I guess I would be counted as a newbie in the world of figure skating. I have been skating a measly 2 1/2 years now, and I am working on my first figure skating program.I am in pre-preliminary free skate and preliminary moves, but I will be competing in no test. I started relatively late, at 11. I have been working with my coach on my program for some time now, as it has just been finished. My coach says I am not going fast enough and that I am not graceful enough. I accept this criticism, because it is probably true, but I just don't feel like I get it. The program has yet to "click" for me. A lot of the elements in my program i can't do consistently.( is this normal? ). My coach keeps on saying I need to work on this or i need to work on that, but she never even taught me the things she put in my program!!! I don't think my program flows really well either.
We (my coach and I) have also been thinking about competition. I have done ONE competition before, but it was a moves competition, and I received dead last. I kind of lost confidence in myself, because, unfortunately I have a lot of pride and I lost against 8 year olds ( I am 13). I really don't want to suffer that kind of embarrassment again. And even worse, a lot of my competitors also have my coach, and I'm pretty sure she believes in them more than me. I have a really competitive environment at my rink and almost everybody is better than me, so I get really self-conscious at the public sessions also.
I'm sorry if this sounds like a rant, but i just needed to get it out. I love this sport, but sometimes I just wonder if I'm actually improving. The lessons at my rink are really extremely expensive- $50 per 30 min! And I don't have the highest level coach either. I know it is hard to see day to day improvement, but working in a negative environment and trying to stay positive is really hard. My parents don't really want to spend money on me skating, because they know I'm not going to the Olympics so they think that it is a waste and that I won't get anywhere with it.
I guess I am just looking for some reassurment and advice. I know I should just deal with it and go on, but it's hard. Im sorry if I'm bothering you....
We (my coach and I) have also been thinking about competition. I have done ONE competition before, but it was a moves competition, and I received dead last. I kind of lost confidence in myself, because, unfortunately I have a lot of pride and I lost against 8 year olds ( I am 13). I really don't want to suffer that kind of embarrassment again. And even worse, a lot of my competitors also have my coach, and I'm pretty sure she believes in them more than me. I have a really competitive environment at my rink and almost everybody is better than me, so I get really self-conscious at the public sessions also.
I'm sorry if this sounds like a rant, but i just needed to get it out. I love this sport, but sometimes I just wonder if I'm actually improving. The lessons at my rink are really extremely expensive- $50 per 30 min! And I don't have the highest level coach either. I know it is hard to see day to day improvement, but working in a negative environment and trying to stay positive is really hard. My parents don't really want to spend money on me skating, because they know I'm not going to the Olympics so they think that it is a waste and that I won't get anywhere with it.
I guess I am just looking for some reassurment and advice. I know I should just deal with it and go on, but it's hard. Im sorry if I'm bothering you....