What to do When Your Jumps “Feel Off”

When jumps don’t feel right,” many athletes start to worry about losing their jumps or jump consistency. In order to understand how to handle this problem, we will use one common situation that often causes jumps to feel “off.” That is, getting new skates.

No matter what the cause, this article gives you steps to take to help you get back on track when your jumps “feel off”.

Here’s the problem as sent in by a skater:

Hi. I got new skates and blades yesterday. My jumps were off and I feel like I have to think twice as much about what I’m doing. I know that it’s normal to feel off when you get new skates and blades but I am worried that after my skates do break in, my jumps still won’t be as consistent.

First off, I’m glad that you contacted me right away.

It’s great that you know in your mind, that new boots and blades require an adjustment on your part.

You can break the cycle of worry with some facts:

You are not alone.

Most skaters feel this way when they get new boots and blades. In fact many skaters have these thoughts day to day when training is not going well. Needing to break in new skates just makes the problem more noticeable.

Next, think about how many times you had new boots and blades throughout your career. Each time, you were eventually able to execute all your jumps, and in fact have continued to develop new ones.

Maybe you’ve had times when the boots took longer to adjust to, but you always adjusted

The Amazing Body

Remember: skating is a technical sport of millimeters. Any change, in equipment, or in your body, growing for example, might require adjustment.

The human body is an amazing thing. It adjusts on its own given time.  

Your brain will eventually adjust, and that uncomfortable feeling will become the new normal. When this happens, things will “feel right” again.

You probably don’t realize that your body automatically adjusts to tiny changes every day. You are usually not aware of this because the adjustment is quick and subtle. 

The fact is that you never show up at the rink the exact same way as you did the day before. You are not a robot, and your body is constantly responding to the environment and to changes in your training. On those days when things don’t feel right, your brain and body just need a little more time to adjust.

Compared to the usual tiny daily adjustment, new equipment can require you to make a large adjustment all at once.  It is only natural that this adjustment will require more time, and patience.

Help your body adjust 

You can help the adjustment period go smoothly by giving your body the opportunity to adjust.

Repetition of drills, exercises and slow-motion walk throughs will give your body the chance to experience and store the feeling of correct positioning, timing and accuracy.

Go back to basics; break down complex skills into their foundational parts like

Back spins, back spin + loops

Stroking, jump entrances

Edge drills

Doing this allows your body to make adjustments more quickly because you can do more repetitions with accuracy and focus, in less time.

When you put everything back together again, your body is well on its way to making the needed adjustments.

At first, this might be boring for you. But in the long run you will be able to do your more difficult skills sooner and with less chance of wonky falls, if you break complex skills down before you build them back up.

Give yourself lots of repetitions. Take it step by step

Also, do twice or three times as many slow motion walk throughs, drills and exercises before you do your double and triple jumps.

Breaking it down can prevent you from breaking down

When you allow extra time for your body to adjust, you will see that even if you have new equipment, you can get back on track quickly.

Stick with it

Focus on the process of breaking the boots in, rather than the outcome. 

Hint: if you are thinking things like the following, you are focused on the outcome rather than the process. 

“When will I be able to jump like I used to?”

“Will I be able to jump the same as I did in my old boots?”

When this worry or fear pops up, acknowledge it.

Re-read to the first part of this article to remind yourself that you will get through this.

Immerse yourself in what you are doing; repetitions of exercises, drills, stroking, and walk-throughs.

Use these steps anytime you feel “off” no matter what the cause. Remember to keep a cool head, break it down, and your amazing body and brain will do the rest.

Mental skills training can help to keep your emotions on an even keel so that you can practice and compete your best. 
Start here; download “Confidence Myth Busters,” a complimentary eBook and make a change.