Arrr...I am getting worse and worse each day and I am just so fustrated. I can barely spin anymore, whereas two months ago i had perfectly centered scratch and sit spins, a backspin, and a camel. My jumps are getting worse. I feel like a learning disabled person because no matter what corrections my instructor gives me, I think I am making them, but I am not.

I am getting so disgusted with myself I dont even want to skate anymore. Anyone else have fews/months like this? Maybe I should just accept I am not going to be a good skater

Sorry to vent

When was the last time you had a sharpening done on your skates?

I find that usually helps me spin better.

Hang in there - everybody has 'off' plateaus - you'll get it all back better than ever!

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2 weeks ago - I thought that was my probelm too - but it has only gotten worse But thanks for the advice

Sounds familiar. Sometimes it helps to step away from skating for a little while to regroup. Do something else for a couple of months - a community dance class perhaps - and then return to skating later.

I find that time away somehow helps some things click. It certainly helps with motivation!

I'm forced off the ice when our rink closes at the end of March. For a while, I'm very happy not to have to schedule practice time, spend money, and arise early for practice sessions. Finally when September arrives though, I am as excited as a kid with a new toy.

It's true that you will feel rusty after the break, but that passes quickly.

Anyway, those are my thoughts because it sounds like motivation is what is affecting you most.

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Bill Schneider

Ya know, there was a girl at our rink that had something similar happen to her, and it was because of the sharpening...her edges were uneven. It affected almost everything she tried! Is there someone else that sharpens skates that you could take them to and have them checked?
But it might be a plateau also....

Since coming back from illness and injury a year ago, it's only now that I'm starting to get things going again. From last September until just this last week I got into a lazy habit of cheating my spin enteries. This caused me to go from 10 rev upright spin down to 3 to 5 revs. Today was the first time I broke 10 revs in over a year.

Do take a vacation from skating for a while? Sometimes you need to get time off of the ice to retain your brain. Also how hot is your rink? Maybe you don't skate well in the heat. Getting too over heated can make you feel sluggish which will may your brain do wierd things. Are you getting enough fluids?

Take a mini vacation from skating and get a check up. Find out what is making you feel the way you do. It sounds like you probably are a decent skater but that your body is probably taxed out.

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"It's not age that determines but the heart." "Skating is not just a sport for the young but it's a passion for the soul of the young at heart." Brigitte Laskowski

I am a nomadic adult skater who is a member of Windsor FSC (Skate Windsor) WOS SC again since Sept. 1st, 2008.

http://eastcastlemusic.tripod.com

Singerskates Sports Music Editing

Yep, plateaus are VERY common and sometimes it's two steps back, one step forward! Two years ago I had a fantastically consistent axel and right now we aren't even on speaking terms. . . for several months! The back sit comes and goes, too. But there's always *something* that is improving, so I find that the more different things I work on, the more things I can find that are improving. Mix it up a little for awhile, and those errant elements will eventually come home. . .

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

singer, how do you cheat a spin entry? I can see snapping into it too quick or (like me) taking forever on the windup, but I've never heard of anyone cheating a spin entry.

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Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!

Yup, I was there last fall, ready to pitch my skates into the trash bin!

I had to sit down and re-evaluate what I was doing (skating-wise) and why. When I did that I realized I had become focused on a couple of little things that weren't working for me and lost sight of how far I had come or what I COULD do.

As far as skill development, I go in fits and starts. I was stuck on forward 3 turns for MONTHS (literally) and though I would never get them. Then, last week, PRESTO! all my forward 3-turns were there and I had the basics of a toe loop (which came as a total surprise to me!). I have come to accept that the sudden spurts forwards and the slide backward are just part of skating, at least for me (but then I AM 57 and a natural blond - LOL!)

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

I can really empathise! I seem to go through this all too often, especially with spins. I get to the stage where they are working well, consistent, going for the next step, then suddenly it goes down the toilet. Usually because I've had to miss a session or two through work, injury or illness.


