Figure Skating is a No Treat Zone

This weekend Miss Bianca turns to me and says, "I want you to show me your pre-bronze moves forward and backwards crossovers."


This exercise has the skater do forward crossovers in a figure 8 pattern, followed by a swing mohawk into a figure 8 pattern in back crossovers.

The skater has to do it with flow and power, and Miss Bianca likes to see smoothness with consistent rhythm.

So this is what I do.
1. Forward crossovers with a really nice underpush--including the part where the free leg slides right up against the skating leg.
2. Double swing change edge mohawk 
3. Smooth, consistent back crosses with extended freeleg on the underpush

"Well, do it again," Miss Bianca says, "Those counter-clockwise back crossovers need work."

No word about the double swing change edge mohawk, or the really nice forward crossovers. I feel like...Lisa Simpson.

But that's not the figure skating way. If you do it right, the coach just moves on and fixes what is wrong.

In figure skating the response to doing it right is silence.

And if you do it right. You don't even get a cookie! 

So here's the thing, no matter how well you do something, in figure skating there's only 'Let's move on...' to something harder!

Hi five! Now let's work on your balancing on your front legs!