....does anyone else's kid seem to completely regress, skating-wise, the first week or so of school? Taz Jr. started at the middle school this past Monday. Half a day on Monday, full days the rest of the week. First time where she has to juggle six different teachers and shuffling in and out of various classrooms. For the most part she managed fine, enjoyed most of her teachers (she describes one as a "snooze", but she'll survive, I think), ended up getting lunch with her marching band buddies, and had at least one reasonably friendly face in every one of her classes. I figure that adds up to a reasonably successful week at any middle school!

She had been skating morning all summer but is back to late afternoons, and UGGGHHH. Ouch. Just when I thought she was starting to get some speed and consistency...she's slow, scratchy, and the jumps have gone "kaput". You know it's bad when she's popping single axels! Only thing I can think of is it's the disruption in her schedule - she has always gotten out of sorts adjusting to any new routine. Maybe some tiredness too, though she's actually getting to sleep later than she did during the summer when she was skating mornings, and she has a good hour or so of "down time" right after school before we have to get to the rink.

I'm sure this will probably pass, so I'm not worried. I'm just curious if everyone else is watching this phenomenon, too.

Absolutely! By day two of school, daughter was positively pooped. I didn't watch her skating, but I could tell otherwise that she was not adjusted to the change in routine.

I'll agree on that one. My kids started this past wednesday and even though we had already shifted schedules to the afternoon the previous week because a lot of our area kids were back in school the 18th, my kid has been slow and sluggish and is falling on axels as well. We're in Houston for a competition this weekend and she looks like a turtle in a dress......

LOL, at least yours waited until school started! My kid figured out that it was the last week of summer vacation this week, and decided to get a head start on how it will be when school starts on Tuesday. I wish they wouldn't hold big competitions during back to school time--between preparing for school, preparing for a competition and submitting an entry for Regionals, this week has been a nightmare!