How long did it take you to get "good"? (Adult skaters especially)

[JessicaLynn]

Hi everyone, I was just curious to know how long it took you as a skater to consider yourself "skilled". This question can have different interpretations, but I guess I want to know when you actually sat back and thought about your skating and said, "wow, look at what I can do on the ice. I am pretty good".

I ask this question because I have been skating in lessons since February and I have learned tons, but I still can't do much. I wonder to myself when I see other skaters, "Will I EVER do that?" I just don't know how long these things take. Obviously, the more time you spend on the ice, the better you will be. I currently skate 5 hours a week, 1 hour in lessons and 4 on my own. (I think I need a private coach!)

So, just curious at everyone's progressions. Thanks :)

Oh BTW I am 21 and am in ISI Freestyle 1 group lessons.

[skaternum]

Well, the thing about skating is that you never feel "good" or "skilled." :D The good news is, you'll eventually be able to do skills that you swore you'd never be able to do!

But I can tell you it took me almost 2 years before I had enough "tricks" to be able to put together a freeskating program for USFSA. And even that was pretty slim on content. BTW, I started skating at age 30. I felt like a Real Skater when I got my first private coach, about 9 months after I started skate school.

[AstarZ41]

I don't know, I always feel like I'm still a beginner because there's always someone there who is a better skater. I think everyone defines being a real skater differently. I kinda felt like I was "one of them" when we had the spring ice show at my rink. Others feel the axel is the real turning point. I'm nowhere near a clean axel, but I can do 2-footed inside axel (yeah! lol tried them for the first time today) ;) When I first started skating I always thought anyone who could do backward crossovers was sooo good :lol: but now when I go skating with my friends for fun I don't really feel like I'm so much better.

[CanAmSk8ter]

No matter how many tests I pass, I always think I'll be "good" when I pass one more! This has gone on since I was just starting at a club without much of a dance program- I was convinced when I got my Preliminary I'd be up there with the good skaters. Once I passed my Prelim I realized how much harder the dances the other girls were doing were (Bronzes) and I thought once I passed my Pre-Bronze I'd be really good. Then I went to another club, one where I regularly skated with girls on their Pre-Silvers, and thought those dances looked hard, once I was up to there I'd be good. Then at test sessions I'd see my coach testing Silvers with his older girls... you get the picture. For the record, I'm on my last Silver and I still don't think I'm very good! But now, I'm skating with a lot of the top dancers in the country so I suppose compared to them I'm actually not very good. Maybe when I finish my Pre-Gold :)

[flo]

Hi,
I started edge classes after 6 months, and competing after a year. I felt I was progressing well, and comfortable competing and performing at my level. The sign that I was really getting somewhere was when I looked at photos of my skating, I could actually recognize what I was doing!
Have fun.

[Mel On Ice]

I think my first competition was the first major hurdle towards thinking I was competent. Being able to critique myself after watching a performance on tape was another - I noticed a difference in my skating after reviewing a performance on tape and noticing flaws or things I did well. Whether I'm good or not is up for debate 8O

[MQSeries]

After seeing myself on videotape once, I vowed to never ever let myself believe that I'm "good" again.

There are some tricks that I can do consistently like 2sals and axels that probably impress the non-skaters, but I will never fool myself into believing that my skating is comparable to the talented kids and elite skaters. I won't even call myself a "skater", because that can mean anything from just being able to move around the rink to being an elite skater.

[flippet]

After seeing myself on videotape once, I vowed to never ever let myself believe that I'm "good" again.Ooh. I hear you.

I'd been skating for probably 6 months to a year before I felt 'good', and probably another year before I felt 'good'....but this is all qualified by not watching tapes. That could put me right back down to 'I really kind of suck, don't I' territory. I started lessons at 24.

