"Strollers, Snugli's, or child type carriers are not allowed on the ice
or in the monitors box during any work session. They are allowed in the
players bench area only."
Let's imagine we're at this rink, then someone brings a stroller onto freestyle. What's your reaction?
I'm trying to learn step behinds while going backwards. My coach, quite rightly, has an obsession with these in a pattern: Mohawk, step behind backwards (stroke), step-over backwards, turn forward.
I've done these a few times successfully: But to do them, I have to hunch forward in terror, convinced that if I don't hunch I'm going to fall backward and kill myself.
What do back steps behind look like?
The Divine Maya Usova
Look at how she double knee bends for the back stroke; How she keeps her thighs together to keep her center of gravity over the skates; Her incredible posture; The amazingness of her edges. This is what makes a World Champion different from you and me.
I on the other hand not only hunch, but I lean out of the circle which makes the whole thing worse.
So tomorrow I'm doing my usual 'get over it!' training tricks: practice in chunks of five minutes, smile to reduce the tension in my neck and shoulders, bend my knees, start my working on my posture and edges first, then move onto the step behinds.
Maybe, just maybe I can get over the head games this element is doing to my skating. All I have to do is channel Maya Usova.
