered (or recruited) a private student at Elite.
One of my favorite group lesson exercises is to teach my students to snowplow stop. I do this with a fun little activity in which each child takes a colored marker and writes his or her name on the ice. I do the same as a demonstration. I then show them how to scrape the ink off the ice in a two-foot snowplow and with each foot individually. The kids love writing on the ice and become fascinated with “making snow”. They all work independently, silent on their own little patches of ice. I glide around telling the kids to make a Slurpee. They respond with smiles, giggles and enthusiastic scraping. This method has never failed to teach a student to stop. Then we skate back and forth across the rink in a series of steps, glides, and stops.
The kids loved my class. One child said it was the best skating class so far. I must be approval starved, because I just eat that stuff up with a spoon. Another girl latched on to me and wanted me to stay for the public session afterward so she could show off some of her self-taught skills. Unfortunately, I could not stay, so the girl showed off for me at the conclusion of class. The skating director saw the child strutting her stuff and called me over.
“That move is forbidden at her level,” Marilyn declared as though threatened.
Forbidden?
“Read the skill sheet,” Marilyn continued.
I had read the skill sheet and did not remember a list of forbidden maneuvers, the element simply was not on the list. I approached Marilyn and told her this, asking for clarification.
Marilyn seemed amazed by my naivety. “That’s right. It’s not on the list. You are not allowed to teach skills that are not on the list for that level.”
“I was not teaching that skill. The kid wanted to show off.”
“And you were lucky she could do it. That’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Technically, maybe Marilyn is right. However, Elite is the third rink where I have taught groups. No one has ever told me a move is “forbidden” at a given level. In fact, at another rink, coaches were encouraged to include a move or two from a higher level to keep the kids challenged and interested. This young lady needed to be challenged. She had mastered the skills for her test level and needed to move up. However, I was stricken by the paranoia Marilyn displayed. She looked horror-stricken that I would allow a forbidden skill to be performed on my watch. Earlier this week, I wrote about a child who fell during my class. Admittedly, law suits danced in my head. We just live in that kind of world. However, I try not to be driven by it.
Marilyn is new at Elite. For all I know, she may have never been employed as a director before. She seems harried every time I see her. From what I can tell, Marilyn is a hard-working stressed-out person. She never knows what day it is, what time is, or what she has to do next. One day I came into the rink and mistakenly said “good morning” to Marilyn. She seemed very proud of the fact that she knew it was actually after twelve o’clock. It was afternoon and she knew it. Marilyn probably is hyperaware of things that make her nervous, and brushes trivial details aside. Like everyone else; she wants to be successful, she feels a need to cover her backside, and like many administrators, she wants to micromanage. Input from a skating director or another pro can be very beneficial to my own growth as a coach, but the severity of Marilyn’s reaction shocked me. I wonder if there is more going on here.
Wednesday October 24, 2007
Ever since I took the group exercise certification workshop last month, I mentally prepared myself to receive a failure notice in the mail. Call me pessimistic; I prefer to think of it as realism. Attending aerobics classes does not make one an aerobics instructor. I had a lot to learn at that workshop. I basically have no ear for music and I was very nervous for the practical component of the testing. As a good academic test-taker, I had little doubt that I passed the written exam. In fact, the grade report that came in the mail said I only missed four out of one hundred questions. That’s a big, fat “A”.
Not only did I pass the written component, I also passed the practical. No grades were reported other than “successful completion”. Whatever I did, it was good enough. Now that I have the certificate, I am not sure what to do with it. In my dreams, I would like to teach off-ice training in a rink. Before I can do that, I probably need some experience in a gym, so I can market myself as a legitimate exercise instructor.
With November right around the corner, I hope enrollment is about to pick up with group skating classes. I went to a different rink for my own practice this week and casually asked the skating director if she needed any instructors. She said she has never seen a season so dead. Lucky me. She blamed the lack of enrollment not only on the unseasonably warm weather, which is finally starting to turn toward fall, but also on the economy. Let’s face it, when money gets tight, parents don’t think of signing children up for ice skating. They would rather opt for cheap after school sports or take the kids to a public park or buy inexpensive department store inline skates and let them play on the sidewalk. That’s what my folks did, except traditional roller skates marked my generation.