It all depends a lot on who you're skating with on a day-to-day basis. I generally only skated with public-skaters, other adult skaters, and a few beginning kids. Compared to them, I had much better flow, and perhaps a couple more tricks, or ones that had better appearance. But--put me on the ice with the club skaters, and I felt like the adult 'cripple' out there, even though I was reasonably decent by other standards. My adult buddies would tell me that I was fabulous, but it was simply by comparison to themselves. (And they weren't as shabby as they claimed. :) )

To put it into level terms, I felt like there might be something to this skating thing around the Delta/FS1 level, and by FS3, I felt a lot more like a 'real skater'. (Unfortunately, I've not skated in over two years, so I've regressed right back to 'I really kind of suck'. :( )

Edited to say, Jessica, you sound like you're progressing pretty well, about like I was. I had about the same skating schedule for a while, and zipped through the early levels quickly too. FS1 after 6 months is really pretty decent, as long as you've been passed properly, and not on a 'sympathy vote' --most coaches are good about this, but some think that adults are just in it for 'fun' anyway, and don't want a student to be disappointed by not passing.

Private lessons would be a good thing for you at this point, if you can swing them. (I never could, thus the regression.) If you're progressing that quickly, you probably have some talent for this, and getting the most out of every minute of your lessons can only help.

[Figureskates]

I have been skating for 6 years. Do I consider myself "good"? No. Will I ever consider myself "good". Probably not. However I can say "not bad for a 58 year-old!"

[Lurking Skater]

I don't think I'll ever be "good" in my mind. I'm nowhere near the level of people that I consider good, even though I've had people watch me skate and tell me I'm good. Not thinking that I'm good motivates me to become better. :D

[icedancer2]

This is a fun thread. I don't feel that qualified to answer because I am an adult skater who skated as a kid, although I was never "good"--

What I tell people (non-skaters) who ask me if I am a good skater: I tell them that if they were to go to a public session and see all the skaters out there, and they notice me out there , they would say, "That lady knows what she is doing" --

But that's about it, I'm afraid. It really depends who you are comparing yourself to I guess, as others have said.

[JessicaLynn]

Wow, lots of fun replies :) Thanks!

I must say after my 6 months of skating and learning, I am ADDICTED to this. I have always wanted lessons as a child and I'm finally here, and I want to learn it all.

Flippet, thanks, and as far as I know, I was passed fairly. (Maybe if I saw my self on video I'd feel differently ;) ) So far, I really seem to get the edgework and stroking. I would say right now that is my strength. Jumps (just the half ones so far) are fine, but in my book they could be higher and entered with more speed, like the waltz. My current weakness...SPINS!! I finally managed to get the two-foot spin somewhat consistant, but it took so long! And still, it can be hit or miss. I am scared to start the one-foot spin...

Speaking of video, it sounds like a good idea. Maybe I should have someone come in and tape me skating. It would probably help a lot!

[NCSkater02]

To borrow quotes:

On a public, I'm good. On a FreeStyle, I'm the adult cripple and usually the oldest. I started from 50+ pounds overweight, and very sedentary. I've made lots of progress--I've worked on all the jumps except loop and axel (all half at this point) have a basic--but not scratch--spin, and best of all, have lost 30+ pounds. And I have nice legs. It took six months before I was even comfortable doing more than laps. I'm up to just over 2 1/2 years, and don't really consider myself "GOOD" yet. But I am making progress everytime I step on the ice.

[Kelli]

And then once you think you get good, you become a novice!

I know this question has been posed before, but can anyone explain the origins of the test level structure (USFSA)?

In general, I agree with what's been said on this thread. As you improve, the bar keeps rising.

