Skating to a program

In over 15 years of skating, I've never once wanted to wear a pretty outfit and put together a program. I love listening to music when I skate, but actually putting a program together and performing it in a venue is not “me.” I have lots of skating friends who love the idea of doing a program at the end of the season, or in preparation for a USFSA or ISI test, and I really admire them for their discipline and frankly, guts, in doing so. Maybe this is the season that I'll step out of my comfort zone and work with a coach to put together a nice program. In terms of music, I'm leaning towards Michael Buble's "Home" or a duet with Ray Charles and Michael McDonald called "Hey Girl" from Mr. Charles’ Genius Loves Company.

Recently, I chatted with Rockefeller Rink PSA Master instructor Rikki Samuels (a former two-time Middle Atlantic Senior Ladies Champion and a four-time national competitor) (see above) about putting together a program for the first time. She offered the following advice:

• Choose music you LOVE, not like. You will be listening to it hundreds of times.
• It’s important to make audience contact from all sides so use the entire rink in your program. Share every moment with the audience.
• The most difficult move should be done within the first third of the program.
• Allow breathing time to do moves that will allow you to relax before really using your strength for your “remember me” move at the end of the program.
• Hold the ending position with a smile and a satisfied expression. Never underestimate the audience emotion on your behalf. If you’re not satisfied, chances are they’re not satisfied and they won’t applaud.

By the way, this and other great insights are in Rikki's terrific instructional guide called Kids' Book Of Figure Skating: Skills, Strategies, And Techniques (although I think it’s a good book for adults too).

Spirals - a great overall strength workout

I like to practice spirals because it feels like an overall workout to me. When practiced correctly, it feels as though I'm in the gym working with weights and maybe doing a little pilates.  First the lower body - it goes without saying that controlling a spiral takes a great amount of muscle control with your legs.  I try and practice spirals slowly in order to maximize my control over the position.  In terms of the upper body, pulling my arms back feels as though I'm working out the triceps!  Try it next time - practice at least 10 spirals in a session, try and hold the position with the arms pulled really back, and you will feel the triceps the next day!  Below is a video of me practicing spirals at Rockefeller Rink.  This also helps me to warm up for the camel spin as the position is similar.  I was lucky to have the space that morning because it's nice not to have to look behind when I lift my free leg, but I also ask a friend to be a spotter just in case a skater does cross my way and I don't see them. As you will see, I try to keep the skating leg straight when I hit the position.  I'm also telling myself to arch arch arch and keep my chin up up up!

Rink etiquette

Almost 15 years ago, I was practicing three turns at Rockefeller Rink. At that time, I was learning basic skills and you could usually find me in a particular corner of the ice. At some point during the session, an old man skated by me and yelled out “Get out of there! You’re cutting the rink in half!” Huh? Me? I’m just here minding my own business!

What I’ve learned over the years is that it’s best not to plant yourself in one spot of the rink for the entire session, whether it’s a corner, the center, or anywhere else you call “home.” In addition to preventing others from utilizing the entire rink, it’s good to take a break from what you’re practicing and just skate around a few laps. It clears your mind of some of the frustration you may be feeling and after a few minutes of just skating around, go back to your practice corner.

Note that in freestyle sessions, there are rules on where certain moves can be done, i.e., spins and jumps are always done in certain areas of the ice. Also in freestyle sessions, the center is not coned off so it is especially important to be aware of your surroundings in order to avoid collisions.

Outside and inside edges - a love/hate relationship

“Practice your edges.”  Are you tired of hearing that repeatedly?  It wasn’t until recently that I realized I was guilty of saying it to my students several times at every lesson at Rockefeller Rink.  And it always arose out of their frustration that they couldn’t do a proper spin, or an inside spread eagle, or any move that they particularly wanted to do.  (Isn’t there always one move in skating that we have on our wish list?)

Now I take a slightly different approach to the “Practice your edges” speech.  I always explain why, for example, practicing forward outside edges is important.  Regardless of their level, I fast forward a few lessons, or maybe a few months of lessons, to explain that in order to have the proper entry to a spin, or to have a nice outside spread eagle, it’s important to be able to glide on deep outside edges.  And I demonstrate the “before” and “after” to illustrate the difference.  It’s been very eye-opening, particularly for my beginner adult students, and at some point, they say to me “I need to practice my edges.”

T-stop

It’s important to be able to stop when you want to. There are three basic stops in skating: the T-stop, the snowplow stop, and the hockey stop. T-stops are generally easier to learn, followed by the snowplow stop, then the hockey stop.

In a T-stop, begin with a forward one foot glide. Place the back leg behind the skating leg in a perpendicular position and begin putting pressure on the back leg to slow down. At the end of a T-stop, the feet form the letter T. Here is my friend Manny, part-time instructor at Rockefeller Rink, demonstrating the T-stop stop:

The hardest part of learning a T-stop is keeping that back leg firmly behind the front leg. It takes a lot of muscle control. I used to practice "T-drags" to get my back leg in the correct position. Over many practices, my back leg inched closer and closer to the front leg. Here's a demonstration of a T-drag.