STOP!!!!!

Coaches out there, please stop. If your student can't hold a back edge, please don't have them work on back three turns! I don't want to see the carnage. On Friday, I watched a skater in lesson fall so many times MY body began to ache. She could barely hold a forward edge, and had no back edges at all, but her coach was having her work on back three turns, After the third fall, I could no longer look in her direction. I've witnessed too many accidents while skating (such as someone stabbing their shin with the back of their blade while doing a double lutz) that I don't want to see any more. If you're going to have your students go above and beyond what they are qualified to do, please wait until it's on a session I am NOT on. I have not taken a first aid class this year and I prefer not to be forced to rely on what I remember from 2019.

Huh??

So, I'm at the rink that is always entirely too cold and as a result, my back ends up hurting. Be that as it may, I was skating a session, concentrating on my MIF and I adjust where my path because a Coach 1 is working with a student and has veered her student into me twice already. I move more to the left and so does Coach 1, who, by the way, is looking at me the entire time. Huh?

I move. Just as an FYI, a more seasoned coach is working with a student as I fly past doing a dance. He moved his student and waved as I went past. I'm just saying. So the Coach 1 is working with her beginner student on forward outside three turns. What I notice is that her arms are pre-rotated, which after you have fairly good three turns is something you can work with. For this adult student, the pre-rotated arms are causing her to turn into herself and almost do a spin. I'm confused, but say nothing. Off to jump. As you know, I'm a lefty. I usually jump in the lefty lutz corner, this way, I'm free and clear of other skaters. Or I used to be. Now EVERYONE jumps in the lefty lutz corner, seriously. Why are you doing that? We spend so much time trying to find a spot to jump, must you take ALL the space??? Anyway, I'm jumping in the lutz corner, minding my own business and wondering why it's so freaking cold in the rink, when Coach 1 skates over with her student to do what? Waltz 8. Did I mention that there were seven skaters on the ice? SEVEN. Three other corners to work on a Waltz 8. But NOOOOOO. Pick the only corner where someone is actually jumping. I move over so my jumps are in-between the two corners. What did Coach 1 do? She moved her skater to now jump in-between the two corners. I shot Coach 1 the stink eye

and moved again. Trying to collect my thoughts, I am at the boards and I glance over at Coach 1 with the adult student who is also a lefty. The student is working on back three turns. Great, I think, except she can't hold a back outside or inside edge and has rocked too far back on her blade causing her to do that crazy dance with the arms flying about more than once. I look away in case she falls back off her heels. Happily, she doesn't. Next Coach 1 has moved on to backspins. Better to learn them now, rather than later. Then to jumps. She has her student, her beginner student working on Salchows, Toe Loops, Loops, Flips and Axels. Yes, you read that correctly. A skater who cannot hold a back edge of any kind is working on axels.

Okay. As I was about to do my spins, the skater's lesson was over and she moved to the center of the ice to chat with another skater. I continued spinning. They were bemoaning struggling with loops. Not loop jumps, LOOPS! Am I the only person who sees that this may not end well? Am I the only one who really doesn't want to have to use her First-Aid training (skated at this very rink four years ago where a hockey skater in the studio rink fell funny and broke his ankle)? I do not understand some coaches. Some hold you back for no reason and squash your plans because they think it will reflect poorly on them. Others push you along knowing that you can very well hurt yourself. Surely there is a happy medium. Coach 1 is NOT the happy medium. I will remain silent, but confused. And hopeful that the office downstairs has bandages...

Decisions.... Decisions...

Received an email the yesterday that Adult Easterns has been canceled. Ten minutes later, I received another email telling me that Adult Nationals will be in June. So, if I bust my behind and pass both my Moves In the Field test AND my freestyle test, I can go and skate Silver.... I'll have to get back to you on that.

So, what should I do? I thought, why not train and prepare like I am trying to take two tests and see what happens in May. I may actually make it. And if I don't, all I've done is prepared myself for the future.

