Mental Game Skills for Skating Success
Most skaters focus their energies on preparing for the competition and the competition itself, but don’t give much thought to what they do after the competition.
No, I’m not talking about the party or ice cream with friends. I’m talking about planning for physical and mental recovery.
Planning what to do after a competition is not very glamorous, but without it, a skater’s risk for injury and burn out increases. Continue reading “Post Competition Plan Helps You Train Like an Elite Athlete”
Do you as a parent feel comfortable sharing your thoughts with your skater’s coach? Or do you keep your mouth shut because you think you don’t know enough about skating?
You as a parent have a very important role in your child’s skating career. Continue reading “What Every Great Figure Skating Parent Knows”
.jpg "By David W. Carmichael CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons")
I had the privilege of sitting in on a question and answer session with the great Kurt Browning. He was in Vancouver, BC for Stars on Ice and took time out to teach a seminar for skaters in the area.
I have always been a fan of his fun and creative style, and his skill on the ice. His showmanship is in a class of its own.
Watching and listening to him talk about skating, one can feel his genuine love of the ice fill the room. It’s tangible; the ice becomes a presence sitting in the room with us. What Kurt Browning does when he skates is what coaches mean when they say “be one with the ice.” Figure skating to him is a way of life, a way of being, not just something he does.
Did you know that almost everyone, even elite athletes, get “butterflies” before a competition? “Butterflies” signal the presence of strong emotional and physical energy that you can use to enhance your focus in and skill execution in performance or practice if you know how to use it.
Mental Toughness Lessons from World Figure Skating Championships
The skating world was a buzz this weekend with the skating of the 2016 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts. There were many exciting moments and also moments of disappointments. One of the most public disappointments was that of Gracie Gold.
United States National Champion Gracie Gold led the Women’s field after the Short Program. After she skated her Freeskate Program, she finished just off the podium in fourth place. Elite athletes are under the spotlight at times when they might want to be alone. Gracie gave us, the human side of sport, and an opportunity for younger athletes to learn that the feelings they have are normal and can be managed.
Continue reading “How to Turn Disappointment into Motivation”
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
–Winston Churchill
In Part 1 of this three part article, Dealing with Frustration: Opportunity Knocks , I talked about your choices when faced with an interruption in your training routine.
In this article (Part 2 of this series), we will talk about what you can do off the ice while you are waiting for your boots to come in. Part 3 will suggest how to use the time to build your Mental Game.
Continue reading “Dealing with Frustration: Off Ice Training Tips”