To coaches: Is this normal?

[sk8mom2001]

My little one loves skating. She is also very talented. She learned single loop and lutz with one lesson and axle in less than 2 months before she turned 8. She is 10 now, suddenly it seemed that she stopped progressing. Guess it's unfair to say that she stopped progressing, but it takes her forever to land a clean double toe and double loop. She landed her first double toe one and half year ago, but it's not getting much better. She is so frustrated and me too. What can I do/say to help/support her? She changed coach a year ago because of family relocation. Is it time to ask for another coach's help?

Thank you for any input!

[sk8ryellow]

My little one loves skating. She is also very talented. She learned single loop and lutz with one lesson and axle in less than 2 months before she turned 8. She is 10 now, suddenly it seemed that she stopped progressing. Guess it's unfair to say that she stopped progressing, but it takes her forever to land a clean double toe and double loop. She landed her first double toe one and half year ago, but it's not getting much better. She is so frustrated and me too. What can I do/say to help/support her? She changed coach a year ago because of family relocation. Is it time to ask for another coach's help?

Thank you for any input!

Your daughter might be expierancing a growth spurt or she might have "run out" of talent. Talent can go to a certain extent but at one point you are going to have to start really working for your jumps.

[CoachPA]

My little one loves skating. She is also very talented. She learned single loop and lutz with one lesson and axle in less than 2 months before she turned 8. She is 10 now, suddenly it seemed that she stopped progressing.

This is common as every skater hits plateaus in this sport. Some plateaus may last a few weeks whereas some will last a few months or longer.

Guess it's unfair to say that she stopped progressing, but it takes her forever to land a clean double toe and double loop. She landed her first double toe one and half year ago, but it's not getting much better.

She may have developed bad habits since first landing the jump that are preventing her from fully mastering the jump. With axels and doubles, this isn't uncommon.

Also, don't forget that there's a lot of mental issues that play into skating. Has she suffered a bad fall or sustained an injury related to these jumps?

Growth spurts and weight changes can affect the consistency of skills as well, so she may just need to adjust to her new body if that's the case.

She is so frustrated and me too. What can I do/say to help/support her? She changed coach a year ago because of family relocation. Is it time to ask for another coach's help?

Have you talked to her coach about this? What does he/she think may be causing your daughter's inconsistency? See what your coach suggests then go from there.

I wouldn't necessarily go adding a second coach right away, especially if you and your daughter seem happy with your current coaching relationship. Maybe introducing another discipline, such as dance or synchro, is a possibility?

[Mrs Redboots]

What is her basic skating like? You say she landed her lutz and her axel very quickly - has she taken time either then, or since, to develop her basic skating skills? If not, that might be what is letting her down now.

Maybe you could add some ice dance into the mix - nothing better for teaching really good basics!

[dbny]

What is her basic skating like? You say she landed her lutz and her axel very quickly - has she taken time either then, or since, to develop her basic skating skills? If not, that might be what is letting her down now.

This was exactly my younger DD's problem. I wasn't fixed until she was forced to work on moves exclusively, due to a knee problem.

[CoachPA]

What is her basic skating like? You say she landed her lutz and her axel very quickly - has she taken time either then, or since, to develop her basic skating skills? If not, that might be what is letting her down now.

You'd be surprised at how many kids at my rink can land an axel but have some of the most poorly executed crossovers I've seen.

When a child is showing tremendous talent at a young age, there's often a push to get them to land their axel and doubles; however, a good coach will emphasize the importance of basic skating skills and continue to foster as the skater progresses. There are ways to go about continuing to develop a well-rounded skater without holding them back on the jumps, spins, etc.

[momof3chicks]

What is her basic skating like? You say she landed her lutz and her axel very quickly - has she taken time either then, or since, to develop her basic skating skills? If not, that might be what is letting her down now.

Maybe you could add some ice dance into the mix - nothing better for teaching really good basics!

My dd is working on this now. I think that is what is hurting her on consistency with her axel. She is 8. She now is working with another coach (in addition to her regular coach) on body position, awareness, alignment etc and I have already seen an improvement in the height and speed of her lutz (which she has been able to 'do' for a long time). Sometimes I think the progress is different - different than landing bigger jumps.

She is also growing very quickly which is a challenge too.

[momof3chicks]

You'd be surprised at how many kids at my rink can land an axel but have some of the most poorly executed crossovers I've seen.

When a child is showing tremendous talent at a young age, there's often a push to get them to land their axel and doubles; however, a good coach will emphasize the importance of basic skating skills and continue to foster as the skater progresses. There are ways to go about continuing to develop a well-rounded skater without holding them back on the jumps, spins, etc.

I should have just said I agree with you before my post below!

