Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Pairs Lesson 2

 Our second lesson with Chris Anders was challenging and productive. Some of the things he wants us to practice  like skating in our "bad" direction and tracking forward crossovers in different hold positions are going to take some time for us. Neither of us excel at deep strong edges.

We learned a new forward spiral position, and a Star spiral which he says is always a judge-pleaser.  We worked on our throw jumps; Waltz jump Salchow and Loop  discovering a few things we were doing wrong. And finally we worked on side-by-side spins and learned how to exit properly and together ...... I'm sure we will be working on this forever but we now have a basis to practice on our own.

 Next week we are going to attack the pivot spirals and possibly death spiral for half of our lesson and spend the other half off ice lifting… Maybe I should bring a helmet!

This is a longer video almost 10 minutes with no entertaining music playing in the background. Its purpose is primarily selfish so that Hank and I can revisit our lesson… Fast forward as you see fit.


Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Private ICE

...for the price of a public session.  I loved it.   Well... until we got in trouble for skating pairs.
EWU arena told us we can only skate pairs if nobody is on the ice.  When there are other skaters we cannot.  They only have 1 hour a week here of open Free Style on Friday from 4:00 to 5:00 pm so that rules out skating here ... unless we get lucky again and nobody is there.

We had a fun session despite a few wrecks - today the scoreboard was even.

Hank :  1

Diane:  1

..but his was much more dramatic than mine! And mine is not on the video because I am having some  iMovie issues... Grrrrrr

I learned the Throw Loop today ... it took a little research on YouTube to figure out the body and hand positions, but we got the gist.

Our next lesson is tomorrow.. so I should have a lot to report after that.

Meanwhile.... enjoy our blunders of today!


Saturday, July 25, 2015

Back from Vacation .. Ahhhhh Ice

2 Hours of FS practice today with Hank at Frontier Ice.  I don't think either of us have been on the ice for 2 whole hours in ages.

We tried to regroup from last time.  Some things worked.  Others not so much.  We need another lesson soon!  

I think out Throw jumps are improving and our ability to skate a little closer to each other.  Still a long road to go!


Thursday, July 16, 2015

Before Vacation (Belated Post)

This was my final day of practice before a week's vacation in Canada.  Hank and I did some pairs practice.  Since it was over a week ago....I can't remember what we accomplished!

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Silver Free Skate: Passed

This was not my ideal skate, but 2 of the 3 judges passed me.  The third judge had me down for a retry with only 5.2 total points.  (5.4 is what is needed to pass)

What went right:

I landed my Lutz (3rd jump was optional type)
I landed my required Loop jump
I landed my required Flip jump
I got 4 revolutions in my Camel Spin
I did my required jump sequence (Split jump - 3 turn - Mazurka - Salchow)
I did my required jump combination (Salchow - Toe Loop)
I did my required combination spin*  (Sit spin - Scratch Spin)

What went wrong:

My Lutz was a Flutz (and usually is)  I wish I had held the landing longer
My Camel spin was too slow and I had to fight to keep my leg up for 4 revolutions
My step sequence was weak and I was exhausted 1/2 way through
On my jump sequence I slightly toe tapped on the landing (I didn't get marked down for it)
On my jump combo I slightly toe tapped on the landing (I didn't get marked down for it)
On the Sit-Scratch combo 2 of the 3 judges made remarks that I did not even do a combo.

My coach instructed me to do a 1) Camel alone and 2) Sit - Scratch as my combo.
I had 3 revolutions in an "adult sit position" .. but not by standard track standards. My butt wasn't below my knee.  Part 2 of that combo was an upright spin where I do a few revolutions and wrap my arms around my waist L in front and R behind me and do a little knee dip.

About 2 weeks ago I decided to do a Camel-Sit spin and just a scratch spin at the end, but my coach told me I needed to keep the Camel separate.  (the day before the test) Since I really don't have a layback or other spin I can count on, we went with keeping the Sit-Scratch.






