- Joined
- May 4, 2014
Hi all,
After almost two years off of the ice, I have been thinking about returning. I have some concerns and issues with doing so, and am curious about whatever advice anyone may have, or if anyone has had the same struggles in their skating careers and could provide some insight.
My main reason for leaving was that life simply got busy (I think that really happens to us all.) As I moved on to higher education, I felt I really needed to dedicate my time to my initial year. Looking back, I am very glad I did, but this time away has allowed me to reflect on skating and whether or not I really want to go back.
One big issue for me (and probably the second biggest reason for taking a break) was feeling burnt out. As much as I loved the sport, it started to become exhausting in a multitude of ways (it's one of the hardest sports, so that's not surprising, but nonetheless discouraging.) I felt like I was making absolutely no progress and was not satisfied with the way I looked when skating. I understand that it's common to feel road-block points in skating, so perhaps a break was all that was needed to cure that. (More on my progress, ability, etc. in a moment)
Unfortunately, that was hardly my only struggle. Financially, the sport is almost impossible to keep up with (again, not a shocking fact, but significant to me.) I have to drive quite a fair distance each time I want to go to my rink, which involves the cost of travel. I think our club was dealing with some non-payment issues from members, and their prices became excessive, at least in my opinion. The cost wouldn't be an issue if it was worth the hassle, but, if I'm being honest, club ice began to feel completely unorganized and crowded, and not a huge step up from public ice (which is significantly less expensive, but impossible to properly practice higher level moves on) It's quite a small club, and the higher level skaters tend to take over. I'm sure this is common, and they certainly need more ice to perform their higher-level moves, so I respect that. But it came to a point where I was literally slammed into on a daily basis if I was not hiding in the lutz corner. The lack of spatial respect from everyone is a bit frustrating, and the club felt generally unorganized and unprofessional at times (for example, program practices got me pulling my hair out a bit
, one person would do their program three times in a row, and I'd get one interrupted turn, all thanks to the lack of a reasonably formal priority list. We were lucky if there was even anyone present to manage the music box.) I love the family and casual comfort of a small club, don't get me wrong, but when I am paying the rates I was paying, I do expect to be able to use the ice as much as the others who also pay such rates. I'd also expect a professional structure and attitude from club leaders and volunteers. The city rink itself has sufficient... messiness... to put it nicely... as it is, so some clarity and maturity is necessary to keep the balance in check.
TL;DR: skating is extremely costly, and I didn't feel that I was paying appropriate prices for what I was getting. When I have college and life costs to take care of, it's frustrating to be paying a good chunk of money that isn't respected and being put towards a good skating community and experience. I understand that they need to pay for ice, as it is expensive for them, but there's too much craziness and immaturity involved to put so much financially towards it. Things like costumes, practice attire, and sports equipment are not so much a concern as I have managed to collect what I need over the past few years, and find that they last me a reasonable amount of time as long as I care for them properly.
Beyond cost, abilities are really an issue for me. I began skating at 12-13 years old (I'm now 17), which is fairly old (not too old, but still a bit late in the game.) I must admit, I feel a bit embarrassed that I can't even manage a backspin while the six year old passing me is performing a stunning axel. Nonetheless, I accept that whatever I put my mind to, I can achieve. I may be too old to go to an Olympic level, but with enough training and determination, I feel that I can certainly do well in the sport and still achieve some wonderful feats. My main problem is that I feel physically held back. I am overweight and have been since I was quite young. I know I've just got to lose the weight, not only for skating, but for my health in general. I think this may have been my biggest obstacle, since it affected my endurance, ability, and the way I perceive my physical appearance. Beyond that, figure skating puts enough pressure on the body on its own, but throw forty extra pounds in there and it's really going to cause some harm.
My weight can be lost (and I am planning to do so by no later than summer), especially since it's really not a whole lot to lose. But I have some odd physical issues that have reared their ugly heads when trying to perform skating moves. For example, I cannot turn my hips outward in order to perform moves such as the spread eagle. Not a required move, so not necessarily important, but the turnout problem hurts me in even the most basic spins, jumps, and footwork. In fact, right before I took my hiatus, I popped my knee just doing a lunge. As my lunges have gotten lower, I have needed to turn my hip out properly to allow my leg to lay on the ice nicely. Not happening. The incident occurred those two years ago, and I still feel problems with that knee (it will wobble if I stand on it a certain way, for instance.) If doing something as simple as a lunge puts me out of walking for a week, and causes apparently permanent effects, I can't imagine myself ever being able to handle an axel or double jumps, performing decent footwork, or dealing with the consequences of the injuries attained from such moves. Injuries are a part of skating, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. However, most are a result of accidental misplacement of the body from slips, falls, whacks, etc., not from ripping my knee out of place because I want to turn my leg a little further out.
