Found this endearing post by skate@Delaware in the archives:

“Wednesday night was one of those nights (lesson night)...But, I have a fantastic coach and she said "for every negative comment we should find 7 positive points to make" so here is what she said:

1. You were on time
2. You are clean
3. You smell nice
4. I like your earrings
5. Your glove bling matches your earrings...

...by that time we were both laughing, it was very funny! My skating was very much on the bottom rung that night!”

This post (and in the spirit supporting our fellow skaters who are preparing for ANs), gave me an idea for a new thread. Has your coach given you comments that “made your day”? By comments, I mean compliments, encouragement, useful critiques, funny jokes, sage advice, philosophy, skating stories, gossip about the old times, and etc. Alternatively, if you are a coach, has a student said anything similar?

My coach never says anything negative. Even if she's saying something negative, she finds a positive way to say it. For example last week in my lesson she had me do a waltz jump. I think I have a pretty good waltz jump, but I know I tend not to put enough effort into the landing position. Now, after I did that jump she could have said "you look like a limp noodle!" but instead she said "stretch! you've got all the flow in the world, but you need to sell it" how nice is that? She also told me last week that I'm "really springy" which made me happy even as she told me things to do to improve every jump.

A couple of years ago I did a local competition, which I normally don't do because I feel closed marking is a waste of time but my coach felt I needed "more competition experience".

Half way through my program I drew a total blank, completely forgot the rest of the choreography, not a clue! I knew the music so I ad libbed the rest of it.

When I came off the ice, my coach said it was great, that she had never seen me skate that program any better.

The head coach was looking over her shoulder and said "That's not the program you have been skating in practice!" I said I forgot the last half and was winging it. My coach's jaw hit the floor "You're right!!!" she remarked.

Apparently I didn't need any more "competition experience" LOL!

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

My coach doesn't really say anything negative. I'm much more critical of myself than he is. I'll go do something (jump/spin that we're working on or whatever I'm struggling with), usually I'm the one saying "I suck at this" and he's the one saying "no, you need to do X, Y and Z." Sometimes if I'm having a bad day with something we both know I can do well, hell tell me "that sucked, go do it again," but I don't really take that as negative. I know it was bad, too!

He does tease me because I tend to get confused sometimes and am more of a visual learner when it comes to skating (going off of that whole 7 intelligences theory, I'm probably weaker in the body/kinesthetic intelligence area!). His usual response is something along the lines of "how can someone so incredibly book smart be so dumb?" or "if this was written in a book in the library, you'd be able to do it." But my coach and I have a really good relationship, he's like a big brother, and we're always going back and forth making fun of each other like that. There are plenty of things I can give him crap about

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2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

My coach always tries to be positive - but when I show her a new skating dress and she says "it's cute" I know she hates it, but just doesn't know how to say that without sounding mean!

I've positive coach, so I'll have to watch out for the "it's cute" one. I've not had it yet, but so far I don't think i've picked anything too inappropriate.

One of the nice comments: "You know, you are one of the very few skaters who *push* with their underleg on back crossovers, extend the leg, *and* point the toe!"

A funny compliment: "You are like a bull in the china shop!" (I suppose right now you are thinking "... that's a compliment??!" - yes, it is - as it was in the context of coach wanting me to work more on forward power circles, but being very confident that my back ones are already plenty passing. Needless to say, that one left me laughing for the rest of the lesson)


I definitely get negative comments sometimes, but it works out very good for me - love my coach and his personality, his style totally works for me. Too nice coach did not work out for me at all. Of course, I throw stuff at my coach, too

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--renatele

Some of my favorites have been

"It's good, now if you would only..." which I then to proceed only "if only" and guess what - something else goes awry

"You have really good spins" from a random coach

"You can do everything I ask for - you're good at everything!" (this in relation to trying a new spin position which I proceeded to screw up royally, but he was right - I got it a couple days later )

Let's see, my coach was hardly ever negative as well. If she didn't like something she'd say 'umm try that again' or 'try it this way'. I think my most favorite coach comments are:
1) Kick ###(right before a competition)
2)That crowd looks bored out there, you need to entertain them
3)That was textbook...nothing to correct(about my loop jump)
4)You're like my little child(oh boy)
5)HAHAHAHAHAHA(for the many times that I fell and she laughed at me)

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[i]Beauty May Be in the Eye of the Beholder
But passion is in the heart of a skater.[/I]

two of my fav compliments:

1. my fs coach told me I jump like the Japanese (re:high)
2. after a difficult lesson, my moves coach told me that I have no idea that as a coach how much he wants me to do well and how much potential he thinks I really have

among other great comments those really made my day when they told me that!

