How to Deal With Bad Jump Days

Storm on the Ice

Skatergirl gets on the ice and starts warming up.

Maybe the ice is extra chilly because today, because it seems like it takes forever to warm up. She has to do repetition after repetition before even she lands a jump.

First she tries doing double Axel…fall. She thinks, “This is bad, I should do it again.” But instead, pops it and gets frustrated.

Okay, no problem. Move on to triple Sal.

But her mind says, “This is such a bad day”, and her frustration mounts.

Now it’s time for her lesson. Coach says to run her short program with all her spins and jumps. The music starts. Bam…she falls on the first element. Everything grinds to a stop.

The music still wafts around her as she stands in the middle of the ice. Other skaters speed merrily around her, practicing as if nothing happened.

Coach asks her why she stopped. Skatergirl doesn’t have a good response to this. The lesson goes downhill from there. She continues to make mistakes, and her mood travels down a black hole. By the time her lesson is done, she is so beyond frustrated that she storms off the ice.

The storm quickly spirals into tears in the locker room. Skatergirl wants to go home but she still has another session to skate.

Dark clouds loom over her head, and everyone can see them.

A Bad Way to Deal with A Bad Day

Even though partway through her session, Skatergirl realized it was an off day, she kept trying to force herself to practice things like normal. She held onto the hope that things would click and she would recover, but that was just the eye of the storm.

Finally, it was too late. Her frustration was too much for her to be able to overcome easily.

She didn’t know how to get back on track. She had no clue, no ideas to except to see the session as a lost cause.

No matter how much she tried to get things back to normal, they only got worse. This increased her frustration and she didn’t know how to deal with it.

The Good, the Bad and the Plan

As Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

“Bad” days are inevitable. We all have them. So instead of getting frustrated when one comes along which only makes things worse, why not turn things around by having a plan ready to deal with even the worst days?

Remember you are not a machine, you will have ups and downs (and not just from jumping.) People make mistakes, and you, are human.

So, for those tough days when everything seems “off,” have a Plan B ready.

A plan B is a modification of your usual practice plan, one that will allow you to have success while still being an effective and efficient use of your practice time.

Even if you are not able to do your usual practice, you can still get a lot of things done. Things that usually don’t get the necessary attention and time they need to be improved.

Many singles skaters are “jumpers”. They love to jump and would spend all their time on jumps if they had the chance. But the other elements need attention too.

What Would Plan B Be?

1. Figure out what conditions would make a “tough practice day,” tough enough for you to activate Plan B. It could be:
   • Coming back after an illness or injury,
   • Coming back from vacation,
   • A stressful week at school,
   • Recovery after a competition
   • Low energy days
   • Days when your jumps feel “off”
2. Create a Plan B. Figure out what you would modify. For example, instead of jumping for two sessions, you could do more:
   • Edge work
   • Jump drills
   • More spins
   • Non-jumping elements that need to be worked on
   • Something that is less frustrating for you
   • Choreography
   • Footwork

Take the time to focus on transitions, skating skills and other components.

As you practice these other areas, you might start to feel better. As your positive momentum increases, you will breathe easier, and the extra tension will leave your body. Remember that you skate best when your body is relaxed and ready.

Pay attention to how your attitude changes when you use Plan B.

Stop the judgement and evaluation and just go with a refocused flow.

Don’t entirely dismiss the idea of getting back to those jumps. If you can raise yourself out of the black hole, release the frustration in your brain and the tension in your body, you might even be able to get back to Plan A.

Using Plan B doesn’t mean that Plan A is thrown out the window. Why not wait and see.

Plan to “B” Better

Some days are tougher than others, there is no denying that. Good days and “tough” days are kind of a package deal. While some days are tough, you have to remember that you are too.

Once you have a Plan B, those inevitable “tough” days will be better. If you also change your outlook, you will see that the “bad” days are great opportunities to become better.

A bad day is only as bad as you let it be…Plan B that is.

So what do you do when you have tough days? Do you try to still make something of it or do you just let it be a lost cause? Do you think planning ahead would help you deal with them better? Share in the comments!

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