New Coach... Hoo boy..

[pegasus99]

This is mostly a rant, but:

So, I recently switched coaches. It was a hard decision but had to be done.

I had my first lesson with my new coach yesterday morning, and HOLY WOW what a difference! New Coach was on time, in skates, holding me up, exemplifying things, talking firmly but nicely (didn't make me feel dumb when I didn't grasp things right off) and we moved for the entire half hour. I was so happy with the difference, I knew I'd made the right move.

Thing is, I'm about FS1 ISI and was trying to get ready for my Adult Pre-Bronze test in May. With the switch, New Coach wants to take some time to fix up some things that I know I've been doing outright wrong or not well. When people see me work, it's going to be pretty painfully obvious I'm starting over on certain elements. (Test is not even on the table anymore, which is fine.)

So, when I get asked how things are going, I'm just going to say "Great!" and not mention the fact my New Coach is repairing a lot of basic elements, right? And if my old coach asks me, I'm not going to be mad that he let me get away with doing things badly for so long... I'm just going to smile and nod.... Yes?

[Kitten23]

Good for you!  I hope the new coach works out well.

[lutefisk]

Great that you and the new coach click.  Best to fix faulty stuff now and worry about the MIF test after you're strong in all the required elements.  I'm also currently FS-1 in the ISI system and am eying USFSA's Adult Pre-Bronze Moves test.  I know I've got some "clean up" to do before thinking about testing.  I'm not worried about getting funny looks when I go back to work on early stuff--I get funny looks now anyway!

[Clarice]

Yep, I think your approach is exactly right.  It's not at all uncommon to "go back to the basics", even if you haven't changed coaches.  As you advance and gain greater understanding of body positioning, how the blade works, etc., you need to go back and apply the deeper knowledge to things you thought you already knew how to do.  I'm "starting over" on three turns right now because I have a more refined understanding of where I should be on the blade and now have to apply it to make my turns really clean.  (Freestyle clean is not necessarily ice dance clean, apparently! I was fine for my Gold MIF, but they're not going let me through Pre-Silver dances if there's any scraping.)  In other words, there's absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about!

[mamabear]

I'm glad it went so well and your plan sounds like a good one.  I agree with the others that going back and fixing elements that you thought had down is pretty common and I don't think it will surprise anyone.  I know that I thought I knew how to do a FO3 and then here came the waltz 8 and a whole list of things to fix.

[eillie]

Same story here, in that even with the same coach, sometimes we go back to basics (as in just simply holding clean edges with control!) and spend time on them.  I don't think it is at all something to be concerned/upset/embarrassed about though, because I think it does translate to improving on harder elements. 

[axelwylie]

Glad to hear things with the new coach are going well. And yes, just smile and nod if you see the old coach.

It is also possible that the new coach just has a different way of teaching or has a different technique, so it might not necessarily be that the old coach was wrong or let you get away with bad technique.

One of my previous coaches taught me to do a flip from a 3-turn. Coach #2 changed it to a Mohawk entry and coach #3 switched it back to a 3-turn. Does it mean that coach #2 was wrong? Nope. Just a different teaching style or skating preference.

[Doubletoe]

Good for you!  Remember, the more corrections you get, the more you're getting your money's worth for those lesson fees!
After being coachless for 7 weeks (right at the start of my competition season!) due to the closing of my rink, I just committed to a new primary coach myself today and feel really good about my choice, too.  Cheers!

[jjane45]

happy it's working out for you

(Freestyle clean is not necessarily ice dance clean, apparently! )

sad yet true!!