(17 y/o skater working on singles minus lutz)
hi! so I've been struggling with keeping my free leg straight and extended at the beginning of my scratch spins and during my salchow takeoff. I think part of it is a confidence issue and my coach does too-- I tend to either put my free leg down reflexively (this happens on my backspin, loop & flip... coach thinks it's all related and I agree) or, more often, I bend my free leg and don't get the controlled power I need in the jump/spin. since I'm already working on the confidence aspect on ice & with my coach, my question is whether there are specific things I can focus on off-ice to help this? I started beginner ballet classes once a week to help my balance, flexibility and body alignment, and I work on the same things at home, along with just holding the position off-ice of balancing on my skating leg, with my free leg held straight in front of me. are there other things you guys do to work on this? I also stretch daily (both static and dynamic/mobility) because my flexibility needs work, but I know just flexibility isn't enough without strength and muscle control.
hi! so I've been struggling with keeping my free leg straight and extended at the beginning of my scratch spins and during my salchow takeoff. I think part of it is a confidence issue and my coach does too-- I tend to either put my free leg down reflexively (this happens on my backspin, loop & flip... coach thinks it's all related and I agree) or, more often, I bend my free leg and don't get the controlled power I need in the jump/spin. since I'm already working on the confidence aspect on ice & with my coach, my question is whether there are specific things I can focus on off-ice to help this? I started beginner ballet classes once a week to help my balance, flexibility and body alignment, and I work on the same things at home, along with just holding the position off-ice of balancing on my skating leg, with my free leg held straight in front of me. are there other things you guys do to work on this? I also stretch daily (both static and dynamic/mobility) because my flexibility needs work, but I know just flexibility isn't enough without strength and muscle control.