Coaches asking me to quit class??

[sonitaskates!]

Hi, my name is Sonya, some of you will remember me from me asking for boot assistance and help.

I wanted to ask for help on something new this time, yesterday I started a new class called Junior Development. I was having a lot of trouble and was nervous because we were sharing a rink with girls who were extremly good and were running programs, their in a different program named star skate , im not sure why we were skating with them but I always moved out of their way and to be honest I was terrified doing backward bubbles because my skates felt weird, the really advanced girls were laughing at me, and I could barely look back. Usually I can do super fast backward bubbles but this time I felt so out of place wearing a helmet and I was the only one wearing one out of everyone else. The coach pulled four out of ten of us to the side to work on finding the direction of ur spins and jumps, she just told us to start off with jumping off two feet from fowards to backwards, so basically a waltz jump. She helped us all, find our direction and nothing felt weird infact I was the only one out the four who could do a waltz, and actually this was the first time I landed a waltz without feeling like my ankle was going to collapse from my jackson artistes. I also got about 5 revalotions on my two foot spin (probably doesnt sound like an accomplishment to more seasoned skaters but i was so happy), but today my parents recieved an email, the email said that I needed to do an assement before coming into their class, and that all the coaches talked and said I should go back to canskate level 3. I already graduated level 4 of canskate, and that was the only requirement written on the Junior Devolpment page. I just feel really hurt, because my friend who didnt even know how to skate joined Junior Devolpment a seson before me and got her waltz the third time she attended class, she didnt do any assesment they never emailed her? The coaches were also discussing this other boy who could barely spin, I heard them discussing how he could improve and how they'll help him but why can they help him and not me as well? The girls in my class arent that advanced, their only on one foot spins and salchow, I can catch up to them in like 2 classes, I dont want to argue with my coaches if its truely the best for me to quit but im just really hurt and this program is much more suited for me, especially with there being two coaches for 10 people, in my old class it was 1 coach for 15 and it felt more self taught then anything. I dont know if I should just say nothing and get a refund and leave. Still, honeslty if I do I dont know if ill have the heart to figure skate again, I love them sport so much. I know im not that skilled or naturally talented but I genuienly want to learn, and im truly sorry if I sound dramatic. Still, I wasnt expecting to get kicked out of a class when I know theres people who were levels below me who were allowed to stay, please help me decide if I should get a refund and leave or explain to them how I just got new skates and im truely catching up.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

This whole situation sounds like a mess. I'd talk to the skating director at your rink and sort things out.

 

[sonitaskates!]

This whole situation sounds like a mess. I'd talk to the skating director at your rink and sort things out.

that sounds like a good solution, so instead of replying to my club I directly find the skating director?

 

[Diana Delafield]

Hi, my name is Sonya, some of you will remember me from me asking for boot assistance and help.

I wanted to ask for help on something new this time, yesterday I started a new class called Junior Development. I was having a lot of trouble and was nervous because we were sharing a rink with girls who were extremly good and were running programs, their in a different program named star skate , im not sure why we were skating with them but I always moved out of their way and to be honest I was terrified doing backward bubbles because my skates felt weird, the really advanced girls were laughing at me, and I could barely look back. Usually I can do super fast backward bubbles but this time I felt so out of place wearing a helmet and I was the only one wearing one out of everyone else. The coach pulled four out of ten of us to the side to work on finding the direction of ur spins and jumps, she just told us to start off with jumping off two feet from fowards to backwards, so basically a waltz jump. She helped us all, find our direction and nothing felt weird infact I was the only one out the four who could do a waltz, and actually this was the first time I landed a waltz without feeling like my ankle was going to collapse from my jackson artistes. I also got about 5 revalotions on my two foot spin (probably doesnt sound like an accomplishment to more seasoned skaters but i was so happy), but today my parents recieved an email, the email said that I needed to do an assement before coming into their class, and that all the coaches talked and said I should go back to canskate level 3. I already graduated level 4 of canskate, and that was the only requirement written on the Junior Devolpment page. I just feel really hurt, because my friend who didnt even know how to skate joined Junior Devolpment a seson before me and got her waltz the third time she attended class, she didnt do any assesment they never emailed her? The coaches were also discussing this other boy who could barely spin, I heard them discussing how he could improve and how they'll help him but why can they help him and not me as well? The girls in my class arent that advanced, their only on one foot spins and salchow, I can catch up to them in like 2 classes, I dont want to argue with my coaches if its truely the best for me to quit but im just really hurt and this program is much more suited for me, especially with there being two coaches for 10 people, in my old class it was 1 coach for 15 and it felt more self taught then anything. I dont know if I should just say nothing and get a refund and leave. Still, honeslty if I do I dont know if ill have the heart to figure skate again, I love them sport so much. I know im not that skilled or naturally talented but I genuienly want to learn, and im truly sorry if I sound dramatic. Still, I wasnt expecting to get kicked out of a class when I know theres people who were levels below me who were allowed to stay, please help me decide if I should get a refund and leave or explain to them how I just got new skates and im truely catching up.

