Ok, what is a good mix between lesson time and practice time?My dd, has group and private lessons.She also tries to skate at least two freestyle sessions.The mix has been maybe 60% lessons,40 practice due to her next competion in two weeks. i was thinking 50 lessons and 50 practice was good but then i have no clue.
She wants to skate daily, her choice.She is learning so fast but she knows she needs to practice them as well to get better. She knows she cant do jumps without her crossovers getting better.She understands how one thing leads to the next thing.


thoughts, ideas?
thanks

When I started learning I was told one should practice a minimum of 2 hours for every 15 minute lesson one had. I don't always achieve that, it's more like one hour, but I do try....

On the other hand, "practice makes permanent", and one does not want to reinforce bad skating habits. But my coach, and his colleagues, despair over the sort of children who are brought to the rink just in time to put their boots on before their lesson, and removed from the ice immediately afterwards. I suppose the ideal is to have one 15-minute lesson per 2-hour patch, but whether that is feasible or not, I don't know.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

For years daughter has had 2 to 3 hours practice time for every lesson. The practice time should definitely exceed the lesson time IMO.

Practice time should definitely exceed lesson time I reckon - but try telling that to my son who doesnt believe in practice. Annoyingly he still seems to fly through every test he's ever taken - he's never has to 'retry' and he competed Pairs at the Novice Championships last year and placed 6th of 12. On the entry form there was a space to write how many hours a week you spent on the ice and I was embarrassed to have to write less than 3! At that time it included 4 shared 1/2 hour lessons (now down to 3)split between pairs and solo freeskating and much of the remaining time seemed to be spent off the ice moaning about practicing!

He says he doesnt want to give up (though moans a lot about going to the rink) and while he is still progressing I guess we'll just carry on.

However he is a bad example to other skaters and I'd say probably lessons to practice time in the ration of 1:2 would be about right. Now if only I could persuade my son of this......

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'skating is not just a sport - it is an obsession'

I think the one hour per lesson sounds good for her.Right now she is spending at least 6 hours a week on the ice.She is motivated and can practice herself fine.The 3 yo is skating 3 hours or so a week.
She wil be 5 in may
thanks

I forgot she was so young! Yes, and hour practice for every lesson sounds just fine for her.

There are days she would love to go twice a day.We are very very very lucky that we live near the rink and during the day its not full at all.They let us bring her music ect.She does much better with two 45 or hour sessions a day than 2 hours at once.
The other day she went to freestyle and was the only person there.she likes watching the older kids but she likes being on the ice alone too. I told her somewhere else she would never get ice time alone
We are making cookies for fat tuesday tommorow for the guy who runs the rink.He has been real helpful to us

This is often why kids "plateau" in their sports -- lessons aren't enough, practice does make perfect. If a student is learning a lot of new skills, you'll want the lesson:practice ratio to be 1:1 or 1:2. If he or she is repeating the same elements at lesson time each week, up the ratio to 1:3 or 1:4. You don't want the more expensive lesson time to be eaten up by reviewing old lessons.

The "bad habits" issue is tricky because you don't want to set mistakes in stone. However, not practicing it at all means they could forget what they learned the prior week. I usually tell the student exactly what I want them to practice that week. It's usually not "sit spins," it's "shoot the ducks, forward and backward" and "spin entries like this."

Have her ask the coach for some guidance on what she should practice.

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