Okay, so my skate buddy and I went to practice today - I had just gotten my blades sharpened and I didn't skate at all this past weekend so I figured I could use the practice before my next lesson on Wednesday. The new sharpening made everything feel a lot better...but I dunno, I still feel like I'm not progressing anymore. My jumps are about the same as they've always been in terms of height and form, spins are about the same (with the new sharpening a camel is almost impossible, yet a scratch spin is perfectly centered), and I'm weeding my way through moves in the field and I DO feel like I've progressed somewhat with respect to moves in the field but...I dunno. I feel like I've stagnated. I haven't learned anything new, and despite trying to get better in other areas it seems like I've been working on the same batch of stuff FOR-EV-ER. I got the loop and the flip at the end of last summer and started the lutz, even landed a couple. But I'm still working on the flip and the loop (landing them yes, but trying to make them better) and I haven't touched the lutz since the summer. I know that skating skills take a while to master, but I feel kind of bored practicing the same stuff over and over. It's almost as if I'm not challenging myself to improve. Maybe I'm not explaining myself properly, but can anyone else relate and does anyone have any advice on how to keep skating through it? I don't want to give up skating, but my motivation and desire is waning.

Keep plugging away at practices -- plateaus take time and patience.

I encourage my skaters to try the "same old jumps" in new ways: new entries, arm positions, etc. Makes them a little more challenging and fun; also helps keep your form in good shape since you have to check even with your arms over your head in a loop!

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Welcome to my world!

Your story sounds exactly the same as mine, down to the last detail. It's kind of frightening how similar it is. Sometimes I can work up a desire to go skating when I'm off-ice, but then once I'm out there I quickly lose the motivation. I wish that I could feel like I did last year because I want so badly to progress, but it just hasn't been happening.

I did take about 3 weeks off and then had a really good skate after that, but it didn't take long to fall back into the same rut.

If you find any answers, do let me know.

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Do you (SunshinePointe and Casey) test or compete? How about belong to a Skating Club with a Show?

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I'm testing USFSA Adult pre-bronze moves sometime in early summer, so I've been working on that primarily. In between I've been working on jumps and spins but it's the same boring crap. I feel like, I'm not good enough to progress but I'm so sick of being stuck on the same stuff. I'm going to talk to my coach about it on Wednesday, see if she can shake things up for me. I love love love skating, borderline obsessed with it - but I swear if I do one more mediocre waltz jump I'll cry.

Are you currently working on a program? I find that even putting familiar moves to music shows me new ways to work on them without being bored. I work on the footwork sections of my synchro program every time I'm on the ice and enjoy the satisfaction of getting to the end of the program hitting everything. Plus, you're working on presentation skills if you're skating a program. And presenting a waltz jump on a beat with the music is waaay different than jumping it over and over again in practice.

Also, maybe you could ask your coach in lessons (either the private or the semiprivate lessons) to work on something different for one or two lessons, such as some kind of footwork or turns that you've never done, or bauers or spread eagles, or some power exercises, just as a break from what you've been doing lately?

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Those are some good ideas - I'll be sure to bring all that up to my coach at our next lesson.

I was thinking, do you think its better to have certain days to work on stuff? Jumps one day, spins the next etc.? Or devote a certain amount of time to elements? Right now my practice sessions are rather unstructured but I honestly don't know how long I should spend practicing elements. I try to run through everything at least once or twice on MIF, then I move onto spins, then jumps again doing each element 2-3 times. By then I'm finished with the session and I might throw in a spiral or lunge or something. Again, this is something that I should ask my coach but does anyone have any clue as to how to structure practice sessions? I typically skate for 1.5 hours at a time, 2 days a week and about 3-4 hours total on weekends. I don't wonder if I'm not getting better because I don't have structure to my practice?

Do you keep a log of what you've practiced and what you want to practice?

It really helps organize your time and help you feel that you've accomplished things. You can put fun things in, too, like Bauers and Chinese spirals.

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Dearest Sunshinepointe,

Welcome to the world of Figure Skating. You will have plateaus and you can work and work and work but it can be a long while before you get over that bump and see significant improvement. It happens to EVERY figure skater.