Additionally, I've noticed that I have exercise induced asthma. Silly as it sounds, it is a real, and painful problem. Let's just say I was a book-reader/gamer kid and probably didn't get the physical activity in my childhood that I should have. I completely feel that the asthma symptoms are a result of extra weight and a sedentary lifestyle, and can be overcome, but it still does concern me that it could be a lasting condition for me. The cold from the rink exacerbates the problem further, causing me to wheeze and hack throughout most sessions. I have had people and coaches genuinely concerned that I was having an asthma attack, so I know it's not an all-in-the-head thing.
To summarize, I've got a lot of shaping up to do before I even think about getting back on the ice, and with that, I may have unchangeable physical issues that will prevent me from reaching my skating goals. Ultimately, I'm really not sure if I'm willing to endure the injuries one must go through to become an accomplished skater.
Finally, I felt that the path I was on was not in line with my goals. I think that I enjoy recreational kinds of figure skating (shows and exhibitions) more than competitive, and I was definitely training for competitive purposes during my skating career. Between my experiences, I have enjoyed doing programs with my club far more than competing against other skaters. Testing and competing simply have no appeal to me. I find them either boring or anxiety-inducing (beyond the normal nerves we all get). Shows, however, are exciting and rewarding. I love simply entertaining an audience and working with my fellow club members on a beautiful and spectacular project. I'm not so worried about rigid technicality as I am simply working with the choreography and using skating as an art form. I love how it's the union between thrilling athleticism and emotionally moving dance. The feeling I get from recreational skating is what made me fall in love with the sport and fight for it to begin with, and perhaps, through training for competitions, I forgot that.
After almost two years off of the ice, I have been thinking about returning. I have some concerns and issues with doing so, and am curious about whatever advice anyone may have, or if anyone has had the same struggles in their skating careers and could provide some insight.
My main reason for leaving was that life simply got busy (I think that really happens to us all.) As I moved on to higher education, I felt I really needed to dedicate my time to my initial year. Looking back, I am very glad I did, but this time away has allowed me to reflect on skating and whether or not I really want to go back.
One big issue for me (and probably the second biggest reason for taking a break) was feeling burnt out. As much as I loved the sport, it started to become exhausting in a multitude of ways (it's one of the hardest sports, so that's not surprising, but nonetheless discouraging.) I felt like I was making absolutely no progress and was not satisfied with the way I looked when skating. I understand that it's common to feel road-block points in skating, so perhaps a break was all that was needed to cure that. (More on my progress, ability, etc. in a moment)
Unfortunately, that was hardly my only struggle. Financially, the sport is almost impossible to keep up with (again, not a shocking fact, but significant to me.) I have to drive quite a fair distance each time I want to go to my rink, which involves the cost of travel. I think our club was dealing with some non-payment issues from members, and their prices became excessive, at least in my opinion. The cost wouldn't be an issue if it was worth the hassle, but, if I'm being honest, club ice began to feel completely unorganized and crowded, and not a huge step up from public ice (which is significantly less expensive, but impossible to properly practice higher level moves on) It's quite a small club, and the higher level skaters tend to take over. I'm sure this is common, and they certainly need more ice to perform their higher-level moves, so I respect that. But it came to a point where I was literally slammed into on a daily basis if I was not hiding in the lutz corner. The lack of spatial respect from everyone is a bit frustrating, and the club felt generally unorganized and unprofessional at times (for example, program practices got me pulling my hair out a bit
, one person would do their program three times in a row, and I'd get one interrupted turn, all thanks to the lack of a reasonably formal priority list. We were lucky if there was even anyone present to manage the music box.) I love the family and casual comfort of a small club, don't get me wrong, but when I am paying the rates I was paying, I do expect to be able to use the ice as much as the others who also pay such rates. I'd also expect a professional structure and attitude from club leaders and volunteers. The city rink itself has sufficient... messiness... to put it nicely... as it is, so some clarity and maturity is necessary to keep the balance in check. TL;DR: skating is extremely costly, and I didn't feel that I was paying appropriate prices for what I was getting. When I have college and life costs to take care of, it's frustrating to be paying a good chunk of money that isn't respected and being put towards a good skating community and experience. I understand that they need to pay for ice, as it is expensive for them, but there's too much craziness and immaturity involved to put so much financially towards it. Things like costumes, practice attire, and sports equipment are not so much a concern as I have managed to collect what I need over the past few years, and find that they last me a reasonable amount of time as long as I care for them properly.
