Asking for input on coaching and ice time

[hope_skate]

Hey everyone!

After reading, researching, and receiving advice (thank you @Ic3Rabbit because my boots and blades fit like a glove! no more heel slippage!), I got myself a coach and enrolled myself in individual lessons. I was planning on shopping around but this coach is so amazing I feel comfortable going forwards with her. Now, to the issue(s):

1. She is very good, and therefore in demand. So, I may only be able to fit into 1x lesson per week, which is not enough imo. If I book early, I may be able to get 2x/week but that's not a guarantee. I would prefer getting 2x per week. I have no specific goals that I am rushing towards but I do prefer not having such a big time gap in between lessons and ice time. Would you recommend I supplement this with another private coach OR enrolling into group lessons (not with her, with a sport academy locally)?

2. Ice time. My first time skating in my life was just few months ago, so I am aware that I can get a bit timid whenever I'm away from ice for too long. Is it a good idea to go to public skating sessions and skate on my own just to fill the time in between lessons (and to also work on what I've learnt)? Would it be wise to do so without a trainer/coach along?

Financially, I have enough for any of these options because it is affordable here where I live since there are a lot of options. They ain't cheap, but manageable. Just want to see the best course of action before I spend any money because well, money is still money.

Thank you in advance!

 

[LolaSkatesInJapan]

1. Have you consulted with your coach and spoke with her to see if she allows you to train with another private coach? I don't know about the rules fro where you are located, but around here it is a big no to hire a second private figure skating coach without the consent of your primary coach. Yes, I'd say minimum 2 hours a week with a private coach is good, only one a week might be too little. I'd speak to her and ask her advice if I were you.

2. YES, practice time is VERY important, as important as private time with your coach. The only way to improve is to practice, practice, and practice and the more you practice, the more you improve! And not only lots of practice on the ice, but also off ice specific training for figure skating. Hire an off ice coach as well, if this option is available to you.

 

[hope_skate]

1. Have you consulted with your coach and spoke with her to see if she allows you to train with another private coach? I don't know about the rules fro where you are located, but around here it is a big no to hire a second private figure skating coach without the consent of your primary coach. Yes, I'd say minimum 2 hours a week with a private coach is good, only one a week might be too little. I'd speak to her and ask her advice if I were you.

2. YES, practice time is VERY important, as important as private time with your coach. The only way to improve is to practice, practice, and practice and the more you practice, the more you improve! And not only lots of practice on the ice, but also off ice specific training for figure skating. Hire an off ice coach as well, if this option is available to you.

first of all, thank you for responding. you have been very helpful as well before with my boots issue ))

to answer 1), yes it is fine. The coaches here are more of a freelance individuals rather than one attached to a specific school so it is not that strict. So, she won't have any qualms about it (I will ask anyway, as a courtesy). I'm just worried that it could mess up with my training since I assume people may have different approaches to techniques. So, I am worried that it would hinder rather than aid my progress.

2) I assumed so. I'm thinking on doing 2x/week (in addition to my coaching time). Do you think this is sufficient? The coach I have at the moment is also qualified for off-ice training so I wonder when should I start doing it. Should it be done parallel to my on-ice or should I wait a bit more until I'm more advanced on ice?

 

[LolaSkatesInJapan]

1. If they are not strict about training with different coaches, one more reason to talk to her, she can maybe recommend a friend/collleague of hers who might have time to train you too, and whose approach is either similar to hers or an approach she sees it is beneficial to you, in addition to her training!!

2. Personally, I have 3 weekly hours with my private coach (in separate days). I'd like more. but same as your coach, mine is VERY busy too, making time for all her skaters, her duties as rink director and traveling for competitions etc. I train 3 hours ( I stay in the rink for 4 hours. 40 minutes for warm up before practice, 3 hours of practice and the remaining 20 minutes is either bathroom/drink breaks and time to get changed) per day. The days I have private coaching, I practice on my own before my private time, and depending on the time, afterwards too. The days I don't have private coaching, I spend the 3 hours practicing on my own. And on Sunday I have a group technique group class (1 hour) and I practice for 2 hours on my own prior to this class.
I also have 1 hour of private off ice coaching per week, which I go to after on ice practice (or if the coach is busy, we do it on Saturday evening. Saturday is my weekly vacation from the rink). I practice my off ice exercises either here on my home (I have a dedicated bedroom for exercising), some of them I do as before ice warm up, and I usually go to the gym for 1 hour before going to the rink (the gym is accross the street from the rink, very convenient, and my home is a 5 minute walk from the rink and from the gym). In this same gym I go to a yoga class once a week and to a pilates class once a week too (these are always before my rink on ice practice). My ice practice always starts at 1:15 pm (everyday is the same, even in the days I have my coach) so I arrive at the rink at 12:30/12:35.

