Being a low-commitment skater...

[hellotwizzles]

So...I've been skating seriously for about a couple months now, and brought up with my coach that I would like to stay with him, as well as possibly try for low-level tests (STAR Element assessments, perhaps up to STAR 3 program) and perhaps try competing at An Adult Intro/Beginner event for next season. Spring Ice is ending and the Summer programs are all beginning so we were chatting about where I want to take my skating.

My coach recommends skating two to three times a week, two open practice sessions, one session focusing specifically on jumps and spins, one 30-min MITF/stroking lesson, off-ice ballet, and off-ice conditioning (45 minute classes) and I'm wondering if this a normal load for a strictly recreational low-level adult?

I'd  have almost no time for any other sports being that I'd be at the rink almost daily except for Monday and having to drive there and all.

Are any of you guys "low commitment" skaters? If so, how do you maintain progress if you can't make it to the rink often?

[Bill_S]

If I understand the recommendation, the schedule sounds intense for someone in it just for fun.

Everyone is different, but I feel that I can maintain skills if I skate 2-3 times per week about 1-1/2 hours each. For me in summer, that's just not practical, so my skills slide until our local rink reopens for the season. Then I skate 3-4 times per week in an effort to increase skill before the next summer slide. I do OK, but I'll never compete at any high level.

Like you, I desire to have other hobbies in addition to skating, so if I don't get to skate, that's the way it goes. You might think about telling your coach that you think it would interfere with other activities and see what he suggests.

Also, if it's a seasonal conflict (i.e., summertime with vacations, cookouts, etc.), you'll find it is a lot easier to re-learn lost skills the next time around.

[icedancer]

I agree with Bill - it sounds really intense - I would say skate three times a week and take a lesson on one of those days -

Otherwise you might just burn yourself out!

It all depends on your goals of course -

[tothepointe]

I'd ease my way up to that. Always leave yourself wanting a little more.

I skated 2-3 times a week for only 20-30mins at a time for the first year with one lesson a week.

[rmsilva]

I'm 44 years old, been skating for almost a year and a half. I'm currently in LTS Freestyle 1 group lessons. I'm definitely a recreational "low-commitment" skater.

As I've progressed through group lessons, the skills have become progressively more difficult - requiring more and more time on the ice. I spend 3-4 times at the ice rink to practice during the public sessions - one of those practice sessions is right before my group lessons. At some point, I may commit to supplementing my group lessons with weekly private lessons, but I'm not quite there yet. I've taken two private lessons and I have found them to be intense, because all of the attention is on YOU!

With summer right around the corner, I'm actually looking forward to a break from group lessons! Over the summer, I can practice and recharge for the next set of lessons, which will start in fall.

Best of luck!

[amy1984]

That sounds a little nuts.  Have you spoken to your coach about your goals specifically?  And your other life commitments and goals outside of skating?  Because it seems like they don't match up with the program he's given you.

[Bill_S]

Always leave yourself wanting a little more.

I think that this is the best philosophy to skate by. Well said!

[+GOE]

[tothepointe]

I think that this is the best philosophy to skate by. Well said!

[+GOE]

I actually cancelled my second lesson for this week for that reason because I know right now what I really need is some practice (preferably in the rink mall with the nice natural lighting) not more coaching time this week. Improvement will come simply from getting down to the grind.

[tstop4me]

So...I've been skating seriously for about a couple months now, and brought up with my coach that I would like to stay with him, as well as possibly try for low-level tests (STAR Element assessments, perhaps up to STAR 3 program) and perhaps try competing at An Adult Intro/Beginner event for next season. Spring Ice is ending and the Summer programs are all beginning so we were chatting about where I want to take my skating.

My coach recommends skating two to three times a week, two open practice sessions, one session focusing specifically on jumps and spins, one 30-min MITF/stroking lesson, off-ice ballet, and off-ice conditioning (45 minute classes) and I'm wondering if this a normal load for a strictly recreational low-level adult?

I'd  have almost no time for any other sports being that I'd be at the rink almost daily except for Monday and having to drive there and all.

Are any of you guys "low commitment" skaters? If so, how do you maintain progress if you can't make it to the rink often?

You should have a talk with your coach to clarify your goals.  Looks like there's a misunderstanding concerning your testing and competition aspirations and timeline.  The regimen you've outlined is geared for a skater who wants to excel by next season, not for 'a strictly recreational low-level adult'. 

[Loops]

You should have a talk with your coach to clarify your goals.  Looks like there's a misunderstanding concerning your testing and competition aspirations and timeline.  The regimen you've outlined is geared for a skater who wants to excel by next season, not for 'a strictly recreational low-level adult'.

I have to say, I agree with Tstop.  I must say I'm jealous though.  I WISH my coach would let me skate more hours/week.  Our club is weird though, and especially so since our recent Head Coach change....If you can do the off-ice conditioning, do it.  My club took it away for the adults, and I really miss it, I feel the difference.  Talk to your coach and find a middle ground. 

[LunarSkater]

I second the off-ice classes. The schedule at my rink doesn't work well for me and I miss them. The one time I managed to get into a ballet class, I definitely skated better the next session.

As for the everything else, talk with your coach. They are expectations, I think if you mentioned all the way up to STAR 3 Elements (I looked them up), that are not entirely unreasonable. All of those skills take time to learn and practice, much less get up to test level. If you want to focus on other sports and hobbies as well as skating, an honest assessment of your time and achievable goals is necessary with your coach.

[Query]

I agree that to master skills you need practice, especially if you are an adult, but even for a kid.

There is a such thing as time management. The key is finding ways to do multiple activities in the same vicinity and time frame.