Wait...

"Easy now, hush, love, hush Don't distress yourself, what's your rush? Keep your thoughts, nice and lush Wait Hush, love, hush, think it through Once it bubbles then what's to do? Watch it close, let it brew Wait..." I love watching the evolution of adult skaters, includining myself. What I don't understand are skaters trying things above their skill level. I am all for taking a chance. BUT, if you can't do a scratch spin, if you can't hold a back outside edge, maybe you should wait a little before attempting an axel. There are many coaches who hold skaters back; I should know, I've had them. But lets get that Bell Jump down before trying an axel. That being said, not everyone does a decent Bell Jump; me being one of them. But, I can hold a back outside edge. I can do a scratch spin. I can land an axel off-ice. (Amazingly frustrating, I must say!) But my Salchow is iffy and my Flip and Lutz jumps have gone to visit other skaters. So what will I do? Wait. Get them back and go on to Axels. Yes, the Axel is the be-all and end-all for adult skaters. I would rather you wait than to read that you're hurt. So, please all of you who are on Instagram, struggling with various skills... Wait.

"I've been thinking flowers, maybe daisies To brighten up the room Don't you think some flowers, pretty daisies Might relieve the gloom? Ah, wait, love, wait Slow, love, slow, time's so fast Now goes quickly, see, now it's past Soon will come, soon will last Wait Don't you know, silly man Half the fun is to plan the plan All good things come to those who can Wait..." ** HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! ** "Wait" from Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim./

Hit The Rink

Recently, several blog, vlogs and YouTube videos have discussed a skater's day. My immediate response is "good for them". This is followed almost instantly by "don't they work"? So, without further hesitation, here is my skating day. My skating day starts the night before. With any luck, I'm in bed before midnight. I have a heavy workload and usually work 12 hours a day. I have a friend who is a lawyer; she said "so you work half-days?" Haha. See, lawyers do have a sense of humor. I never said they were funny, just that they have a sense of humor. Clock rings at 5:00 on Tuesday mornings (5:30 on Thursday and Friday - but there's a new twist to that which will be explained later). Lately, I've been dragging my rear out of bed at 5:08. I should note that I shower the night before, just in case some of you were wondering why I don't shower at 5:08am. I pulled out my clothes the night before and usually I can remember where I put them. I own a lot of black clothes. I also own about 9 pairs of the exact same yoga pants from Old Navy. I'm sure there are some people at the rink who wonder if I ever change my clothes. Yes, I do. I just happen to have several pairs of identical pants. Dressed, a light application of sunscreen (yes, I know it's still dark outside), mascara and eyeliner and once my hair is done, I'm ready to go out the door. Mask on. Shoes are located near the door (we don't wear our shoes inside the house), coat on, bag in hand, out the door I go, heading to the subway. It is 5:50am. The walk to the subway, which is uphill in both directions, takes about 8 minutes. I usually pass at least one person not wearing a mask. I cross the street to avoid them. The train comes at 6:02. It takes 10 - 17 minutes to arrive at the express stop where I change trains. There are many more people at the express stop. I have an antibacterial disposable cloth in my hand to hold so I can hold on in the train. I don't get a seat, ever. If the train deposits me on time, I am waiting for the crosstown bus at 6:37am. That ride takes 13 minutes to go 5 long blocks. If I miss the bus, it's a very, very, very fast walk to the rink. Kinda looks like running but not quite. Maybe a slow jog. Almost. I arrive at the rink at 6:52am, submit my health declaration and can come in. I put my skates on in the rink at one of the benches isolated from everyone else. 7:00am: I skate. I chat quickly with a friend because both her coach and mine will say we're wasting money. They're right, but you'll never hear us say that. 7:50am: Session is over. Please clear the ice. Back to the bench where my things reside. I wait for my friend. We take the crosstown bus back to the subway, usually laughing about something. She gets off the subway in Manhattan to go to New Jersey. I stay on into Queens, change at an express stop to a local stop. Get off the train and walk back UP the hill I walked up when I first left. 9:04am: Back home, mask washed, hands washed. I'm struggling, trying to remember if I have a meeting at 9:00 that I am late for. That's right boys and girls, I am at work. I will remain at work until well after 8:00. Sometimes 9:00 and sometimes 10:00. Only once in a while, after 11:00. When that happens, I'm usually up until 1:00 - 2:30am. When I return from the rink, I hit the ground hard. I have a quota of cases to do every week and while no one thinks the quota is a realistic number, that's the number we have. So there you have it. My skate day in Manhattan. At the other rink I use, the schedule is the same, except, I skate at 7:30 not 7:00. I also take an UBER home because the session doesn't end until almost 9:00 and I have to log into the system. However, it has recently come to my attention that City Ice in Long Island City will be closed until January 4th. No reason why. City Ice has an annoying habit of changing the schedules at whim. No one wants to work that day? All sessions are canceled. Everyone wants the week between Christmas and New Years off? All sessions are canceled. I don't know if that is the reason why the rink is closed, but truthfully, I wouldn't be surprised. It might be because we had some snow and wind and the rink is on the roof and may have sustained some damage. I hope it opens again in January; I have a $307 credit and they're not issuing refunds. Long story short: I skate for 50 minutes in Manhattan and spend twice that amount of time traveling. If my office were open, I would take the train downtown about 9 stops and be in the office by 8:40. I would still work until 8:00pm. For those of you who write a blog, do a vlog or a YouTube video about your skate day, if you're an adult... Don't you have to go to work? How do you manage to leave skating, go to the gym for an hour, return to the rink, go to lunch, go back to the rink and then go home without ever having to check in at your job? I need to know your secret.

