001. I get really uncomfortable when i skate. i feel like im not good so i dont really express myself when i skate. because most of the kids that are younger than me are much better.
002. When i do my half flip i dont land on my toe and dont get much air at all! why is that?
003.i can balance on my scratch spin..help? when i spin i always seem to tip over..i cant reely stay in one place either..
004. Does anyone have a routine/combonations or a warm up i can use with things that are in my ability?

thanks soo much!

I think that if you just relax, stop worrying about what you look like, you would be amazed at how much you improve. Skate from your heart, feel what you imagine yourself wanting to looking like. Feel it, and then believe it, no matter what anyone tells you. The main reason you should be on the ice is because you love it. And don't hold back because you want to blend in.... more often than not, this draws MORE attention to yourself because it looks like a half effort. When you step on the ice, do it with confidence in your head and fire in your heart. Don't be afraid to show that there is no other place you would rather be.
As for the warm up...... to start off, stroke around the ice knowing that you belong out there. Once you have the comfort with that do your best or favourite element first, then progress through your remaining tricks.
With the half flip.... really push off your take off leg and stretch up high and point your toe as hard as you can in the air, that may help you out.
Happy skating....... let yourself fly!

1. Being a beginner isn't anything to be embarassed about! When you talk about expression, do you mean in your program? Beause skating with expression when you're just practicing your elements doesn't really make sense. Just try to relax and have fun. Remember, the other skaters on the ice are concentrating on their practicing, not watching you.

2. You're probably not picking straight back behind you with a straight free leg and then pulling back to your free leg before jumping. But that's just a guess on my part- your coach should be the one to fix that for you, since we can't see what you're doing.

3. Without seeing what you're doing- no clue. Ask your coach.

4. To people who don't skate, you probably do look like you're really good! On the other hand, I hate to say it, but there's no way for a beginner to "trick" other skaters into thinking she's anything but a beginner. You'll "look" really good when you "are" really good. But like I said, being a beginner isn't something to be ashamed of. We all have to start somewhere! Don't worry about what you look like to other people- worry about what you're doing on the ice. You'll get better a lot faster

Just an aside- I can't tell from your post whether you take lessons or not. If not, you really should be, rather than trying to teach yourself. It sounds like you really want to improve, which is great. If you're not taking private lessons, it might be a good idea. We can always give you things to think about as far as what mistakes you might be making, but without seeing you skate, all we can do is guess.

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Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

Gosh...you poor thing, you are torturing yourself!! I can't imagine trying to practice with the thoughts that swim through your head, you're taking the fun out of skating. As someone said - you will look good to more advanced skaters when you are at their level. But meanwhile, you look like a pro to the learn to skate kids who only DREAM of doing a "crummy scratch spin". If you launch into a spin thinking it'll be crummy- it'll be crummy. You NEED to get confidence, trust me, this will make you LOOK 100 times better. People can tell if you are insecure on the ice, and that makes you look bad. If you would just change that thought process a little bit, I swear you'd see improvement right away. Most of the kids you think are better than you- they're not watching you or anyone else, they couldn't careless if you're doing a triple loop or a half-flip!! They're too busy working on their own stuff. The ones who are spending their sessions watching you instead of working on their own stuff probably aren't going to get very far, so who cares whether or not you impress them?

My advice is to stop focusing on what you could do to try and look good, and focus on getting better. There will always be people who are better than you, and there will always be people who wish they could so much as glide on the ice without holding the barrier. There's really no shame in being a beginner. WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE, and if anyone forgets this and makes fun of you or anything, then they aren't worth your time anyway. There was a day I couldn't do crossovers. There was a day I couldn't do a spin. There was a day I was scared to death of waltz jumps. Everyone has been where you are. And as someone else said, don't pull the Michelle Kwan "Tosca" faces when you're in practice, THAT will look silly to other skaters. Expressions are usually reserved to competitions.

Good luck!

I think this is easily solvable! I used to be like this aswell... untill i realized that everyone out on the rink was worried about whut they were doing.. not about me!! just relax.. dont think about them!!! SKATE LIKE THERES NO TOMOROW! hahah
cya
skater gurl

thanks soo much you guys!! im new at this forum and i got a lot of great advice! Im going to the rink on tuesday and gonna try ur advice!! i bet ill look so much better. and hey i can do alot of things! haha! THANKS SO MUCH!!! If anyone else has any more advice the more the better!

Skating should be FUN. Being a nervous wreck has got to make this impossible. Relax for goodness sake. In my experience most skaters are very supportive of each other. Everyone starts as a beginner and most folks remember this. Don't worry about how you look but focus on what your trying to do. This may come as a surprise but most skaters are concentrating on what their doing and now what your doing! If you think negative thoughts your skating will follow this road. Think positive, have fun, and work hard. You will be improving before you know it. Scratch spins are an accomplishment. =-)

Chico

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

RELAX!!! just have fun, don't worry about how you look skating , im sure that you're better than you think . As for your half flip, i have a really good half flip and i should be able to help you.
Here are some half flip tips:
1. Practice alot of the three turns leading into the half flip try to increase the three turns in speed as you go along
2. Try to have alot of speed when going into the half flip, the faster you go the higher the half flip
3. when you pick the ice make sure you jab your toe pick into the ice and pull yourself up and back into the half rotation
4. when you land concentrate on landing on your right toe pick and then shifting the glide over to your left foot
5. HAVE CONFIDENCE picture yourself doing the jump successfully over and over again, it works lol

Good luck

thx a bunch! i edited my post to make it more specific cause it was sorta confusing! can anyone help with the scratch spin problem?