Is she doing that standard entry into the lutz where the skater travels very fast backwards and can have a blind spot to skaters passing behind?

Perhaps it might be better if she worked out some fancy footwork into the lutz which gave her better sightlines? She could have a two or three different programmed entries and do them alternately. It would also make more flow through the jump itself.

A skater I admire remarked to me, that if something isn't working, then you need to work on the bit of skating immediately before it, because that is often where the problem lies.

She does work on the lutz with some footwork in the entrance. That seemed to work for a while but then that went bad too. Her coach gave her some new footwork into it last night and she landed 2 out of 3 and see did not pop. I really do believe it is totally mental. If he could just give her new footwork everytime she jumps it she might be ok but as soon as she gets comfortable with the footwork the pops happen again.

Edited at request of moderator ... I don't think this would be helpful.

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Cleveland Dancer

what is popping?

Popping is when a skater tries to do a multi-revolution jump, i.e., a double, triple or quad, but either fails to pull in to do the revolutions or opens up way too early and thus fails to do the revolutions. In either case, they usually end up landing a really funny looking single version of the lump. Most "popped" jumps do result in a landing rather than a fall.

It's pretty easy to recognise a popped jump vs. an intentional single. When popping, the skater is up in the air in a very open position (free leg and arms way out away from body) looking like they have a lot of time on their hands and no idea what to do with it. Popped jumps have a "lot of hang time" look to them.

For an intentional single, the skater would have all their limbs pulled in to the standard rotating position, they would just be rotating slowly.

Hope this helped!

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Cleveland Dancer

thanks for explaining, ClevelandDancer.

What a great explanation Clevland Dancer!

Daisy2,

When I pop jumps (and it's usually the lutz too) it's always because I'm thinking too much. Mostly comes from information overload, being told do this and this and this and then footwork into the lutz and this and then this. Four times and then you can go home. Or something to that effect! So my brain is in overload and I'm just not relaxed enough to pull off the jump and I pop it.

To overcome this, I try to do a lot of things I'm good at (unlike your daughter, the lutz is my hardest jump) first, skate around for a bit, lalalalala, relax, get comfortable and ta-da, the jump usually comes. I practice the footwork into it by itself a lot first and everything else before and after and the lutz alone a few times, then I do the whole lot together.

It does sound like it might be a mind set for your daughter, especially if it's just the one jump. Giving her new footwork everytime is not a good option, because it wouldn't necessarily work if she was working on a program. Does she usually get the jump in practice when the coach isn't there? I too believe a coaching change is in order.
Do keep us posted and good luck!

You say she's 11? I bet that nasty bug called puberty is setting in. And when it comes to visit it canlast for years! Seriously though, this is a problem that some skaters go through more than others. Is she a perfectionist? That personality trait seems to set a kid up for popping. If something isn't exactly right, they pop or, worse yet, circle endlessly.
But hold on, it will end when you least expect it! And then, get the most mileage out of the good times by taking tests. 'Cause if you wait, most kids lose interest before they test to senior. Too many kids with all that great potential quit because there's way too many other things to do, like get a driver's license, or a part-time job, or a boyfriend.
If the coach is hung up on results, make wure your daughter knows you are more interested in learning, and that you know progress may ne uneven for a while. Just be supportive.

Oh dear...you need to take a step back from this skating...you don't want to become one of those "skating moms" that skaters talk about to eachother. You need to let your daughter work out her own mental issues by herself or with her coach...don't take this offensively...it's just important that you don't butt in because there's really nothing you can do to help your daughter.