Distracted by the music-- strategies to overcome it?

[jumpingbeansmom]

My 10 yo dd gets distracted by her music -- she will hit the same jump combinations with the same steps multiple times in a row until you put on the music.  Is there anything at all any of you can recommend that we say to her to help with this?

[fsk8r]

My 10 yo dd gets distracted by her music -- she will hit the same jump combinations with the same steps multiple times in a row until you put on the music.  Is there anything at all any of you can recommend that we say to her to help with this?

Is there anything particularly happening in the music at that time that she's worrying about? Like nailing a jump on a crash in the music? Something like that might be affecting how she performs the setup. I have a few musical cues in the music, but thankfully they're all on footwork or transitions so I don't tend to have anything to worry about on the jump setup. But I know if I'm very behind, everything will fall apart as you start chasing the music.

[jumpingbeansmom]

Is there anything particularly happening in the music at that time that she's worrying about? Like nailing a jump on a crash in the music? Something like that might be affecting how she performs the setup. I have a few musical cues in the music, but thankfully they're all on footwork or transitions so I don't tend to have anything to worry about on the jump setup. But I know if I'm very behind, everything will fall apart as you start chasing the music.

I think she feels pressured to 'hurry' and finish with the music.  It is a juvenile program and there IS alot in it but she actually does have enough time.  I think it is just her perception that she doesn't and she rushes the set ups to her elements -- even her spins a little bit.

[kssk8fan]

It's timing and maybe stamina/endurance.  The more practice she gets with her music, the better.  You'll notice that higher level skaters use the same jump entrances over and over again regardless of the music or program. It's what they have learned that works for them.  Unfortunately, at the lower levels, it's a constant learning process until they find an entrance or pattern or footwork that actually works nicely for them.  

As far as what you can say to her.....the more she practices her program, the easier it will get.  It's one thing to knock off jump after jump after jump on a practice session.  It's another thing to knock off jump after jump after jump in a program with intricate choreography!  Throw in burning legs, and reduced lung capacity at the end and you'll see why it's different!  With all of that in mind, the skater starts to get frazzled and winded and the first thing to go is technique.  When technique goes, so goes the jump!  

If it really is that she's just distracted by the music, then she needs to listen to her music over and over again until it's not a distraction.

[jumpingbeansmom]

It's timing and maybe stamina/endurance.  The more practice she gets with her music, the better.  You'll notice that higher level skaters use the same jump entrances over and over again regardless of the music or program. It's what they have learned that works for them.  Unfortunately, at the lower levels, it's a constant learning process until they find an entrance or pattern or footwork that actually works nicely for them.  

As far as what you can say to her.....the more she practices her program, the easier it will get.  It's one thing to knock off jump after jump after jump on a practice session.  It's another thing to knock off jump after jump after jump in a program with intricate choreography!  Throw in burning legs, and reduced lung capacity at the end and you'll see why it's different!  With all of that in mind, the skater starts to get frazzled and winded and the first thing to go is technique.  When technique goes, so goes the jump!  

If it really is that she's just distracted by the music, then she needs to listen to her music over and over again until it's not a distraction.

It is getting a bit better every day.  I am sure stamina is part of it too, but that is also improving.  She is just feeling kind of like she just CAN'T do this (I know she can) and I am trying to find some encouraging words for her.

[kssk8fan]

Ask her to be polite with herself while she's learning something new!    I heard this quote in a movie I watched recently and it stuck!!! 

[fsk8r]

Ask her to be polite with herself while she's learning something new!    I heard this quote in a movie I watched recently and it stuck!!! 

That's a good one. I need to remember it. I'm my own biggest critic.
But I did hear that the really competitive people (Olympic level) are very critical as they have to be to make the improvements needed to get to that level. They don't accept good enough. However, there's probably a balance to be made, because in learning (which we all are at any level) we can't be perfect just yet.

[dak_rbb]

I think this is just difficult and probably is going to just take practice and lots of run-throughs.  When the jumps are practiced without the music, the skater is going to naturally focus on the timing and technique that works for that jump/entry.  The music just adds another element to deal with and may change the timing just slightly.  If there's a consistent problem with one element in particular, maybe the entry can be tweaked to fit more naturally with the music? 

My dd also has trouble with this, but is definitely getting better and quicker at it as she gets more advanced.  And occasionally, I think the music actually helps!  She has a double Lutz near the beginning of her pre-juv fs.  It's a fairly new jump for her and some days are better than others, but for some reason she gets that jump 100% when the music is going.  Not sure why, but we'll take it.

[jumpingbeansmom]

Last night the coaches decided to make some changes to the program order-- as it turns out, dd was doing her combination spin (going around something like 25 times in total), then having to get across the ice, do a walley, then double lutz double loop and she was apparently dizzy and then it would go bad, and then her next two jumps were a struggle as well.   

Without the spin, she'd make all three jump combinations most of the time.   So hopefully this will help the issue!  She never said to anyone how dizzy she was after that spin!

[Sk8tmum]

I asked our choreo once how she a) picked music and b) did the choreo.  She explained that she picked music that had specific rhythms that suited the skater's style and speed, and had musical highlights in a certain syncopation to help them time the jumps. As they choreo'd it, the jumps, entries, etc were changed and paced to match the timing and rhythm of the music; once I understood it, I could understand why the skater would relax into the program as it was developed.  Thus, it was a proactive strategy; as the year evolved, sometimes the music would be recut or the program changed to accomodate the skaters growth and development.

[twirly~girls~mom]

I think a lot of the issue with doing elements in the program with the music boils down to consistency, timing (this is where rushing to keep up with the music come into play), and endurance. When all of those things improve, the music won't be as much of an issue.  Also the layout of the program (like you described with the dizziness from the first spin) needs to be tweaked at times.  It's really early in the season and my guess is the program is farily new to her. It will probably come together nicely as the year rolls on.

[jumpingbeansmom]

I think a lot of the issue with doing elements in the program with the music boils down to consistency, timing (this is where rushing to keep up with the music come into play), and endurance. When all of those things improve, the music won't be as much of an issue.  Also the layout of the program (like you described with the dizziness from the first spin) needs to be tweaked at times.  It's really early in the season and my guess is the program is farily new to her. It will probably come together nicely as the year rolls on.

You are probably right...just a few days into the changes, it is already better.   She also (at 10) didn't really seem to understand that if she rushed in practice to get with the music, her coaches had a harder time figuring out if they needed to change things.   So now she gets that and things are getting better.