[Chico]

This is a good thread. =-) Like mentioned, I would look "good" on a public session. I even had someone ask me WHO I was once in this context. (This was good for a laugh. I'm so stupid that I didn't get it for a minute. I kept telling her my name and she kept asking WHO I was. Finally reality struck. What a hoot.) I am good enough to hang in there with the high end kids at my rink. However, I would say I fit into the lower end of this group on most skills. Saying that, I feel proud that I can hold up my end here. Whenever I have a "I'm doing wel"l spell it's usually followed by a "reality check spell." =-) Skating is made up of ups and downs. There is ALWAYS something to improve or something harder to learn. Everyone has their talents and weaknesses and we just trudge along having fun and trying. It's a process, what once was hard becomes easier and you learn something new that's hard. Everyone starts as a beginner, how far you go is up to you. Enjoy the journey. As for being a GOOD skater, I am beause I love it so much. Bet you are too!
Chico

[icedancer2]

I know this question has been posed before, but can anyone explain the origins of the test level structure (USFSA)?



Kelli -- can you explain more what you mean by this question? I think some of us can give at least a limited historical perspective, but it might take some explaining!

so, specifically which test structure are you getting at?

There are lots of levels.

[vesperholly]

I am always very hard on myself, so I never really feel good enough. Plus for modesty's sake, and "good" can mean different things in the company of a learn to skater vs Michelle Kwan. But at least for today, when I landed a clean axel and had some excellent double sal attempts in a lesson (highly important), I can say I was pretty good! :)

[TashaKat]

I am always very hard on myself, so I never really feel good enough

Me too!

When I started out I thought that it was 'good' to skate backwards. Once I could skate backwards I thought that it was 'good' to jump. Once I could jump I thought it was 'good' to spin. Ok, so I'm not good ;)

Even though I reached a 'reasonable' level for an adult in Free and Dance there was always lots more to learn. There will ALWAYS be lots more to learn even for the elite. That's why I love skating because there's always a way forward.

I think that the defining moment for me when I knew that I was no longer BAD was when I could step onto the ice without thinking and skate around with freedom. It's SUCH a good feeling to skate (backwards for me, I hate skating forwards) without the wobbles, feeling effortless and that you're actually gliding :)

Sigh ..... that's why I want to get back into it again :)

[jazzpants]

Hi everyone, I was just curious to know how long it took you as a skater to consider yourself "skilled". This question can have different interpretations, but I guess I want to know when you actually sat back and thought about your skating and said, "wow, look at what I can do on the ice. I am pretty good". I'll let you know when I get there!!! :P :lol:

Seriously, being "good" is a very relative term. I personally don't think I'm all that great on the ice. My coaches always think I could do better. (They're paid to say that!) :P OTOH, some little kid at a public session may ask if I was "someone famous" or compete in the Olympics. :P And I got a wonderful compliment from another fellow skater on the newsgroup that recently visited "my neck of the woods."

[Mrs Redboots]

After nine years, I'm still hopeless and Robert isn't much better. But it's fun, it's good exercise, and one day we'll surprise ourselves by not coming last in a competition (we very nearly didn't at Bracknell).

[skaternum]

Speaking of being accused of being some famous skater ... For background, I have long dark brown hair that I sometimes wear in a bun. Anyway, about 4 or 5 years ago, I was having a freestyle lesson during a normally uncrowded public session. This day there were a few kids there on a school field trip. While I was off doing something in the center so my coach could watch from the side, I looked over at him and he was laughing so hard I thought he was going to fall over! This is a curmudgeonly old man who was usually very serious during lessons. He couldn't talk for the longest time, but when he finally could, he told me he'd overheard a gaggle of little girls having a very heated debated over whether I was Nancy Kerrigan! :lol: Just cracked us both up!

[batikat]

Like most people here I'd agree that 'good' is a very relative term in skating. I've been skating for nigh on 5 years on and off and would still class myself as a beginner even though I have won medals 'at my level' and 'in my age group'. Winning medals made me feel good but didnt' make me a good skater! Starting as an adult (37 when I began lessons), no matter how long I skate I'll never be 'good' in any sense against the competitive kids but I do now get a certain amount of satisfaction in watching the kids just off the basic 'learn to skate' course and realising that I am actually better than them, even though I know they'll soon overtake me in skills.