And believe me, if you're tired and losing motivation for working on those loops and waltz jumps now, the whole process has only JUST begun. Skaters who have their double axels and triple loops still go back to the fundamentals and do them over and over again until you want to puke. That's just the nature of the sport.

In those difficult times when you feel like you're going nowhere - those are the times when you have to dig deep and figure if you really truly have the passion for the sport and can live with what you got, even if you never improve another day's worth.

Because if you can't develop the mental toughness to deal with it now, you won't when you become a more advanced skater and the plateaus are longer and tougher. But if you can stick it through and make it to the other side, the sun will shine and you will relish every moment of it.

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Keep Evolving. "From this moment forward, every voice that told you - You Can't - , has been silenced." - Freedom Writers

** Dianne clamps both hands firmly over mouth **

Muuuff rummb fuut mmiff

(This IS a family board, after all )

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

ITA with Isk8NYC. Keeping a log is also a handy way of knowing how many hours you've skated between sharpenings. (When I don't keep track of this, then my dull blades sneak up on me--suddenly I notice how badly I need a sharpening and haven't scheduled one. )

Also, how you parcel out your time in practice may depend on what elements you're working on and how they're coming. For example, sometimes I know I'm not doing something right on a spin or a jump and I decide to put it aside until I can ask my coach about it (and not practice doing it the "wrong" way). If I feel like I'm close to "getting" something, I might work on it more than other elements at the time. If something is really frustrating me, sometimes I just have to make myself stop doing it so that I don't get mad at myself in general for the rest of the sessin.

I personally like to spend the first portion of each time I'm on the ice working on stroking and moves in the field, both to warm up, to try to get these up to the quality where they're ready to test, and because I'm trying to work on increasing power and speed. (Sometimes there's also less traffic for the first few minutes of each session, so I can have the space to push hard and get through a few patterns before the traffic gets really bad.) Sometimes I'll parcel the rest of the time out and decide to spend x amount of time on jumps or x amount of time on spins or x amount of time on certain turns. I also group items together that are related--such as the loop jump, the flip juimp, and the backspin, or practicing bunny hops and then waltz jumps.

And remember to do a few "fun" things when you practice--things that you particularly like or do well. Practice should be hard work but also FUN for you.

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I agree...talk to your coach. I'm sure they understand the feelings you describe, pretty normal for most skaters I think. Coaches too I'm guessing. =-) When I get upset about my skating I spend a few days playing and not fretting about the progress. I buy a fun new C.D. to skate with and wear something cute and fun. Usually it only takes a few days and I'm ready to try again. Skating is a process and you will never reach the end of your journey as long as your willing to keep getting things better. Do talk to your coach, maybe a new and fun skill to try will kick you into shape.

Chico

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"I truly believe, when God created skating, he patted himself on the back."

I have been going to through the same motions all these times whenever I skate in practices. Same jumps, same spins, and same mess.
I just got a new coach and hopefully that will re-invigorate me someway.

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I'm also going through a similar thing. At the moment I'm coming back from an injury, just doing single jumps where I was working on double toes and loops before, my coach hasn't had time for me much since I was off so long and her schedule which was always loose was rearranged. Even before the injury (last summer) I had been close but not landing or occasionally landing on both my double toe and double loop for, um, about a year and a half. I am also wondering if I really want to keep skating. Today when I skated I focused on enjoying what I do, not playing around but the working on stuff part, and saw that I still could, at least somewhat. I'm working on intermediate brackets, which are not exactly my idea of fun, but today for the first time I was able to do them on pattern and not from a standstill, which felt good. Things like that are good, I guess. Still though, I was off for two months, couldn't jump for longer, and have a lot of problems going on in my family right now and the stress of being a junior in high school looking at colleges...which I guess just means lots to whine about or make me apathetic. Or something. I'll stop rambling now

Are you planning to test at all?

I find that working towards a test, even it is in the very remote future, will motivate me to practice and practice and practice whatever skill is about to be tested. I don't usually get bored because there is always something new to be learned about the move or skill and as you've probably noticed, once you think you've "mastered" something, your coach will find a way to try to make it better, which will invariably be harder and then you need to work on it again and again (and again).

