I have been skating for about 9 months, and I am obsessed. I can do a two foot spin, spiral, bunny hop, 1 foot glide, and a lunge. Not that great as you are probably thinking. But I am going to be in a show in December, and I skate often. What SHOULD I be able to do right now?

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I was so worried about winning, it was as if I was caught up in my own web.
Michelle Kwan

Everyone progresses at their own speed. If you're having fun then you're succeeding! Welcome to the world of skating.

Thanks so much. I try off the ice and on.

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I was so worried about winning, it was as if I was caught up in my own web.
Michelle Kwan

Are you taking group lessons? That's pretty good for someone who has only been skating 9 months. When I was a teenager, after 3 yrs. of mostly group lessons, I could do a waltz jump, toe loop, 2 foot spin, crossovers, 1/2 flip, and a shaky salchow. Welcome to the addictive world of skating!

I can now do a toe loop, but only off of the ice.

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I was so worried about winning, it was as if I was caught up in my own web.
Michelle Kwan

I want to be the best that I can, so are there anymore comments?

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I was so worried about winning, it was as if I was caught up in my own web.
Michelle Kwan

Perform Don't worry about the jumps or the spins If you relax and perform you will have a great time and if you look relaxed you will do whaat you can do well..... have fun

You are very motivated, so you have the first battle won for being the best you can be! Other suggestions are to watch other skaters, especially when they are in lessons. Then ask other skaters to show you things when they are not in a lesson. There are a number of good instructional videos/DVDs out there too, although they may be more useful to you later on than right now. Take ballet lessons or buy a beginning ballet video to do at home, because the balance and body carriage you learn from ballet will help your skating.

Thanks guys! I REALLY want to succeed in skating!

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I was so worried about winning, it was as if I was caught up in my own web.
Michelle Kwan

I was obsessed too when I first started and I still am . I still get excited on days I have skating!! 9 months and being able to do a spiral, two foot spin, and bunny hop it pretty good although everyone is different. I have been skating for one and a half years and can do up to a double sow.welcome to the Great World of Skating!!

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SKATING: It's the feeling you get at the end of a hard practice when you pushed yourself to the limit. It's a part of YOU, something you LOVE and HATE. A bond that NO ONE ELSE understands, but that's okay, because every time you get out on the ice it isn't just you; it's all the friends and coaches, all the practices, the pain, the tears, the memories,the laughter, the "off" competitions. It may seem, skating is really a team sport, it's more than just a sport. IT'S A WAY OF LIFE."

I skate in shows and love them! I take Pilates and an off-ice conditioning class (each once a week) and they really have helped my skating. I also take off-ice jump clinics when they are offered. I have been skating almost two years and hate bunny hops but have a half-way decent lunge and spiral, scratch spin, barely decent toe-loop and a new salchow.

Just enjoy everything for what it is and don't worry about "keeping up" with anyone! What takes one person 5 minutes to get takes another person one year to get... Just enjoy yourself!

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

I've been skating regularly-ish for about a year. But I haven't been in about 2 months, first because the rink was closed, then because I hurt my knee, and had to do PT for a month, and I go back to the orthopedist on Thursday, so he'll tell me if I can at least start maybe with stroking since I still can't bear weight on my right knee when it's bent. And I still can't bend my knee when I'm standing, so I've been a bit of a mess lately.

But, I digress. Before I stopped 2 months ago, I had a waltz, a sorry flip jump, one foot upright, and the start of a sit spin, spiral, 3-turns, power pulls, and some other moves stuff. But each person is different, and it depends on how often you practice, how often you get hurt (which in my case is quite often), and if you'd ever skated before. For your show, just go and have fun, then that transcends into the audience, and they won't be able to take their eyes off of you. It's all about attitude.

No matter how good you are, there will always be someone better than you and someone worse than you. So don't worry about what you "should" be able to do. Instead, just enjoy every single minute on the ice and enjoy every the learning process, because the learning process is what you will spend 99.9% of your time doing (not the performances).
All of us who have the ability to skate every day or even every week are very lucky to have the opportunity to get that wonderful feeling you can only get from two blades and a nice sheet of ice! Aaaahhh~!

I will second this-if I had to worry about those at my rink better than me, I wouldn't be skating! That's about 75% of my skaters! However, I don't let that ruin my fun, they aren't me and I move at my own speed! I have fun-kick it around-and joke that when I can't figure skate, I will promptly take up hockey! (ha ha ha)
What helps me is keeping a journal and as I go back over the years, I can see how far I've come! I also enjoy putting stickers in my USFSA book (yeah, I'm a dork-so what?)

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!