It is also an ego boost to skate a public session and have kids come up to you and tell you that you're good!!! Even better when they ask if you are a coach :lol:

One of the milestones I remember is the day my coach commented that I no longer skated as if the boots were an alien thing on the end of my feet but that I looked as if they felt quite like a natural extension.

[Figureskates]

I should hasten to add that I must be "good" enough so that my 12 year-old niece doesn't feel embarrassed to have her uncle skating with her in the same sessions!!

[Isk8NYC]

I started at 19, so I think I understand where you're coming from with your question. For the first two years, I skated about 6 hours/week on a frigid outdoor rink during the winter season only. Took a half-hour semi-private lesson every week during the season.

Then I began to skate, year-round, at an indoor rink. With a half-hour lesson each week, and many hours (6 to 12 hrs/week) of practice, I become "good" within two years. If you're keeping count, I was taking lessons for four years, and I was 23 at the time. I competed Freestyle 1, then skipped to 4 and 5. I could do flying camels and jump sits. I was working on Freestyle 6 and my double jumps when I stopped skating.

I must add that those practice hours were sort of lessons in themselves. I was part of a wonderful group of skating friends. We watched and critiqued each other, taught each other new things, and really encouraged everyone. A male friend, who was an oddball, worked on laybacks with me for hours! That support and learning environment was fantastic.

[Isk8NYC]

The "Mistaken Identity" posts made me remember something. When I had just nailed the axel, I was skating at a two-rink facility. The Freestyle session was on Rink 1, and a General was on Rink 2. A friend of mine grabbed me off the Freestyle and said, "You've got to come with me. I have someone I want you to meet." I went with her to Rink 2 and met a very nice woman who looked very much like me! Same nose, coloring, hair. After we were introduced, the woman said "Oh, so you're the reason all these people are so rude to me?" I was stunned and didn't know what to say. She told me that people were walking up to her and asking if she had had an accident. She was just starting to skate and I had been around for a while. People were thinking that she was me, and that I had lost my skating skills.

This went on for years, and she was very good-natured about it. Even when competition directors challenged her entries in Freestyle 1 and 2. (I was skating 4 and 5) She even had a t-shirt made that said: "I'm not (Isk8NYC)"

I'm sure she's a better skater than I am today. Never stop skating! It's really hard to get back into it without a lot of work.

[phillyskater]

For me, "good" and "not good" are daily things. For example, yesterday I did my first really solid flying camel/back scratch. I thought, "hey, maybe Silver Freestyle isn't too far away for me." :)

Last month, however, when I landed a flying face-plant at full speed (while only doing forward crossovers around the end of the rink I must add) and blacked out for a few seconds in front of a rink full of skaters, I thought, "I am REEEEEEALLY bad at this....." Not only was my chin bruised big-time, but so was the old ego. :cry:

So keep at it -- and I hope you all feel "good" today.

philly

[flippet]

ISk8NYC, that's really funny! Nice that the other woman took it well. :)



Wow, lots of fun replies :) Thanks!

I must say after my 6 months of skating and learning, I am ADDICTED to this. I have always wanted lessons as a child and I'm finally here, and I want to learn it all.

Flippet, thanks, and as far as I know, I was passed fairly. (Maybe if I saw my self on video I'd feel differently ;) ) So far, I really seem to get the edgework and stroking. I would say right now that is my strength. Jumps (just the half ones so far) are fine, but in my book they could be higher and entered with more speed, like the waltz. My current weakness...SPINS!! I finally managed to get the two-foot spin somewhat consistant, but it took so long! And still, it can be hit or miss. I am scared to start the one-foot spin...