Day In The Life

This post has absolutely nothing to do with The Beatles song of the same title. I would quote it here, but it's really not appropriate. Since I'm working from home, I watch YouTube videos and movies on Amazon. It's background noise while I work and keeps me from running into the streets from sheer boredum. Like many jobs, mine is tedious and repetive. Oh so repetive... While watching YouTube videos, I came across several adult figure skaters who did "A Day In The Life" videos when they are skating. It's usually the same: what time they get up, how they get to the rink, skating, after skating, etc. Some of these videos are a few years old; many are about one year old. However, something caught my eye in all of them: they don't ever seem to go to work. Ever. In the environment we are currently living in, I can comprehend that people are working various shifts from home. However, almost all of these videos are at least ten months old, so pre-quarantine. If they aren't going to work, how in the world are they paying for their skating? Watching someone work isn't interesting; I know that. At least mention that you're heading to work. Or if you're independently wealthy, tell us all how you did it. Watching these videos gave me the idea to document my day when skating. I will document an entire week of skating and then report back. There will be no video because I pride myself in not having my image on the internet. Also, after I finish skating, do you know what I do? I go to work. Due to circumstances this week, I will not be skating at all. I expect to be back on the ice next week with the exciting play-by-play of my week on and off the ice. You'll be on the edge of your seat! Until then...

Pumpkin Spice

It's October and you know what that means??? We've been in quarantine for almost seven months. Happily, my rinks have returned to having freestyle sessions. No public sessions, which will really be painful for them once the weather gets colder. As any cheesy Hallmark holiday movie will tell you, you just HAVE TO go ice skating during the Christmas break. And if it's a Hallmark movie, there's a Christmas tree, hot chocolate stand or several benches in the middle of the ice, just begging for someone to end up having an Ice Castles moment. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the original movie, our heroine does a jump into a bunch of chained up chairs, hits her head and goes blind. As for my skating, it has been somewhat hit and miss. Some days are great, I mean really great. The next session, I'm tripping over my feet. Go figure. I'm also trying to skate three times a week. I usually make it twice. That's all I have for now. I'm thinking of changing my music since I'm not in a rush due to a competition. I'll have to see. Until next time, happy pumpkin spice.