Friday, July 10, 2015

Last Lesson Before My Test


Should I be as worried as I feel?  Probably.  I found out I had to change my Camel/Sit combo to a straight Camel spin - (required as a solo spin) and revert to my original planned Sit/Scratch combination.... but that puts me way ahead of my music.  No more practice to work out the kinks.  Hopefully they won't put too much weight on the program being artistically flowing with the music.


Thursday, July 9, 2015

Pairs Practice: Camel Spin

Pairs practice only today.  Trying to get my mind off my FS test on Saturday.  Pairs is so much fun, but as I mentioned before, difficult to get a lot done in one session because every time you attempt something, whether it goes right or not.. there is always discussion and then plotting out what to do next and how to execute.  I am sure with more time we will have a routine of warming up together and having a "repetoire" of things to practice without as much conversation.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Exhibition Skate ... NOT

I got up today and put on a skirt and tights to go skate 1/2 a free style session then participate in our club exhibitions where we can run a program with nobody on the ice.  I felt I needed to get the jitters out.  Turns out I showed up too late to get on the list.  I didn't want to wait an hour to see if they could squeeze me in since I have family visiting.  So I just skated 1/2 the session and worked on the the things in my program that are giving me trouble.. the Camel Sit Spin and my footwork and ending pose.


Tuesday, July 7, 2015

The After-Lesson

I took notes from our lesson and we tried a few of the exercises that Chris and Melinda gave us.
There were a lot of little ones on the ice today.  My camera got knocked down 2 times and I lost most of the video ---- All the good stuff when we were really in synch !!!

Friday, July 3, 2015

Early Morning FS Lesson

The next day after our pairs lesson I had scheduled a free style lesson with my FS coach Berkley.  It was the only time she had available this week, so I reluctantly took it.

I don't know if I ever mentioned this but, I am NOT A MORNING PERSON.  Especially when it comes to skating.

Nothing went right for me. I blamed it on my fatigue, my boots being laced too loose.  Fortunately my coach knows she need to keep pushing me to try.

We worked on the major components of my program and then she forced me to do a run after nothing went right.  I managed to complete it and she said it probably would have passed even though she knew I was having an off day.  She said that was a good thing.  If you can muster up enough strength to push through on a bad day - chances are you will skate strong next week.

I hope so.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

First Pairs Lesson

Our first pairs lesson was AMAZING.  It was long and informative and we will be able to spend weeks practicing (but not perfecting) many of the exercises and tips we got from our new pairs coach Chris Anders and his partner Melinda Seable.

Here is our first lesson, below some info on our coaches.



Chris Anders was born and raised in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and has been skating since the age of 6.  He originally started as an Artistic Roller skater, and competed at Nationals in Dance, Singles, and Pairs.  Chris switched to ice skating at the age of 13. He is a two-time National competitor in Pairs, and a triple gold medalist, having earned his gold medal in Moves in the Field, Singles, and Pairs. 

Chris transitioned from competing to show skating in 2007, becoming a Principal Performer for Disney on Ice for over seven years.  He coached at Planet Ice before its closure, and then at Eagles Ice Arena, teaching both Learn to Skate classes and private lessons.  Besides skating, Chris has been active in local theater at Coeur d'Alene High School, as a student, and at Lake City Playhouse.

Melinda Seable comes to Frontier Ice Arena with over 30 years of skating experience.  Competing for the Santa Rosa Figure Skating Club, Melinda was a 5-time National competitor in synchronized skating.  She was an instructor at Snoopy’s Home Ice and was the Skating School Director at Ice Capades Chalet in Palos Verdes, CA.  As a performer, Melinda toured the world for over 12 years as performance director, principal understudy, and ensemble skater for Disney on Ice
Holiday on IceWilly Bietak ProductionsRosstyn Ice ShowsWilma Leary Ice ProductionsWoodstock Ice Productions, and Feld Entertainment

Getting busy on these Silver Dances

I have been working on these silver dances too long!   Planning to go all in on them until I can test them in the next few months.