Speaking of video, it sounds like a good idea. Maybe I should have someone come in and tape me skating. It would probably help a lot!
Yep, this sounds very much like me when I started. I was finally taking lessons, and NO ONE was going to stop me! :lol: I would have lived at the rink if I could have--in fact, I generally spent most of my free time between classes there, watching whatever was going on--kids lessons, synchro team, hockey, whatever. I'd even just do homework in the stands when the place was empty, smelling the ice. :)

Spins were/are my nemesis, too. It took me forever to get the two-foot centered, and even longer to get an even half-way decent one-foot spin. I finally got it to the point where I could say I could 'do' a one-foot spin (even if they weren't very pretty), and do it well enough that I could take time to think about breaking it down to improve various parts....after nearly 4 years of skating. I was trying to start the backspin, but that sucker is really difficult...even more so for someone who is a jumper, not a spinner.

Video can be really helpful, but you've got to steel yourself for it. The first time you see yourself on video, I guarantee that you won't recognize yourself...because you can't imagine who that gawky, awkward, bobbling person is out there---you're so graceful, after all! :lol: But if you can take the disappointment, actually seeing that dropped shoulder or bent leg can help you make loads of improvements, especially if you're a visual learner, like I am.

[icenut84]

For me, "good" and "not good" are daily things.

Me too. Unfortunately, when I skate on the same sessions as skaters who are much higher levels than me (which is usually), it makes me feel Not Good. I actually feel really stupid trying (and usually failing) to do a centred one-foot spin when some other skater is doing a flying camel or a layback or a scratch spin. You get the drift. I tend to feel very inadequate, although I know I shouldn't. But I'm more likely to feel Good if I'm having a good skate day, and if I'm not at the lowest end of the scale when it comes to what each skater can do.

[flo]

Icenut,
I like skating with higher level skaters - I see that they fall too, and then get up. Also, I see that they too have off days. On one session a jr or sr lady was having a terrible time with a back spin. On days when I'm with skaters below my level, they tell me it's good to see a "higher" level skater fall, and get up......

[mikawendy]

I started feeling better about my skating when I realized that I could "steer" better and I didn't feel so wigged out skating on freestyle ice with much faster skaters... and also when I started to be able to do certain elements that I never imagined I'd be able to do.

Once I got to the freestyle level lessons in USFSA (after about a year skating but less than 6 months' actual lesson time), I also enjoyed practicing much more. (I know it's important to work on basic skills, but before I knew crossovers, I found it a little boring to practice for a whole public session on the three or four things that I could do.)

I feel BEST on the ice when I'm taking edge class--there's a lot of space because we don't all skate at once, and I feel like I'm getting maximum push and stretch (which I don't always remember or concentrate on when I'm working on my own on freestyle elements).

(Caveat, as others have mentioned: I have not seen myself on video. I saw pictures of myself mid-spiral that my dad took and my leg was horribly NOT turned out. Other than that it was a funny pic because there's someone behind me and to my left, and it looks like she's going to eat my blade because of how the photo is taken, even though she's actually 7 feet away from me) :D

[skatingatty]

Speaking of being accused of being some famous skater ... For background, I have long dark brown hair that I sometimes wear in a bun. Anyway, about 4 or 5 years ago, I was having a freestyle lesson during a normally uncrowded public session. This day there were a few kids there on a school field trip. While I was off doing something in the center so my coach could watch from the side, I looked over at him and he was laughing so hard I thought he was going to fall over! This is a curmudgeonly old man who was usually very serious during lessons. He couldn't talk for the longest time, but when he finally could, he told me he'd overheard a gaggle of little girls having a very heated debated over whether I was Nancy Kerrigan! :lol: Just cracked us both up!

Nancy Kerrigan?! No way! You should've then told your coach, "That's the corniest chreography I've ever done!" or cried, "Why?! Why?!" :lol: A couple of times kids or their moms have said stuff like, "She looks like Kristi Yamaguchi!" I guess I look more like her than Michelle Kwan, but that won't keep me from ripping off "Fields of Gold." Yep, anytime I think I'm a "good skater," all it takes is watching a video of my skating to realize how much more I gotta work on.