Sorry for the long text describing all my practices for figure skating, but I did as an example of what works for me. Speaking to other rink mates, or coach mates (skaters who also train with my coach), the skaters practice on ice very often and complement their practice routine with some kind of off ice exercise that helps with skating.

You have to analyze your own routine and plan your practices in a way that works for you and helps you with your skating, but constant practice is very important. However is best to practice a determined amount of hours very often and not 1 day for many, many, many hours, then you don't go to the rink for many days.

You are very welcome and if this is helpful, I'm happy

 

[hope_skate]

1. If they are not strict about training with different coaches, one more reason to talk to her, she can maybe recommend a friend/collleague of hers who might have time to train you too, and whose approach is either similar to hers or an approach she sees it is beneficial to you, in addition to her training!!

2. Personally, I have 3 weekly hours with my private coach (in separate days). I'd like more. but same as your coach, mine is VERY busy too, making time for all her skaters, her duties as rink director and traveling for competitions etc. I train 3 hours ( I stay in the rink for 4 hours. 40 minutes for warm up before practice, 3 hours of practice and the remaining 20 minutes is either bathroom/drink breaks and time to get changed) per day. The days I have private coaching, I practice on my own before my private time, and depending on the time, afterwards too. The days I don't have private coaching, I spend the 3 hours practicing on my own. And on Sunday I have a group technique group class (1 hour) and I practice for 2 hours on my own prior to this class.
I also have 1 hour of private off ice coaching per week, which I go to after on ice practice (or if the coach is busy, we do it on Saturday evening. Saturday is my weekly vacation from the rink). I practice my off ice exercises either here on my home (I have a dedicated bedroom for exercising), some of them I do as before ice warm up, and I usually go to the gym for 1 hour before going to the rink (the gym is accross the street from the rink, very convenient, and my home is a 5 minute walk from the rink and from the gym). In this same gym I go to a yoga class once a week and to a pilates class once a week too (these are always before my rink on ice practice). My ice practice always starts at 1:15 pm (everyday is the same, even in the days I have my coach) so I arrive at the rink at 12:30/12:35.

Sorry for the long text describing all my practices for figure skating, but I did as an example of what works for me. Speaking to other rink mates, or coach mates (skaters who also train with my coach), the skaters practice on ice very often and complement their practice routine with some kind of off ice exercise that helps with skating.

You have to analyze your own routine and plan your practices in a way that works for you and helps you with your skating, but constant practice is very important. However is best to practice a determined amount of hours very often and not 1 day for many, many, many hours, then you don't go to the rink for many days.

You are very welcome and if this is helpful, I'm happy

I absolutely love the details rather than some vague description as it helps me visualise what might work for me. I admire your tenacity with such schedule. I think I should've mentioned that I am an adult skater doing this as a hobby (I still want progress, but the career train has passed), so I don't think it is feasible to train 6 days/week with my schedule as a PhD student and teaching assistant.

I do love the suggestion on asking if my coach knows someone who could step up since her schedule is busy. I am still looking at this option since she is based in the rink nearby and moving across the city in Moscow is such a pain with skates (heavy big bags, blades setting off metal detectors etc). I think I'll give it a week or two to see if we can set up a system where I can do 2 sessions per week. If the busy schedule persists, then I may need to look at the option you recommended.

Question on the 40 minutes warm up - is it off or on ice?

As always, thank you for taking the time to help ))

 

[LolaSkatesInJapan]

Congratulations on the PhD studies! Quite an accomplishment!!