I noticed in your post you said you start by going through your Moves twice and then move onto other things. Only twice? That's not enough time for Moves. You might want to try to pretend you are on the test, doing the Moves just like you were there. And then do them again, without a rest (a double run-through). You and your friend could work on them together and then "critique" each other as though you were the judge.

How about learning new skills? Edges, turns, power, etc.? How bout Dance? Figures? Learning these skills will help your freestyle and make the whole process more interesting!!

There is always something to learn. I don't get bored in my practices. Mostly at this point there is ALWAYS more that I want to work on, but my body gets really worn out and I have to get off the ice (I am 51 after all!) or I need to go out in the world and try to do something more constructive than playing around on the ice!!

Good luck and have fun.

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I agree with everything other posters have already suggested, especially the double run throughs of your test moves. Pretend that you are actually taking the test. Give yourself a five minute warm up and then the test.

Does your coach start you on moves from higher tests? I have only passed Pre-pre moves, but can do several moves from Prelim through Juv to passing standard. When I get bored, I do some of those moves for fun. I also found that practicing the most difficult things more really works. When I first learned the Pre-pre edge patterns, I made myself do each one ten times every time I skated. Finally, I was only doing the BI's ten times. Now it's FI Mohawks, which I've been very lazy about.

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Re: running through moves twice. I do things like my forward perimeter stroking and crossovers twice, sometimes more. Other elements like the waltz 8 and the new 3 turn pattern I'll spend more time on. I usually start out by doing one complete run through to simulate the test, but I'll start doing double run throughs - my endurance could definitely use it.

I do practice stuff thats not on my moves test - for example I LOVE back 3 turns, especially in the power 3's. I'm not good at them, but I do them. I try to mix it up a little, I just know that I have SO much work to do that I put most of my efforts on that. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I'm BORED with practices, I just get aggravated that nothing seems to be improving. I'm sure this isn't exactly true but sometimes it just feels that way.

Meh - I got my monthly visitor today so I think I'm just being WAY more dramatic than I need to be. Or maybe that's just me in general. I have a private tomorrow afternoon so I'll talk to my coach then and see what she suggests.

I agree with those who suggested new entries or choreography for the jumps you can already do (flip, loop, etc.). I would also recommend asking your coach to teach you how to do them in new combinations and sequences. Is there any reason why you haven't been working on the lutz? Try it from a mohawk, R/L crossover - L/R crossover if you haven't already, and remember, speed (and even a little aggression!) helps on this jump.

Scheduling your practices will help keep you focused and that will help you get more out of them. I always go to every practice knowing exactly what I am going to practice that day and usually even in what order I will practice them. I separate my MIF and freestyle days, since it's hard to practice both adequately and thoroughly when I have to split the session between them. Having said that, it's not a bad idea to use just one move to warm up for the first few minutes of your FS session and rotate the move you use on a daily or weekly basis.

Oh, are we talking about plateaus? I thought we were just talking about being bored...

A plateau is just part of the business of skating. I don't even notice it anymore.

Just know that you WILL get through it!!

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

^ Oh but I think that plateaus and boredom are kind of hand in hand. Like, I'm at a plateau and while I have plenty to practice and I stay busy throughout my lesson I'm annoyed that my lack of progress is keeping me from learning anything new. Does that makes sense? I never "just stand there" and not know what to do with myself, but I do find doing the same moves and jumps and spins over and over without seeing progress rather frustrating. So its not exactly boredom, but the monotony of doing the same thing every lesson leaves me feeling blah.

So hard to explain, but I think everyone gets my drift.

When I was last working on it I wasn't concentrating on moves in the field at all. Since then I had to take 3 months off, and find a new coach, etc. etc. I haven't worked on it because a) my new coach hasn't brought it up and a couple of times I attempted one on my own it didn't end well so I figure I'm doing something really wrong so I'll wait for my coach and b) I saw from my videos that all of my other jumps need mega improvements straight down to the waltz jump. So rather than rush through learning yet another jump I figured I'd work on what I know well enough to try to improve on my own. If that makes sense.

I do think I need more structure to my practice. I sort of do elements without a goal in mind half of the time. Like for my waltz jump my goal is to really kick through (not happening ) but for something like the toe loop I'm just kind of doing it. I think I need to develop a stronger "mental muscle" when it comes to skating.