Regaining motivation after a setback

Dancesonice · Nov 29, 2018

I have been working hard for the past few months to get through my adult solo prebronze dances. Decided to go ahead and finally test swing and cha cha. Thought the test was not too bad, but I got a picky single panel judge. I’d say my coach was equally surprised to see 2 retries and not even close to passing scores.

Anyway, so far I only went back once and did ok but I’m struggling to find motivation to get back in the groove. I know what to work on. Any tips would be appreciated!!

Ic3Rabbit · Nov 29, 2018

Keep working on it and know that you can do it. Keep telling yourself that you can.

satine · Nov 29, 2018

I am not a skater myself, but I do work in the counseling field. My motto for anyone is that you can only improve the more you work towards a goal. Slow or fast progress is still progress

hanyuufan5 · Nov 29, 2018

Watch your favorite couple/skater/pair's worst performance, followed by their best!

cl2 · Nov 30, 2018

If your goal is to pass tests, figure out exactly what needs to be improved and break it down into small, achievable and actionable steps.

karne · Nov 30, 2018

hanyuufan5 said:
Watch your favorite couple/skater/pair's worst performance, followed by their best!

I actually can't promote this technique enough. It's really good! Sometimes the most effective program pair changes, but my current program pair for this purpose is Max's 2017 Nationals SP then 2017 Cup of China FS.

Even the best have bad days.

sandraskates · Nov 30, 2018

Sometimes it's nice to step away from the "task at hand" such as the dances you want to test and pass.
If you're willing and capable of leaning some of the dances beyond the two you're working on, start now. Work on the Bronzes (maybe even learn steps to the Pre-Silvers), then go back to the dances you need to pass. They may even seem easier because you'll have learned some of the higher dances.

Or, start learning some of the Moves in the Field as a temporary diversion. You might decide to test those too.

Good luck in whatever you decide and do!

jf12 · Nov 30, 2018

Dancesonice said:
I have been working hard for the past few months to get through my adult solo prebronze dances. Decided to go ahead and finally test swing and cha cha. Thought the test was not too bad, but I got a picky single panel judge. I’d say my coach was equally surprised to see 2 retries and not even close to passing scores.

Anyway, so far I only went back once and did ok but I’m struggling to find motivation to get back in the groove. I know what to work on. Any tips would be appreciated!!

Almost everyone feels this way the first time they get a retry, especially if you've been sailing through tests before - I definitely did. You can ask any elite skater or coach on tests they've had to retry, and get ready for some great stories about failing pre-preliminary moves, failing european waltz twice after having already passed senior moves... these types of stories are common! I also think that judges should have consistent standards, but often they enjoy giving retrys to people who look like they could easily pass but are a little sloppy. They don't appreciate 'good' skaters not skating up to their potential. A retry doesn't mean you're not a good skater. It only means you will be that much better when you do pass.

Edited to add - the extra time polishing your skills on these dances is also going to help you pass your next ones a lot faster. Even if they were a bit harsh on this one, the next level is a higher standard and you would need to fix everything you're fixing now anyway!

figureskaterdude · Nov 30, 2018

I tape any failed test sheets to my wall in front of my bed so its the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see when I go to bed.

This is probably not the best method to go about recovering from a failure, but it works well for me. Whenever I wake up in the morning and maybe feel like not getting out of bed to go to that early practice I have those sheets staring right at me as a reminder of what can happen at the next test session if I don't buckle down and work harder. Whenever I go to bed I have those sheets to look at and I can reflect if I did something today that will impact my goals of passing that test in a positive way or if I took the easy way out and maybe didn't go to the gym or didn't practice as hard as I could have on the ice that day.

Also remember that the overall goal of skating should be to improve yourself as a skater and to have fun while doing it. Passing tests are just little check marks along the way of you ultimately becoming an amazing skater. Failing a test doesn't take away from what you have accomplished so far, and it doesn't take away from what you will accomplish later on.

wobblepro · Nov 30, 2018

Dancesonice said:
I have been working hard for the past few months to get through my adult solo prebronze dances. Decided to go ahead and finally test swing and cha cha. Thought the test was not too bad, but I got a picky single panel judge. I’d say my coach was equally surprised to see 2 retries and not even close to passing scores.

Anyway, so far I only went back once and did ok but I’m struggling to find motivation to get back in the groove. I know what to work on. Any tips would be appreciated!!

As someone who has not yet started testing, I have no advice for you that others haven't already given. But I would be interested in hearing what your overall pre-bronze testing experience was like. I too am tentatively planning to pursue solo ice dance (though I may try singles too at first to get a feel for what works best for me), but am not sure how solo ice dance works with regards to testing. Like, do they make you test with a partner even if you're planning on competing solo? And if not, how do they handle testing for different holds and such? Or do they not test for that?

jf12 · Nov 30, 2018

figureskaterdude said:
I tape any failed test sheets to my wall in front of my bed so its the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see when I go to bed.