I'm also an adult skater, however to me (this is very personal, and of course each person enjoys skating in a different way and does great, this is just me) this is absolutely no hobby and the main focus/priority on my life, therefore the daily practices and only 1 day vacation a week. As hobby, I like to watch skating videos, action, sci fi and horror films, educational documentaries and true crime cases before bedtime

I absolutely understand you regarding moving around the city with heavy bag. I live in Tokyo Japan and used to take 2 trains to go from my home to the rink (we have a car, but it's 1 car for 2 people who drive it). Imagine going in the busy trains with a big bag full of skating things (I have a personal locker at the rink, but it's just full of clothes and accessories, I carry my skates, drink and personal things everyday to the rink).
Recently we moved homes to live very close to the rink. Imagine my happiness to only walk 5 minutes instead of 1 hour travel to go, 1 hour travel to come back, taking trains

YES, I usually do the 40 minutes warm up off the ice, wearing trainers shoes. Run around the rink, then maybe jump rope, do some squats, hip exercises, then jumps, then many stretchings, stretch calves, hammstrings, ankles and feet, then I drink something, sit and put my skates on to go on the ice (in the gym I do 20 minutes in the walking machine/treadmill, then 20 minutes of bycicle machine, then 20 minutes of the exercises my off coach teaches me)

Each person is different and the purpose with skating is different. Routines and obligations also different, but you study your routine, see how much time you can set for skating per week and you make your skate practice also part of your routine in a way that doesn't overwhelm you.
There are people who only show up in the rink 1 time a week, for the lesson, then leave when the lesson is finished and only come back next week when it's time for the lesson again. No practice of any kind. Progress will be difficult like this.
But if you can maybe practice twice a week on your own, or practice 1 hour after or before your lesson, then you will see the progress

 

[hope_skate]

Hello fellow skater there!! thank you for your encouragement. I think the word "hobby" is very general here. I'm directly translating from Russian, which in a way means that you're just not doing it as a pro-athlete. But definitely want to progress and not just on-off thing. Which is why I am keen on having at least 2x/week session. My initial plan is to do 2x/week private lessons + 2-3x/week of practice on ice without trainer.

I try not to do more to avoid burnout and to leave time for other aspects of my life (This had happen before and put me off the activity, which I want to avoid with FS). But thank you for the glimpse into your routine. It is definitely helpful in aiding me to structure the schedule around my current lifestyle.

Also, and I cannot stress this enough, I absolutely love that you've made this dedication to FS. I know it is not easy for us adults, especially considering comments like "what's the point if you're never competing/going pro etc". I'm rooting for you

 

[gkelly]

When I was a somewhat younger middle-aged recreational adult skater, it would be typical for me to have 1 or 2 half hour lessons a week, and to skate a total of 2 to 5 hours per week. So two to four times as much warmup and practice time on the ice by myself as time actually in lesson.

The exact percentage can vary for many reasons, including what kinds of ice time are available to you during the week.

But yes, if you are able to, it's good to practice on your own between lessons what you learned in your lessons.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hey everyone!

After reading, researching, and receiving advice (thank you @Ic3Rabbit because my boots and blades fit like a glove! no more heel slippage!), I got myself a coach and enrolled myself in individual lessons. I was planning on shopping around but this coach is so amazing I feel comfortable going forwards with her. Now, to the issue(s):

1. She is very good, and therefore in demand. So, I may only be able to fit into 1x lesson per week, which is not enough imo. If I book early, I may be able to get 2x/week but that's not a guarantee. I would prefer getting 2x per week. I have no specific goals that I am rushing towards but I do prefer not having such a big time gap in between lessons and ice time. Would you recommend I supplement this with another private coach OR enrolling into group lessons (not with her, with a sport academy locally)?

2. Ice time. My first time skating in my life was just few months ago, so I am aware that I can get a bit timid whenever I'm away from ice for too long. Is it a good idea to go to public skating sessions and skate on my own just to fill the time in between lessons (and to also work on what I've learnt)? Would it be wise to do so without a trainer/coach along?

Financially, I have enough for any of these options because it is affordable here where I live since there are a lot of options. They ain't cheap, but manageable. Just want to see the best course of action before I spend any money because well, money is still money.

Thank you in advance!

First of all, you are very welcome regarding the boots and blades, I am so glad it worked out!

Now I'll try to answer your other questions here as simply as possible.

1. You could see if your coach could work with you 2x a week, if she cannot then ask her if she thinks that supplementing with group lessons would help? She may not want you to b/c the other coaches in another rink for the group lessons may teach differently the techniques and it would hinder you. But please ask your coach.

2. Yes, go to public sessions and yes you are fine to yourself w/o coach. Just know that most places if you are going to practice figure skating edges/movements you must do so at middle of ice. Not around the other perimeter where most are just stroking etc. The other option is if you are a member of skating club/academy where you take lessons with your coach, they would have ice time scheduled for just their figure skaters. You could check on that.


I hope that this helped! Good luck!