[Figureskates]

The first time I ever saw a video of me skating I thought I looked like some poor old man who had had a hard night down at Murphy's and was shuffling home to sleep it off. Hans Brinker I ain't!! I had a dark green hooded sweatshirt on and I looked like some kind of very demented Praying Mantis.

I haven't had the courage (or enough to drink that matter) to view another video of myself.

[NCSkater02]

I'm always amazed to see--on video or picture--how big those last 20 pounds I'm still working on losing look. :oops:

[JessicaLynn]

Yep, this sounds very much like me when I started. I was finally taking lessons, and NO ONE was going to stop me! :lol: I would have lived at the rink if I could have--in fact, I generally spent most of my free time between classes there, watching whatever was going on--kids lessons, synchro team, hockey, whatever. I'd even just do homework in the stands when the place was empty, smelling the ice. :)



Ok we ARE alike. I have done this too many times... :oops: I will be coming home from work which is close to the rink, so I will stop by and watch, and stay there and the next thing I know, too much time has passed... But I love watching skating, expecially for free. Thank goodness Skate Detroit is next weekend!! 8-)

I hope I can get better at spins. Is the best way to improve just practice, practice, practice? Or is there some "secret"?

[Chico]

Yep, there is a secret..............PRACTICE. =-) You knew this was coming! Seriously, love it too. Love works miracles ya know. =-)

Chico

[RoaringSkates]

I agree that you will progress faster if you have private lessons. It doesn't mean that you have to give up the group classes if you like them! You'll just be able to take a bit to focus more on your own moves.

[flippet]

Ok we ARE alike. I have done this too many times... :oops: I will be coming home from work which is close to the rink, so I will stop by and watch, and stay there and the next thing I know, too much time has passed... But I love watching skating, expecially for free. Thank goodness Skate Detroit is next weekend!! 8-)

I hope I can get better at spins. Is the best way to improve just practice, practice, practice? Or is there some "secret"?
Are you in Michigan, then? Maybe we'll have to get together sometime, at some event or other--I'm in the southwest corner of the state--but skated in Kalamazoo. A one-year-old to chase after keeps me from doing much skating myself at the moment, but oh, how I miss it! :cry:

I wish there were some snap-your-fingers secret to spinning, but really, it's just practice till your feet fall off. ;)

Actually though, what really helps is having someone to watch you, and give you tips tailored to what you're doing. It's not good to practice away, if you're practicing wrong. Video can help, too. And not just video of yourself, but you can study tape of the elites to catch something that maybe you hadn't thought to do. When I was learning, I had help from another skating adult, far more advanced than me, who took the time to help me get the idea of holding my free leg back for as long as possible, right up to the 'snap'. That helped a lot, along with the idea of a 'string' tying my free wrist and ankle together, so that neither one could come around without the other. That helped me make massive improvements. If you can find a practice buddy with a good eye (and a good coach), that can make loads of difference.

[phillyskater]

I had a dark green hooded sweatshirt on and I looked like some kind of very demented Praying Mantis.


Okay, THAT just made me laugh out loud at my desk. Thanks, Figureskates! (And I'm sure you're not as bad as you say...)

philly

[Terri C]

A couple of times kids or their moms have said stuff like, "She looks like Kristi Yamaguchi!" .


And WHO lives in the Raleigh area??? :lol:

[NCSkater02]

And WHO lives in the Raleigh area??? :lol:

Me!! :lol: And that other Kristi. She skates better than me. And is very nice. And I cannot skate if we are at the same rink because all I do is watch her.

[JessicaLynn]

Are you in Michigan, then? Maybe we'll have to get together sometime, at some event or other--I'm in the southwest corner of the state--but skated in Kalamazoo. A one-year-old to chase after keeps me from doing much skating myself at the moment, but oh, how I miss it! :cry:



Yes, I live in the Metro-Detroit Area and I skate at the St.Clair Shores Rink. I love going to events that are in proximity to where I live. Let me know if there are ever events you are going to and maybe we can meet up!