Going through it with spins right now in fact, it's been weeks since I've had a good spinning session. I tell myself to keep working, they'll come back, but gosh it can be disheartening.

Fortunately my jumps usually hold up though, or I manage to make improvements on something else. I try to be a grown up about it, grit my teeth and keep working.

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Karen

I skate - therefore I am

As some others have shared, it is very normal to have such ups and downs in skating. There have been many times when I would be down and want to quit, but my friends would always make things fun again. These days, I just accept what I can do. If it is good, wonderful. If it is not good, well, try again another time!

Also, I find that concentrating on something else for a little while would make me feel better... That's where dance came in useful!

So, give those jumps & spins a break, maybe focus on moves for a while - after all, your skating definitely won't suffer with improved basics.

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Hi newskater, Like nearly all other skaters I know how your feeling, trust me everyone goes through it.

At the moment for example, my big downer is the camel spin, at christmas it was lovely my best spin by a long way, great position, locked out knees, about 8/9revs...sometime around the end of January it all disapeared - kaput, just like that, no warning. I haven't done what I would consider to be a decent camel since
To make matters worse, my coach has now pulled apart my entry into it, because the foward edge has become very skidded and juddery. So at the moment I can't do anything even resembeling a camel, and I am in effect learning the whole thing again completely from scratch

I find for me the best thing I can do when I feel the way you have said is, like others have said, to take a break. Even if you don't want to stop skating completley. I like to take up another activity for a while, concentrate some of my energy on that, and just skate once a week for awhile trying to make it more of a social skate than training.
This way after a few weeks I'm raring to go again and as excited about skating as I was when I first started. On top of this i'm more relaxed on the ice and things start to work again. Don't beat yourself up, it will come back.

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"Well, I've got a banana, and in a pinch you could put up some shelves" - Captain Jack Harkness

How are your boots? Are they breaking down at all. Maybe they need to be rebuilt or replaced. And I agree with the other poster about sharpening. I had a bad sharpening and it affected me for a long time. I went from skating great(for me) to falling all over the place. I couldn't spin to save my life. It's a long story but my sharpening guy had to fix them. Now, they are fine.

Let us know how it is going.

Theres Highs in Lows in Iceskating and that goes with life... Dont Give up....

At least think about this way... Most People dont get of there A$$es and regret letting the moment pass

Hey, i had someone take the rockers right off my blades when they sharpened them, when i was starting back to skating, so be sure whoever sharpens them knows what they are doing. I don't trust anyone at my rink. I travel an hour to get them sharpened.

BUT, i have almost quit at least 50 times. And some things seem to take forever, or you get them, and later think you never learned them. I think sometimes when you get so frustrated you try so much harder and it just builds frustration. Sometimes relaxing or working on something else for a while and coming back helps.

And the most frustrating thing is....when you work your butt off as an adult and the little kids just zoom levels past you in what seems like no time!

After you get your "equipment" checked and all is ok there, it's time to look at the YOU part and do a little soul-searching

-what is my primary motivation for skating? Does this need to be changed? If you aren't feeling "it" or the "joy" of skating, then I would say yes
-have you kicked it up and just messed around with no particular purpose in mind? When was the last time you "played" on the ice? All work and no fun makes us dull!!! Have a shoot-the-duck contest with the little skaters, play "judge" for their routines, have a consecutive bunny-hops-in-a-row contest...anything to kick it up and have fun!
-if you still aren't motivated, and still having a hard time, drop out for a few days. Sometimes it's just a way of saying we are overworking/overanalyzing things...and our bodies/minds, etc need a break.

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

i had my blades re-aligned after spinning so much in the past

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Tim David's Website

Yeah, we should have a checklist of things to check; like a 15-point alignment/analysis when things start to go wacky!!!

1-sharpening
2-alignment of blade
3-alignment of body
4-rocker (either the blade or ours!!!!)
...

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

I've had my up and down times in skating, like most here. I do have to say that your down seem pretty drastic. I'd get your blades looked at pronto just to be sure.

teresa