I want to keep my schedule open for coaching this coming month. A colleague from Ice Castle referred me to a rink that supposedly needs pros. I have never skated at this facility because it is an hour drive from my home. However, I contacted the skating director, who confirmed they were indeed looking to expand their coaching staff. Although I live far away, I am willing to commute for a good opportunity. He understood my situation and said he will review my resume and call by the end of the week. My fingers are crossed. I love teaching ice skating and am trying to remain patient.
Second Half of October 2007
Recent entries have dealt primarily with the trials and tribulations of being an ice skating coach, and a struggling one at that. Not much has changed in that department; although Ice Castle referred a parent to me who has not one but two children in need of lessons. For me, that is a windfall. But more about coaching in another entry. I want to write about my own skating for a change.
So, what have I been working on? I usually attend two-hour sessions and devote the first hour to skating skills including stroking drills, edges, moves in the field, and dance steps. However, I have spent very little time on complete dances. I want to increase my ice time so I will have more opportunity to focus on dance. During the second hour, I practice jumps and spins. I am working toward bigger, more powerful single jumps with a tighter air position. Right now, I have no plans to return to axel or double jump training; although I may change my mind in the future depending on my testing progress.
A few years ago, my former coach, Geoff, taught me the toe walley jump. Supposedly, the toe walley is a toe assisted jump that takes off from a backward inside edge. In actual practice, it is indistinguishable from a toe loop, which takes off from a backward outside side edge. Skaters approach a toe walley from a forward outside three-turn then step to back inside edge on the opposite foot. Therein lies the difficulty of separating a toe walley from a toe loop. Whether the skater actually steps to a back inside or not, s/he is almost always on a back outside by the time of take-off. The only differentiating characteristic is the preparatory forward outside three-turn. Technically, a different set of preparatory steps does not constitute a completely different jump. For competitive purposes, a toe walley equals a toe loop.
What I am doing is a toe loop from a forward outside three-turn with a step to back outside edge on the other foot. Elite male skaters use this method to enter their quadruple toe loop jumps. The combination of steps leading into the jump allows an uninterrupted flow that maintains speed over the ice. It also promotes a strong reach back with the assisting toe for the vault. I like this jump and have returned it to my training parade. In addition to the toe walley/loop, I want to improve all of my other jumps and string together combinations with smooth transitions between the individual jumps and good run-out on the exit edge.
In the spinning department, I have focused on regaining more advanced skills such as flying camels into illusions, Hamill camels, inverted and layover back camels, various interesting combinations, back sit variations, sit-back sit combination, etc. This is my area of strength and I want it to be as strong as possible.
I have also been forcing myself to complete counterclockwise (CCW) turns. I have no problem with CCW turns on my left foot, but become nervous when faced with them on my right, since I broke my right ankle doing a right backward outside three-turn (which rotates CCW). I finally convinced myself to try one. It was probably the smallest, saddest, most insecure right backward outside three-turn on record. Before attempting it, I had to experiment with them on two feet, just experiencing the motion in a safe context. I also practiced right forward inside three-turns (which rotate CCW). These exercises helped to prepare me for what I dreaded most, trying the skill that resulting in a bone-breaking fall. Ultimately, the fall amounted to an unfortunate trip. I had done these turns successfully for many years. It just was not my lucky day. Realizing I cannot avoid right backward outside three-turns forever, especially if I want to pass moves in the field tests, I need to get over my paranoia. Easier said than done. In fact, completing that miserable little turn represented a bigger triumph than some of the awesome spin combinations I am rediscovering.
Week of October 28, 2007
Several events in the past few weeks have caused me to wonder if Elite Arena should be renamed “Insane Arena”. First Marilyn, the skating director, promised me the moon made of green cheese when she first interviewed me. So far, she has delivered diddly squat. I cut her some slack in this area because she is new and may have had the best intentions but spoke out of turn. However, I now I question whether she was merely stringing me along for whenever she might need a warm body wearing a pair of custom ice skates. Next, Marilyn rebuked me for allowing a student to perform a "forbidden" element after a group lesson.