[Mel On Ice]

Yes, I live in the Metro-Detroit Area and I skate at the St.Clair Shores Rink. I love going to events that are in proximity to where I live. Let me know if there are ever events you are going to and maybe we can meet up!

My sister lives about 5 minutes from St. Clair Shores rink, over by the Straw Flower Haus. I'm coming back to MI in a month to be her slave the week before her wedding, and am planning on packing my skates (along with a dog, a set of gold clubs, a bridesmaid dress, a tux, and probably a Polish-sized-wedding-headache). Maybe we can skate together once or twice.

[JessicaLynn]

My sister lives about 5 minutes from St. Clair Shores rink, over by the Straw Flower Haus. I'm coming back to MI in a month to be her slave the week before her wedding, and am planning on packing my skates (along with a dog, a set of gold clubs, a bridesmaid dress, a tux, and probably a Polish-sized-wedding-headache). Maybe we can skate together once or twice.

That would be fun! :) Do you skate a lot or competively, and if so what level are you in? Where is your usual rink located?

[skatingatty]

Me!! :lol: And that other Kristi. She skates better than me. And is very nice. And I cannot skate if we are at the same rink because all I do is watch her.

Hi NCSkater02 and TerriC- Most of the times that people thought I was Kristi (or looked like her) was when I was living in San Francisco. This one little girl at a public session at the Oakland skating rink insisted on getting my autograph even when I told her I wasn't anyone famous. There was an older man coaching at Berkeley Iceland (can't remember his name-- Monty??) who liked to call me "Miss Yamaguchi." I've hoped to see Kristi Yamaguchi at the Reczone but never have, though my coach and a friend have seen her skating there during the daytime on a public session. I assume now that it's summer, she's back out west in CA or NV.

[Mel On Ice]

That would be fun! :) Do you skate a lot or competively, and if so what level are you in? Where is your usual rink located?

SPFSA - St. Peters, MO

I'm an adult bronze skater. I compete, but competive remains to be seen. 8O

[kayskate]

"Good" is a relative term. Since I skated recreationally on wheels as a kid, I could do the basics when I started on ice at age 25. Some people thought I was "good" b/c I could do back xovers and spirals. On a public session, I was "good" then.

The big question is: "what does 'good' mean to you as an individual?"

At my initial stage, "good" meant a 1-foot spin. I got that w/in a few months (I could do it on rollers as a teen). Then "good" meant something else (another spin, maybe a sit). Then I got that w/in a few more months. Ultimately it meant an axel. I got close, maybe about 75% lightly cheated success. I did pretty well w/ the 2sal also. However, about 3 yrs ago, I abandoned the quest due to the severity of the falls and took up dance. At that point, "good" meant fast flowing edges and turns. That pursuit is eternal.

I am a genuinely "good" spinner. It took years to achieve strong fast spins and combos in many positions. The process continues after 13 yrs of skating. However, I had a truly "good" scratch (blurred) w/in 4 yrs.

After you ask yourself what is "good", dwell on the more important aspect of adult skating: "better". Better happens daily or weekly. It can happen in an instant.

This is my adult skating "Olympic" mantra:
"Faster, Higher, Stronger...
than last week."

Kay

[ClevelandDancer]

I agree with pretty much everyone, "good" is a very relative thing. I started skating 10 years ago at age 24. If my 24yo self saw my 34yo self skating, she'd say "wow, she's so good!". My 34yo self would disagree.

A non-figure skating fanatic could see me on a public session and think I totally rocked; I've had people come up to me after these sessions and tell me how good I was, ask questions about what I was training for, if I was a coach, etc. That said, I'm sure the same non-fanatic watching me on a regular session with "the good kids" would say "why is that old lady out there?", *LOL*.

Look at me talking like I've actually stepped on the ice in the past year. ;) All comments about "how good I am" really apply to "how good I was" before I got pregnant last September. I'll get back out there some day!