Question for parents of skaters

[KJD]

I have a quick question for anyone whose child skates competitively. Do you remember how long it took your child to learn their axel? My daughter is 7 and has just passed her pre-preliminary tests. She's a good little skater with solid single jumps and spins and has been working on her axel for 6 months off and on. She has been oh so close (maybe a quarter to an eighth turn short) for a while and all of a sudden in the last two weeks isn't even getting a full turn around. I have my axel and I can see some of her problems and I'm sure she and her coach will eventually sort it out, but there's a small worry bug in my brain wondering if she will ever get this thing. I do hear that some kids never do, so at what point do you start to worry. Any thoughts? Thanks.

[Elsy2]

As I recall, even though it might have taken about 3 months for her to land her first clean axels, it was more like a year for it to become consistent. It came and went, and even though she now has a very nice axel, it will sometimes get whonky even now and need an adjustment. I don't think it's unusual for this jump to take it's time.

I edited this to add that when her axel would go on vacation, it would be gone for several weeks. Another skatemom told me her daughter took over a year to get hers, and so I don't think it's unusual for it to take 6 months to a year.

As for when do you start worrying.....my question is when do you stop worrying?! Each and every time my daughter hits a roadblock on a jump I wonder if she'll ever get it, and she does, but sometimes it seems to take forever....I have to remember that this frustration has happened over and over and it will pass!

[Lee]

My daughter was 11 when she got hers...and yes, it took well over a year to 'get' it and become reasonably consistent. After the axel, it took another year to get a 2-sal and toe. Of course, that was several years ago when Canadian coaches (especially in rural areas) didn't push the jumps as they do now.

Jumps *do* take vacations -- brat daughter has had jumps take vacations all the time -- the loop, flip and lutz have all come and gone in the past several year (she's 18 now), and when they go, they are 'gone' -- for a few days to a few weeks. It's usually a very frustrating time for them, but it usually passes -- thank GOD! :)

[jasmine]

Is she doing off-ice training?
The kids I see who get the axel more quickly are usually those who are taking part in one or two off-ice training sessions per week, which include axel preparation. They usually get the axel off-ice first and move it on-ice.

[flo]

at what point do you start to worry. Any thoughts? Thanks.[/quote]

You don't worry. She'll pick up on that and get more anxious. Kids learn at different rates, and as you know we all have slumps and times when our skills decide to take a break. As a skater yourself you can give great support, as you have really "been there".

[tazsk8s]

[quote:aa87f38c60="KJD"]but there's a small worry bug in my brain wondering if she will ever get this thing. I do hear that some kids never do, so at what point do you start to worry. Any thoughts? Thanks.[/quote:aa87f38c60]

Boy, do I sympathize. I could have written your note right about this time last year. Taz Jr. (9 1/2 yrs. old last year) took a full *year* to land her first axel, and there were plenty of times I wondered if she'd ever get it, too. She hovered at the "oh so close" stage forever, or so it seemed.

The good news was, once she figured out how to land the thing, she basically "had" it for good. It's gone on vacation a couple of times, or it's gotten wonky while her coach has been tweaking it, but she could claim ownership of it almost immediately, in fact she did it in a competition only three weeks after she landed the first one.

Best I can suggest is that you not worry, period. If she's even remotely close to an axel, then she's already ahead of most of the 7 year old skaters I've ever known.

[db]

I don't remember how long my daughter took to land her first axel, but I concur with the other moms that it was iffy for a while after that. I also remember that I once figured out that she must have fallen at least 1,000 times before landing that first one.

[twinkle]

I think that at only 7, after 6 months, its definitely not worth worrying about. A lot of children take over a year to land an axel, and then several months after that to get it consistent.

It does worry me that you say she's been doing it 'on and off'.
Does this mean she goes for a few weeks without doing any?
If so, this is not the way to get it. It needs work every lesson before it will be there. I worked on mine 'on and off' for about 2 years, just 'having a go' if all my other jumps were good, and believe me, this is not the way to get it.

[KJD]

Thank you so much everyone for your replies. Twinkle, to answer your question, she started working on it around January, I think. She missed a bunch of weeks of skating in February because she had an abcess in her tonsils, and so the month or so after that, they didn't work on it because she had programs to do, other jumps and spins to get back, etc. So that's what I meant. They hadn't worked on it off-ice much either but are doing it more now in the summer as there is more time.

Our coach tends to set things like this that they are working on getting aside before competitions in order to focus on getting clean programs, etc.

[garyc254]

Also, don't forget about growth and physical development.

As a child grows, their feel for their balance is constantly changing, particularly if it's a growth spurt. This could definitely cause certain moves to take a short vacation.

No different for us adults if we gain or lose some weight. I noticed a distinct change in my balance point when I cracked my wrist and was skating in a forearm fiberglass cast. Not very heavy, but enough.