This situation obviously needs clearing up. How involved are your parents with your skating? You said the email was sent to them, so is it possible one or both of them can join you in asking for an informal meeting with whoever is in charge of the program? At least to clarify who makes these decisions to move skaters around in the levels and why in your case? We would hate to see you give up on skating when you love it and want to learn more! Please hang in there until you and your parents get some clear answers. Good luck!

 

[tstop4me]

I agree that the first step is for you and your parents to meet with the program director to clarify what's going on. Even if the program director were to say it's OK for you to stay in the program, however, you would then be faced with coaches who don't think you belong there. Not a good scenario.

Do you have the option of private lessons at your rink? They will likely be a lot more expensive than group lessons. But talk to your parents, and see if that's a viable option. That would eliminate the issue of whether you are placed in the appropriate group (as well as secondary issues, such as feeling uncomfortable because you're the only one wearing a helmet); and you can proceed at your own pace. But please don't be discouraged to the point of giving up.

 

[sonitaskates!]

This situation obviously needs clearing up. How involved are your parents with your skating? You said the email was sent to them, so is it possible one or both of them can join you in asking for an informal meeting with whoever is in charge of the program? At least to clarify who makes these decisions to move skaters around in the levels and why in your case? We would hate to see you give up on skating when you love it and want to learn more! Please hang in there until you and your parents get some clear answers. Good luck!

hi!! my parents are very involved in my skating, they know I won't be the next olympic champion or anything LOL but they support my progress and love seeing me on the ice, we all wrote an email together to them explaining how I graduated canskate level 3 while I completed 2/3 badges for level 4 and im just relearning because of new skates , however now they said that I needed to completely graduate canskate level 4, I'd understand if it was actually true that skaters had to graduate from canskate 4, but 4 of my figureskating friends told me that junior devolpment the first class they went to when they had no idea how to even skate, even less do a jump. so I'm not sure if they are just implementing the rules now or what, I dont really mind anymore to be honest, my family and friends helped me see that my worth is more then just a club accepting me into a program, and if they don't see my potential that's on them. Apparently the coaches make the decisions because they said they discussed my placement during the lesson and they both decided that I should be regressed to level 3. I'm not really sure why in my case their pushing me back to canskate but to be honest I'm soo over this club, I'm joining a different one 3 minutes away from the first one I was in

 

[sonitaskates!]

I agree that the first step is for you and your parents to meet with the program director to clarify what's going on. Even if the program director were to say it's OK for you to stay in the program, however, you would then be faced with coaches who don't think you belong there. Not a good scenario.

Do you have the option of private lessons at your rink? They will likely be a lot more expensive than group lessons. But talk to your parents, and see if that's a viable option. That would eliminate the issue of whether you are placed in the appropriate group (as well as secondary issues, such as feeling uncomfortable because you're the only one wearing a helmet); and you can proceed at your own pace. But please don't be discouraged to the point of giving up.

I updated the scenario in the previous reply! they didn't allow me to stay but atleast I got refunded! I can look for private lessons but my dad's work actually pays for my lessons at the moment because we moved for his work and they cover a lot of expenses, my dad basically has to give them receipt and they'll pay him, I like semi private lessons because they give me advice and then I have time to work on my skills while they help others and come back around, I'm completely open to the idea I just don't know how to find private coaches or coaching

thank you for the encouragement!!

 

[Diana Delafield]

hi!! my parents are very involved in my skating, they know I won't be the next olympic champion or anything LOL but they support my progress and love seeing me on the ice, we all wrote an email together to them explaining how I graduated canskate level 3 while I completed 2/3 badges for level 4 and im just relearning because of new skates , however now they said that I needed to completely graduate canskate level 4, I'd understand if it was actually true that skaters had to graduate from canskate 4, but 4 of my figureskating friends told me that junior devolpment the first class they went to when they had no idea how to even skate, even less do a jump. so I'm not sure if they are just implementing the rules now or what, I dont really mind anymore to be honest, my family and friends helped me see that my worth is more then just a club accepting me into a program, and if they don't see my potential that's on them. Apparently the coaches make the decisions because they said they discussed my placement during the lesson and they both decided that I should be regressed to level 3. I'm not really sure why in my case their pushing me back to canskate but to be honest I'm soo over this club, I'm joining a different one 3 minutes away from the first one I was in

Good luck at your new club! I hope it's a better fit for you and that you continue to progress in your skating.

 

[sonitaskates!]

update!:

I decided to listen to the coaches advice and finish canskate level 4! all the other clubs I looked at also require graduation of level 4 to be in any intro to figure skating programs, im not sure why they decided to kick me out but im going take it as it is, my skills right now aren’t the best and i can’t keep blaming it on everything else, im going to improve my skills and try my best to graduate can skate 4, that’s how i’ll improve and become a better skater,

thank you all for motivating me, have an amazing day!