Last week, she took markers away from my students in full view of everyone. I calmly told her the kids were setting distance goals for themselves to improve their gliding skills. The rink has no rule about writing on the ice. She was concerned that the kids were not moving enough and the parents would complain. She could have discussed this with me privately rather than undermining my authority in front of my students, their parents and anyone else in the rink. Intentional or not, she made me look incompetent. What kind of manager wants her staff to look like a bunch of idiots? That does not reflect well on anyone or the facility itself. I heard through the grapevine that another new pro at Elite also feels like she is being constantly watched and humiliatingly corrected while teaching. Everyone can benefit from constructive input, but it must be given in a constructive manner. Making an instructor look like a jackass is not constructive and breeds hard feelings.
Originally Marilyn promised me group lessons on three days as well as referrals for privates. I have begun to suspect that Marilyn hordes all of the call-ins and walk-ins for herself. I cannot necessarily blame her for this. Private lessons are lucrative. Every coach wants to cultivate more private students. Whenever I have seen Marilyn, she is teaching. She has no downtime. Apparently she cannot delegate. Maybe she needs the money. However, her staff will not remain satisfied if they realize she is not fairly distributing referrals. An adult skater who was a group coach decades ago and left the business due to changing life demands caught on to Marilyn’s tendency to hog new students. According to this person, she horned in on a college physical education class that was taught by a pro who had to give up the class due to illness. The original instructor recommended someone else to take over, but Marilyn grabbed the situation for herself. Of course, this information was at least third hand by the time it reached my ear. The same adult skater told me “That’s Marilyn” and warned me to kiss her butt and not cross her. Probably good advice.
Marilyn has not come through with the plethora or group classes I should have been assigned. She told me enrollment has been low, which is consistent with what I have gleaned from skating directors all over the area. Okay, I can excuse her on that count. What she has given me might barely be a step above “Piss off, we don’t need you at all.” She threw me one half-hour class in the middle of a weekday. I drive for a half-hour each way to teach for a half-hour. I feel like a starving artist or struggling actor willing to jump through my asshole for a scrap of opportunity. No, I don’t expect to start at the top. Coaching is a tough business. New pros have to build reputations and clientele. It takes time; that is the general consensus I have gathered from every other coach with whom I have discussed this topic. However, it would be nice if Marilyn could toss me a private to make my trip worthwhile. To make matters worse, it is a tiny tots class. How likely am I to recruit privates from a tots group?
I should be able to combine trips by skating for myself before the lesson. Great idea. I asked Marilyn if I could come in early and practice my own skills. She said if I want to skate, I have to pay. This is not what she said during the interview. After weeks of standing on principle, I finally bit the bullet and paid for the public session. Although my feet were frozen after the tots left the ice, I decided to skate a while longer. While working on back camel-back sit spin combinations, I woman I had never seen before began signaling frantically toward me. Maybe she wanted me to teach her kid. Maybe the building was on fire. She bawled me out for doing a freestyle move on a public session. She was nearly hysterical. I assume she was a manager. She looked even more harried than Marilyn. She looked absolutely demented. If I had completed another rotation, she probably would have had an aneurysm. “There are little kids on the ice! They don’t know how to get out of your way! This is a session for the public to come out and skate! You belong on freestyle!” Maybe I should have been flattered, but she was not being kind. She was covering the rink’s ass in case of an accident while rudely promoting their expensive freestyles.
Performing freestyle elements on a public session can be controversial and various policies exist. However, I have been skating at Elite for a long time, and no one ever approached me before. The session was not crowded, and I was nowhere near the couple of children who were on the ice. Is it any safer for me to skate a freestyle with people landing triples? I did not give this place the pseudonym “Elite Arena” for nothing. They do not have a low or intermediate freestyle, and freestyle costs three times as much as public ice. Thankfully, I have other options.
From now on, I will practice elsewhere and only come to Elite to teach. If I get coaching offers from other facilities, I will take them over Elite. An important part of any career is finding a place where you fit and feel appreciated. This is also true of coaching ice skating. Maybe “Insane Arena” is just not the place for me.
The content of this site is copyright by K. J. N., 1999 - 2007
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