My Coach and I have a great relationship. I tend to be harder on myself so she tends to focus on the positive side of things. We both laugh at things I do and make fun of each other.

My relationship with the loop jump has been rocky at best. I have until the last 9 months, had a tendancy to two foot it, shift weight in the air to land on the wrong foot, all kinds of things that end with both feet on the ice and it has prompted us to talk about lopping off my left foot. The number of times I've heard "shall we try to land that on one foot now?" followed by a grin, i cannot say but if it was 1000 then i wouldn't be surprised.

Imagine the laugh I got out of my coach when i was skating past her and she was demonstrating a loop jump to one of her pupils. She was focussing on the take off and talking through it and she jumped up and landed on both feet, right as i skated past her so i tapped her on the shoulder and said "shall we try to land that on one foot now?" and she fell about laughing!

Ant

I guess it all depends on the coach, and how they generally communicate ... after the skate-of-a-lifetime by my kid, the comment "Well, didn't fall down this time" - may sound low key, but, ... was equivalent to an Oscar, a Grammy, a lifetime achievement award ... an entire orchestra playing a triumphant overture ... a field of cheerleaders

The comment that most made my day/month/year, was not from one of my coaches, but one of the other coaches, at the rink where I practice pairs with my partner. It's her normal rink.

One of the coaches, who knew my partner, but didn't know me, asked her if I "had skated as a kid".

What better complement for an adult skater!!! (I started at 37, in 1997).

Rob

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Geriatric Figure Skating Crew - President for Life!
Georgia Figure Skating Club - President (again)
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"I'm too old to die young, and too smart to be happy" - Kinky Friedman, The Mile High Club

2010 Adult Nationals - earning a gold - "Priceless"
2009 Adult Nationals - competing with a cold is not much fun.
2008 Adult Nationals - Too little sleep, too much vodka!

My first lesson with My Coach she had me extend my leg and exclaimed: "You could be a Fabulous Ice Dancer!"
It didn't just make that one day, I think about it everyday.

My coach told me yesterday that everything is finally coming together nicely for my ISI freestyle level 4, and that just needs time to consolidate the elements.

She also commented that I am very good with my backspin in the wide leg open position, about 5 revolutions 1 time.

Well, those comments do make my day, as she never said things so nicely about me since my 10 months of learning with her.

londonicechamp

Nicest skating compliment: "You look like you love it"

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

Secondary coach: "You would have been good at figures" when working on brackets for Int and counters for Novice Also, "I can see why your main coach wanted you to do ice dancing," during one of the few lessons with her I worked on dance.

Jump coach: "You rotate well for a tall girl! Tall girls usually have a hard time rotating!" and, during a lesson in new boots where I landed all of my jumps, "These boots are good!" Also when he commented that I was going into my jumps with much more speed than he'd ever seen, but he then proceeded to say, jokingly...I think, "It's scary!"

ETA: How could I forget! This is one that STILL makes my day. I had a few lessons with a ballet teacher on ice and she kept commenting on how nice my lines were and how nice the positions I hit were (where I hit them), and kept asking if I had taken ballet. I kept telling her that I'd taken it a little when I was younger. Finally she said, "Are you SURE you haven't had ballet?! I mean, like, REALLY had ballet?!" Not the type of comment I EVER get.

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The funniest comment from my coach: "Unless you squeeze your a**e, it won't go in!" (just to add, no it wasn't about sex, it was about the direction - 'in' meant into circle)

My keeper compliment is when my coach told me that I did a particular jump entry better than the "good" kids at my rink. As an adult skater it felt good to do something well for anyone. I can't tell you how many times I've heard you do...well for an adult skater. I appreciate this, but it was great to be told something was good just for a skater. Little compliment, =-), but it felt nice.

teresa

Mine was when a former Olympic silver medalist told me my spiral was "nice" It was an unsolicited comment, but made my day.

My coach is Russian so when you read what he says you have to imagine a good Russian accent like Johnny Weir does on his sundance show.

When I do something not so good he slowly says:

"All Right"


When I do something pretty well but we both know I can do it better he says:

"Good, Good"

When I do something exceptionally well he says:

"That was effortless. Good quality skating"

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Why are you skating so slowly? Get out of my way!

If you skate faster, it makes everything look better!

"That was gooood!" backward swizzles to crossover
"Good job, 'namehere', you're doing gooood!"

From pretty advanced skater @ public session who was giving me tips on crossover: "Girl, that 2nd one(back crossover) was bomb!!*lo-five*