 

[tstop4me]

update!:

I decided to listen to the coaches advice and finish canskate level 4! all the other clubs I looked at also require graduation of level 4 to be in any intro to figure skating programs, im not sure why they decided to kick me out but im going take it as it is, my skills right now aren’t the best and i can’t keep blaming it on everything else, im going to improve my skills and try my best to graduate can skate 4, that’s how i’ll improve and become a better skater,

thank you all for motivating me, have an amazing day!

That shows a high degree of maturity on your part.

 

[Query]

It's great that you got a refund, that you can apply towards semi-private lessons. I don't know about Canada, but in the U.S., many rinks and programs wouldn't do that.

Is the rink at which you previously passed CanSkate 4 the same as the current rink, which kicked you out of the development class?

While I've only taken U.S. classes, I think it is completely normal for passing standards to be quite different from one rink's program to the next.

E.g., some programs have much higher standards than others for one foot glides. E.g., at some U.S. rinks, they don't really expect people to be able to hold a glide on a well defined inside or especially outside edge (leaned one foot glides), or do graceful crossovers, until freestyle 2 or 3 or 4 or even later- i.e., when they are doing half (or maybe even full) rotation jumps off of one foot. In fact, many of the people doing nice single jumps or even axels, as well as spins, are clumsy on the crossovers leading into them, and can't hold the exit edge. I'm not sure why. Perhaps many coaches believe you can always easily learn to hold edges and do clean crossovers, but that you need to start strengthening yourself for jumps as early as possible. Or perhaps they think edges and crossovers aren't fun enough to hold students' interest.

OTOH, at some rinks, the learn-to-skate program directors want to see deep well-held edges, and clean bent-knee crossovers with deep underpushes, from the start. And they may expect you to be able to skate fairly fast. They may also expect you to bend your knees deeper than you do while walking. E.g., I took some lessons from an ice dance coach who told me that I should sink into a "sitting" position - i.e., to be able to sink during the stroke to a 90 degree bent knee angle. For me at least, that took more strength than I was initially able to do. For that matter, ice dance coaches made it clear that although I had passed the early ISI freestyle levels at another rink, I wasn't "really" able to consistently glide on enough of an edge to count as a "real" edge. (But: that is partly the difference between normal skating and ice dance. The ice dancers place much more priority on edges, deep knees and clean strokes. For example, the 90 degree angle is much deeper than you need at your level.)

If you were mostly self-taught, as you say, because the student/teacher ratio was very low, you didn't get the feedback, and maybe didn't learn the standards, that a more advanced coach would likely want you to meet.

Is the coach(es) who you are taking semi-private lessons from one of the ones who didn't adequately communicate to you the issues? If so, I hope they do better in semi-privates. Teaching anything to a large group, with mixed abilities and learning styles, in any subject, is hard, and one some coaches never learn well. That's as true in skating as it is in academic subjects.

If one of the coaches communicates to you better than the others, or other skaters say one of the other coaches is really good at teaching, that coach might be a good pick for a private coach too, should you be able to do that. Another thing to look for is whether the coach's other students look good while they are skating. You might not know the standards to judge their skill level, but confidence, grace, power and speed are obvious to anyone. I would personally look more for those things than the skating skills mastered by the students. And stay far, far away from any coach who seems abusive. If they yell and scream at their students, they can't be fun to learn from.

You can also look for teaching style, as they teach other students. Maybe you need good explanations, in words. Maybe you need good demonstrations. Maybe you need both. Some coaches are good at one teaching style, but not the other. Likewise, some coaches have trouble figuring out how to tell a student what they must do to improve.

And some coaches are mean - after a few classes, they kick out the students in group lessons who don't make the grade. Like they did with you! That might be consistent with a "developmental skating" class. "Developmental" can mean more than one thing. It can mean it is for students who have learning disabilities. But it can mean it is for students who have a hope at eventually competing at a high level. If you don't advance fast enough, or look good enough, they aren't interested in you. (Sometimes they deliberately don't teach well enough for the slow learners, to speed the selection up.) They only want to coach students who have the potential to compete well.

Do you spend much time skating outside class? That's pretty important to mastering the skills taught in class, and gives you a huge advantage over the students who don't.

It is quite common for skaters to review and enhance earlier learned skills, to make them better. You could see this as an opportunity to do that. For example, if you get so you look really, really good at edges (one foot glides) and other basic "foundation skills", coaches may be more willing to help you, because they will think you are serious about learning. You could also learn to do safe gentle falls, so you feel less of a need to use a helmet - unfortunately some coaches don't respect students who use helmets. And of course, you could also be strengthening yourself (on and off ice) so you will eventually be able to jump well. E.g., off ice, practice skipping, hopping, maybe even jump roping.

Anyway, good luck!