This is very extreme but I appreciate it :laugh:

gkelly · Nov 30, 2018

wobblepro said:
As someone who has not yet started testing, I have no advice for you that others haven't already given. But I would be interested in hearing what your overall pre-bronze testing experience was like. I too am tentatively planning to pursue solo ice dance (though I may try singles too at first to get a feel for what works best for me), but am not sure how solo ice dance works with regards to testing. Like, do they make you test with a partner even if you're planning on competing solo? And if not, how do they handle testing for different holds and such? Or do they not test for that?

There are separate tests with or without a partner.

The solo tests are the same patterns but with no partner. These will qualify you for the solo dance series but not for partnered dance tests or competition.

If you pass solo dance tests and later want to test with a partner (including a coach of either sex), you would need to go back and pass the prerequisite tests with a partner.

If you have passed partnered dance tests you could then switch over to solo track without having to go back and retest lower dances solo.

Speaking as a not-young adult working on pre-silver dances, I am grateful for the support of a partner (coach). I'm never going to do the Foxtrot mohawk, or many moves on the silver and higher tests if I ever get there, without someone or something to hold onto, so if solo were my only option I'd be done with dance after the European Waltz.

narcissa · Nov 30, 2018

figureskaterdude said:
I tape any failed test sheets to my wall in front of my bed so its the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see when I go to bed.

Are you Yuzu :laugh:

(he puts his 3 Skate Canada silver medals in front of his bed)

figureskaterdude · Nov 30, 2018

narcissa said:
Are you Yuzu (he puts his 3 Skate Canada silver medals in front of his bed)

LOL I wish. That is funny I honestly didn't know he did that!

Spinning · Nov 30, 2018

Dancesonice said:
I’d say my coach was equally surprised to see 2 retries and not even close to passing scores.

I found this statement a bit disturbing. How can you rework or fix your weakness if your coach was clueless to your test result. You need to sort it out with your coach first. You pay lots of money into your skating not to mention your time and efforts. It won't fair to yourself to not get support you deserved. Skating might be your happiness in life. I don't want you to quit without good guidances.

jf12 · Nov 30, 2018

Spinning said:
I found this statement a bit disturbing. How can you rework or fix your weakness if your coach was clueless to your test result. You need to sort it out with your coach first. You pay lots of money into your skating not to mention your time and efforts. It won't fair to yourself to not get support you deserved. Skating might be your happiness in life. I don't want you to quit without good guidances.

To be fair, not every judge or coach is familiar with adult passing standards - they could be good in other aspects.

christy · Nov 30, 2018

Spinning said:
I found this statement a bit disturbing. How can you rework or fix your weakness if your coach was clueless to your test result. You need to sort it out with your coach first. You pay lots of money into your skating not to mention your time and efforts. It won't fair to yourself to not get support you deserved. Skating might be your happiness in life. I don't want you to quit without good guidances.

I read the OP's post differently. I've seen lots of coaches watch tests and think that the result could go either way, especially if the judge lets the tester do an extra pattern which goes better (although recent judges have always stopped after the minimum number of patterns)

Spinning · Nov 30, 2018

jf12 said:
To be fair, not every judge or coach is familiar with adult passing standards - they could be good in other aspects.

Of course almost everyone has strong and weaknest. But it is not fair to students to be lead blindly in the wrong direction too.

christy said:
I read the OP's post differently. I've seen lots of coaches watch tests and think that the result could go either way, especially if the judge lets the tester do an extra pattern which goes better (although recent judges have always stopped after the minimum number of patterns)

I gets your points but as OP stated in her post his/her coach didn't get the either the low scores or even the retest that sound worrisome. I saw some strick judges or even bias ones (either against coaches or skaters) but at least some explanations can be a good start and help with strong motivation to come back stronger.

Dancesonice · Nov 30, 2018

Thanks everyone!! Love all the tips and will try to see what works for me! As far as what exactly happened at the test session:
- cha cha: first pattern was ok but I got slightly off time on the second one. I knew this was a bit troublesome when I didn’t get a re-skate. She marked me -3 on timing and -1 for the wide step not defined. Noted: lack of eye contact but 0.
- swing: two feet skating after back chasses and shallow edges -3, also -1 for timing (puzzling as I was on time here) and -1 for lack of expression.

Honestly we were not sure if cha cha would pass based on one pattern without a redo but were thinking swing was close. Neither according to -4 and -5.

Then my coach said: yeah she’s always tough. Honestly I understand and will work on those areas (particularly my back section of swing). I think as an adult I expected this was enough and my coach perhaps too. I may be the lonely adult dancer he has. But that’s alright. I was already thinking to work more on bronze dances (I have been a little on my own) and get back to silver moves and my bronze freeskate that I temporarily abandoned. The first time I went back after the test I did a lot of freeskate but found myself back at dances soon. Can’t help it

And yes whoever said it’s hard to fail the first time. I have passed my prebronze MIF, free, bronze MIF and three prelim dances without major issues.

Ic3Rabbit · Nov 30, 2018

With dances, you not only have to get the steps and movement correct, but you also have to sell the heck out of them. Yes I know they are only tests and you are a solo adult skater, but nonetheless.

That is one thing they look for. Keep trying, practice with the intent on getting those moves and selling the feel and look of those dances (expression!) and good luck! :biggrin:

ETA: Congrats on the tests you have already passed! :cheer:

Regaining motivation after a setback

Dancesonice

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