[twokidsskatemom]

I dont mean to sound harsh, but it might come off that way.Did someone tell you she had talent or was this just based on the jumps?I have alot seen alot of kids as well have axles but really bad basic skills.There is no corelation between how long to take to land any jump and the skills of a skater.And to top it off, there is a huge difference with landing an axle, and landing an uncheated high axle in a program.I have seen skaters including my own say, I landed my axle when in fact it WASNT. Close maybe but not full rotated and landing on toe.
Second, it does take a long time for all those jumps.Not including growth ect, it just takes a long time. Notice the fall off of skaters from maybe prelim to juv.I think coaches maybe sometime should tell skaters, so they just understand that better.There are always other things to work on ie moves, dances, spins, speed, footwork.
hth

[momof3chicks]

I dont mean to sound harsh, but it might come off that way.Did someone tell you she had talent or was this just based on the jumps?I have alot seen alot of kids as well have axles but really bad basic skills.There is no corelation between how long to take to land any jump and the skills of a skater.And to top it off, there is a huge difference with landing an axle, and landing an uncheated high axle in a program.I have seen skaters including my own say, I landed my axle when in fact it WASNT. Close maybe but not full rotated and landing on toe.
Second, it does take a long time for all those jumps.Not including growth ect, it just takes a long time. Notice the fall off of skaters from maybe prelim to juv.I think coaches maybe sometime should tell skaters, so they just understand that better.There are always other things to work on ie moves, dances, spins, speed, footwork.
hth


I would agree. My dd was always weak on her back spin (which is odd since she is an excellent forward spinner) and it is showing now in the more advanced moves - so she is working on it. She is only 8, so that is good news.

[dbny]

I can't blame my DD's coach. If DD had not been allowed to work on jumps, including the axel, she would have quit. Not only that, but she insisted on attempting axels and so her coach (and a second coach too) were pretty much forced to help her before she hurt herself. Ironically, she never did hurt herself skating, while her older, more cautious sister got 3 stitches in the chin on a failed waltz jump landing. No one ever told us she was talented. The word "athletic" was used.

[momof3chicks]

I can't blame my DD's coach. If DD had not been allowed to work on jumps, including the axel, she would have quit. Not only that, but she insisted on attempting axels and so her coach (and a second coach too) were pretty much forced to help her before she hurt herself. Ironically, she never did hurt herself skating, while her older, more cautious sister got 3 stitches in the chin on a failed waltz jump landing. No one ever told us she was talented. The word "athletic" was used.

My dd is athletic as well. At 8, she has muscle tone like a teenager who has been training for years. I feel like she would be good at most sports.

[twokidsskatemom]

I can't blame my DD's coach. If DD had not been allowed to work on jumps, including the axel, she would have quit. Not only that, but she insisted on attempting axels and so her coach (and a second coach too) were pretty much forced to help her before she hurt herself. Ironically, she never did hurt herself skating, while her older, more cautious sister got 3 stitches in the chin on a failed waltz jump landing. No one ever told us she was talented. The word "athletic" was used.

I wouldnt blame her coach either. I still think that coaches really should tell skaters, hey this jump takes a long time so work on that but lets work on this too.
I have seen skaters leave cause they cant get something in a few months and just give up. Its normal take a year or more for axles, its normal to have a jump and lose it, its normal to work on doubles for three years or more.

[sk8mom2001]

Sorry that I haven't had much time to write (admire all skating moms who have full-time jobs. I am still learning how to handle severe sleep-deprivation)

My DD just turned 10 and she hasn't had a growth spurt for a while. Her overall skating skills to me are pretty good. She works with another coach exclusively on moves once a week and is working on Novice moves. Her spins are very good too. She has beautiful camel/back camel, sit/back sit and layback. She is working on flying sit spin and outside back sit. I talked to her coach about her double toe and double loop and she said that DD lacked power and the jumps will become clean and consistent once she gets stronger physically. What puzzles me most is that it seems she only has problem with these 2 jumps (and she has been working mainly on these 2 jumps the past few months). She has very high and strong axels and double sals with good landings. Yesterday, she tried double flip for the first time and landed 4 out 5. Her coach said they were IJS clean!

I may have been very biased when I said she is talented:) But I have been approached by a few people who like to pay for her extra lessons ( she only did one lesson a week until 6 months ago). We didn't accept the offers because I have seen at least 3 girls who could do axel and double sal at age of 7 but too much training caused them to give up skating completely at 12/13. I hope she can skate for a long time, but after reading your comments, I think she may need more training time and work harder (she only skates 3 to 4 hours a week). Just keep my finger crossed that she won't have knee problem.

Thank you very much for your comments and suggestions!

[momsk8er]

Maybe some kind of cross training would be good for her. My dd, who is also learning her double toe and double flip, has really gotten stronger from ballet class. I think a yoga or pilates class would also give similar results.