Expectation on skating skills and spins as an adult beginner | Golden Skate

Expectation on skating skills and spins as an adult beginner

CarolPooh

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
I have read much discussion that double jumps are likely to be the limit that an adult skater can reach. How about skating skills and spins? Are there such limits?

As a beginner in my mid-twenties, I want to have a reasonable expectation on my progress. Currently, I have a decent scratch spin and sit spin, I am working on my back scratch spin. I can do splits and hold a biellmann position off ice. Will I ever be able to do spins like an international competitor?
 

jf12

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
I have read much discussion that double jumps are likely to be the limit that an adult skater can reach. How about skating skills and spins? Are there such limits?

As a beginner in my mid-twenties, I want to have a reasonable expectation on my progress. Currently, I have a decent scratch spin and sit spin, I am working on my back scratch spin. I can do splits and hold a biellmann position off ice. Will I ever be able to do spins like an international competitor?

I am a female adult skater with camel spins at least as good as the first group of men at worlds, so I’m sure you can surpass that 😂

If you’re talking about great spinners like Karen Chen, it’s not really possible: it takes at least as much strength and coordination and flexibility to do that as triples.
 

kolyadafan2002

Fan of Kolyada
Final Flight
Joined
Jun 6, 2019
I know some adults training triples. If you can do 2A, you can do 3S, 3T Nd 3Lo. If you are in the right physical condition with the right coach you can get some of the low triples, and high level spins. Note I said high level spins, not amazing. What many dont realise is some difficult positions are actually quite easy, and 3 level 3 spins are not unreasonable even if flexibility is an issue with lots of training.
 

CarolPooh

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
Thanks a lot! I love spinning so I hope one day I will be able to those high level spins. Triples are too dangerous for me and I would be happy enough if I can do doubles.
 

cl2

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
You got my hopes up that that was a real group like #adultsskatetoo
I need a #late-start-adults-can-do-advanced-sht-too group.

Haha I totally made that one up. But seeing how much difficulty adults have learning how to properly utilize their edges (me included), and how, sadly, many coaches and judges write off adults as being less able to exhibit good edge work, I think it's a worthwhile goal to have! One of my goals for this year is to never ever skate on flats again.
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Ice dance coaches will help you focus on skating on edges, if you have any such coaches available.
 

WednesdayMarch

Nicer When Fed
Medalist
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Country
United-Kingdom
Haha I totally made that one up. But seeing how much difficulty adults have learning how to properly utilize their edges (me included), and how, sadly, many coaches and judges write off adults as being less able to exhibit good edge work, I think it's a worthwhile goal to have! One of my goals for this year is to never ever skate on flats again.

It makes me so mad when coaches don't teach proper technique to anybody, but adults definitely suffer from this far more than children. It's almost as if some coaches just think, "Well, you're never going to get to a high level," and just can't be bothered to teach correct technique from the start. My theory is that everybody deserves to get to as high a level as they can and that starts with good basic coaching. I honestly spend more time taking people's basic forward stroking apart than I do teaching it from scratch. And I'm not even coaching professionally at the moment! <stomps off grumbling>

As for the #latestartadultscandoadvancedshttoo group - start it! I'll follow!
 

1111bm

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 31, 2016
It makes me so mad when coaches don't teach proper technique to anybody, but adults definitely suffer from this far more than children. It's almost as if some coaches just think, "Well, you're never going to get to a high level," and just can't be bothered to teach correct technique from the start. My theory is that everybody deserves to get to as high a level as they can and that starts with good basic coaching.

Absolutely, this has been my experience as well. When you watch adult competitions, you can clearly see the skaters with coaches who care about them and offer them proper guidance and ice time, are usually the ones who skate and score well.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
Wow, this thread is making me even more grateful for my coaches! No flats allowed past public-skate-only recreational level no matter what your age. :laugh:
 

Ducky

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
It makes me so mad when coaches don't teach proper technique to anybody, but adults definitely suffer from this far more than children. It's almost as if some coaches just think, "Well, you're never going to get to a high level," and just can't be bothered to teach correct technique from the start. My theory is that everybody deserves to get to as high a level as they can and that starts with good basic coaching. I honestly spend more time taking people's basic forward stroking apart than I do teaching it from scratch. And I'm not even coaching professionally at the moment! <stomps off grumbling>

As for the #latestartadultscandoadvancedshttoo group - start it! I'll follow!

I'm going to use this as a safe space to kvetch but I'm seeing this with the local learn to skate programs at my rink, including with the kids' freeskate levels, and it drives me crazy. When I was learning to skate we spent so much time on basics before I was allowed to try anything and everything they're learning this year is so sloppy and they rush from one skill to the next. And everyone looks... bad.

But, I don't think the thought for many coaches is "Well, you're never going to get to a high level" but that their skaters just want to have fun. Which means rushing through edges in order to get to jumps and spins because that's what they want to learn, and teaching them how to do a waltz jump even though they can just barely do back crossovers. Because at the end of the day it's as much about retaining a customer as anything else. If the kids aren't having fun they'll stop. If the adult isn't learning what they want, they'll either find a coach who will focus on that or just try and self teach. So as a coach you might as well just try and give your student (aka the client) what they want. :-/

It's temperament on the student's part too. My current coach is a stickler for technique with me because she knows that if she says "I want you to work on forward power pulls and you need to do at least one lap around the rink on each foot, back inside figure 8's and this jump combo" that's what I'll be focusing on the next time I'm on the ice. However, if I didn't work on that it isn't as if she would drop me. She would probably just shift her focus to what I wanted to do. A former competitive gymnastic friend of mine often says "practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect" but the person doing the practice actually has to care about being perfect too.
 

CarolPooh

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
I'm going to use this as a safe space to kvetch but I'm seeing this with the local learn to skate programs at my rink, including with the kids' freeskate levels, and it drives me crazy. When I was learning to skate we spent so much time on basics before I was allowed to try anything and everything they're learning this year is so sloppy and they rush from one skill to the next. And everyone looks... bad.

But, I don't think the thought for many coaches is "Well, you're never going to get to a high level" but that their skaters just want to have fun. Which means rushing through edges in order to get to jumps and spins because that's what they want to learn, and teaching them how to do a waltz jump even though they can just barely do back crossovers. Because at the end of the day it's as much about retaining a customer as anything else. If the kids aren't having fun they'll stop. If the adult isn't learning what they want, they'll either find a coach who will focus on that or just try and self teach. So as a coach you might as well just try and give your student (aka the client) what they want. :-/

It's temperament on the student's part too. My current coach is a stickler for technique with me because she knows that if she says "I want you to work on forward power pulls and you need to do at least one lap around the rink on each foot, back inside figure 8's and this jump combo" that's what I'll be focusing on the next time I'm on the ice. However, if I didn't work on that it isn't as if she would drop me. She would probably just shift her focus to what I wanted to do. A former competitive gymnastic friend of mine often says "practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect" but the person doing the practice actually has to care about being perfect too.

I agree that the responsibility is on both the coach and the student, but the coach should make the student aware of the importance of a solid foundation.

I started figure skating in an adult group class first and the coach assumed that all of us just wanted to have some fun instead of learning it seriously. He taught us toe loop, salchow, sit spin and even twizzle when we can barely hold a forward edge. And he just showed us how everything was done, never broke down the move for us or corrected our position. At first, I didn't realize that it was wrong and thought I was having fun and progressing, until I started taking videos of myself and comparing to other skaters. Then I changed coach and she taught me from basic strokings. Only then I realized the importance of a solid foundation and I always take some time to practise my edges everytime I skate now.
 
Top