Beyond cost, abilities are really an issue for me. I began skating at 12-13 years old (I'm now 17), which is fairly old (not too old, but still a bit late in the game.) I must admit, I feel a bit embarrassed that I can't even manage a backspin while the six year old passing me is performing a stunning axel.
Nonetheless, I accept that whatever I put my mind to, I can achieve. I may be too old to go to an Olympic level, but with enough training and determination, I feel that I can certainly do well in the sport and still achieve some wonderful feats. My main problem is that I feel physically held back. I am overweight and have been since I was quite young. I know I've just got to lose the weight, not only for skating, but for my health in general. I think this may have been my biggest obstacle, since it affected my endurance, ability, and the way I perceive my physical appearance. Beyond that, figure skating puts enough pressure on the body on its own, but throw forty extra pounds in there and it's really going to cause some harm. My weight can be lost (and I am planning to do so by no later than summer), especially since it's really not a whole lot to lose. But I have some odd physical issues that have reared their ugly heads when trying to perform skating moves. For example, I cannot turn my hips outward in order to perform moves such as the spread eagle. Not a required move, so not necessarily important, but the turnout problem hurts me in even the most basic spins, jumps, and footwork. In fact, right before I took my hiatus, I popped my knee just doing a lunge. As my lunges have gotten lower, I have needed to turn my hip out properly to allow my leg to lay on the ice nicely. Not happening. The incident occurred those two years ago, and I still feel problems with that knee (it will wobble if I stand on it a certain way, for instance.) If doing something as simple as a lunge puts me out of walking for a week, and causes apparently permanent effects, I can't imagine myself ever being able to handle an axel or double jumps, performing decent footwork, or dealing with the consequences of the injuries attained from such moves. Injuries are a part of skating, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. However, most are a result of accidental misplacement of the body from slips, falls, whacks, etc., not from ripping my knee out of place because I want to turn my leg a little further out.
Additionally, I've noticed that I have exercise induced asthma. Silly as it sounds, it is a real, and painful problem. Let's just say I was a book-reader/gamer kid and probably didn't get the physical activity in my childhood that I should have. I completely feel that the asthma symptoms are a result of extra weight and a sedentary lifestyle, and can be overcome, but it still does concern me that it could be a lasting condition for me. The cold from the rink exacerbates the problem further, causing me to wheeze and hack throughout most sessions. I have had people and coaches genuinely concerned that I was having an asthma attack, so I know it's not an all-in-the-head thing.
To summarize, I've got a lot of shaping up to do before I even think about getting back on the ice, and with that, I may have unchangeable physical issues that will prevent me from reaching my skating goals. Ultimately, I'm really not sure if I'm willing to endure the injuries one must go through to become an accomplished skater.
Finally, I felt that the path I was on was not in line with my goals. I think that I enjoy recreational kinds of figure skating (shows and exhibitions) more than competitive, and I was definitely training for competitive purposes during my skating career. Between my experiences, I have enjoyed doing programs with my club far more than competing against other skaters. Testing and competing simply have no appeal to me. I find them either boring or anxiety-inducing (beyond the normal nerves we all get). Shows, however, are exciting and rewarding. I love simply entertaining an audience and working with my fellow club members on a beautiful and spectacular project. I'm not so worried about rigid technicality as I am simply working with the choreography and using skating as an art form. I love how it's the union between thrilling athleticism and emotionally moving dance. The feeling I get from recreational skating is what made me fall in love with the sport and fight for it to begin with, and perhaps, through training for competitions, I forgot that.
just a couple things from my own experience - I have extremely poor hip turnout so ina bauer etc is very challenging, however it's something that it may be worth talking to a physio about as it can also be to do with muscle imbalances causing the joint to not move properly (this is what my physio told me, IANAD), but despite the crappy turnout my hips don't cause me issues with most moves (also might be worth seeing a physio about the injured knee, they can help you strengthen it up again). 