You might look at your rink's session schedules. Can you skate a session or two within a few hours at the same rink? Then it doesn't involve as much driving. You can take something with you to do in between - e.g., play or work on a computer. Can you do the off-ice ballet, or equivalent dance-like exercise, in the same vicinity, on that same day?

Sure, you will be tired that day - but then you can do other sports other days.

[tstop4me]

I agree that to master skills you need practice, especially if you are an adult, but even for a kid.

There is a such thing as time management. The key is finding ways to do multiple activities in the same vicinity and time frame.

You might look at your rink's session schedules. Can you skate a session or two within a few hours at the same rink? Then it doesn't involve as much driving. You can take something with you to do in between - e.g., play or work on a computer. Can you do the off-ice ballet, or equivalent dance-like exercise, in the same vicinity, on that same day?

Sure, you will be tired that day - but then you can do other sports other days.

I know several skaters who skate more than one session a day, along with off-ice training.  They do this throughout the week.  But they are serious competitive skaters.  And their regimens are structured and closely supervised by their coaches and personal trainers.

Again, as with the OP coach's recommendations, the above recommendation does not appear (at least to me) to be suitable for 'a strictly recreational low-level adult':  (a) There is the risk of overuse injury, (b) Cramming a lot of practice time into one day will not give you the same rate of progress as the equivalent practice time spread over multiple days (even assuming that the OP is fit enough to sustain this level of physical activity), and (c) There is the risk that the OP will be so tired and overwhelmed that the skating experience won't be fun, and then what would be the point?

[Query]

...(a) There is the risk of overuse injury, (b) Cramming a lot of practice time into one day will not give you the same rate of progress as the equivalent practice time spread over multiple days (even assuming that the OP is fit enough to sustain this level of physical activity)

Several hours of reasonably diverse exercise in a day would not normally give most people an overuse injury, unless you do EXACTLY the same thing over and over. The fact that the O.P. is talking about other sports implies they enjoy and are fairly serious about athletics, and in fact says he or she has been skating "seriously for a couple months" - and anyone like that typically does spend at least a few hours in a day, several days/week doing sports. In other words, I interpret "low commitment" to mean that the o.p. has other athletic interests, and will not specialize in figure skating - but may be quite serious about athletics in general.

That is only a moderate level of activity. In many sports, like hiking, or biking, climbing, or paddling, or even golf, you routinely spend an entire weekend (as a weekend warrior) doing approximately the same thing, and you often add in a few extended trips that take longer.

Classes involve a variety of different activities, which probably eliminates overuse. The coach's recommendations WERE structured in other ways as well. Different activities during different sessions. That also helps prevent overuse injuries.

When I was involved as a volunteer in a LTS program, we routinely told people they would have to skate several times / week to master the skills. It's completely normal. And we tried to connect one or two public skate sessions with the period of time in which the classes were being taught, so that the skaters could add a few hours of practice in the same day.  The coach's recommendations were NOT extreme, nor is my suggestion of doing a few hours in a day, perhaps with rests between.

(c) There is the risk that the OP will be so tired and overwhelmed that the skating experience won't be fun, and then what would be the point?...

As a paddling coach once told me, you get out of any activity what you put into it. Fun often comes from mastering skills. If you do any complex activity once/week, for only an hour or so, you'll probably never master anything. And, in sports, if you don't get tired, you are missing the point. Tired from athletic activity feels good. If  you don't get tired, you can't don't train yourself to be better, faster, and stronger. Tired IS one of the goals of any physical training program.

BTW, another way to manage time well is to mix several desired activities into one. I personally wouldn't do off-ice ballet, partly because my body isn't built that way, but partly because it wouldn't accomplish anything else I want. Social dance would be more fun for me - because it adds social interactions. Likewise for outdoor sports with fun groups of people. And if the o.p. is in school maybe there is a way to get credit for an athletic activity. PE credit and/or writing a research paper on it.

Anyway, that is my take on this. But you are free to disagree.

P.S. I admit I'm not certain which STAR assessments the o.p. is talking about.

I guess he/she is talking about the Skate Canada STAR program, the equivalent of the U.S. LTS classes. Look at that syllabus. You aren't likely to master the skills in the Canadian STAR 3 program without spending a few hours / week, just as the students who didn't do that in the LTS program I volunteered with rarely passed BS 3. (BTW I suspect SkateCanada Star 3 is a higher level class than US BS 3. After all, Star 1 includes Edges, Turns, Field Moves, and Stroking - way beyond the fall, get up, march, glide and dip of US BS 1.) The coach was being very realistic about that.

The USFSA STARS program is OFF-ICE training, that doesn't just apply to skating - it applies to other sports the o.p. might be interested in as well. It doesn't need to be done at a rink, but can be done other places the o.p. might go.

[sk8lady]

That schedule sounds great to me, except that I skate five days a week from Nov.-March, and 2-3 days (usually an hour) when I can do it...but I've been skating a long time, competing and performing 1-2 a year, and working on testing pattern dances at the pre-silver level. Plus I'm obsessive about skating! Start with twice a week and see if you want more. Off-ice is helpful but if you're not at least moderately serious, whatever other sports you do will keep you in shape. I run in the summer when we have minimal ice, and I've taken various kinds of dance, and it's all helpful. Do what you enjoy.

[tothepointe]

It does sound like you told you coach what you wanting to achieve and he told you what you needed to do in order to achieve it in a reasonable amount of time (one season?). Competing does take up a lot of time that could be dedicated to improvement. That was something I found when I decided to enter adult sectionals in one of the new basic levels they had. We spent about 3 months devoting a lot of time to that and I didn't increase my on ice time and thus while the elements that were at the level improved in quality we had less time to work on new things.

[alejeather]

As a paddling coach once told me, ...

Off topic, but what kind of paddling did you do, Query? I used to race flat water sprint kayaks.