"Celebrate Even the Little Things"

Miss Bianca was pleased with the fact that I had improved on the stuff we worked on last week. Even though I didn't have a chance to practice, I was a step up from my last lesson.

"I see you're able to do mohawks out in the middle, away from the boards,"  she paused and smiled, "I like to celebrate the little things."

So in support of coaches everywhere who have to 'celebrate the little things'  here are some 'celebration expressions' to use.

"OMG! You didn't fall!"

"Niiiiiiiiice."

When something is actually too small to celebrate.

"Nope, not celebrating *that* one."

And  the most important one of all...

"Damn, I am a good coach...!"

Things I Hate About Skating. 5

I was on light skating this week due to an injection in my knee, so Miss Bianca was having to think deep thoughts about what I could do that wouldn't stress my knee too much. It's always a bad sign when a coach thinks about what she wants you to do. You never know what will come up.

Then Miss Bianca gets some inspiration.

"I want to see your Hockey Stops,
 right here, right now!"

Yes, we all know adult learner figure skaters all hate hockey stops. Keep your chest forward, twist your hips, do this thing with your feet really suddenly and don't fall on your ass. 

But as much as I hate them, hockey stops are important. Having the skill to stop when you're going fast, is critical to safety, and it allows you to skate on crowded sessions with more speed but without danger to slamming into anyone.

There's some really good tips out on the web. I like the hockey stop page at Robby Gantz Power Skating. Really an excellent write up, and a nice bit of animation to go along with it. 

Anyway, Miss Bianca has me skate to the hockey circle and do the stop on the circle line. I sort of sneak up on the blue circle, then gently do a one foot snowplow.

"That's a rolling stop! You need to come to a complete stop!"  Miss Bianca is firm, "And you need to do a hockey stop too!" 

What Miss Bianca wants:

Sadly, when I start to do them, this is what she gets:

But by the end of the lesson, I'm doing better! More like this!

Maybe, next week I'll be doing them as well as the 9 year old hockey boys!

You Know You're a Regular....

So I went into the rink for a lesson on public. I was there a little early and there was no line, so I plopped my skate bag on the counter and started digging around for my 'frequent flyer' card.

"Well," I started muttering to Isabel the cashier, "Here's my toothbrush, and pen, and earphones, and advil and pepto.."

"You need a new card." Isabel said, "You're due."

I found my card in its case. "Oh, yes, you're right, I need a new card."

Yes, the staff knows me so well, they know when I need a card before I do.  How this works, I have no idea. The cards are  marked with a pen, so there's no computer tracking. Apparently, Isabel remembers when I get to the next to last public and remembers it until I come back again a week later.

Hundreds of people a week and she remembers that I'll need a new card at my next visit.

Yes, that's just one of the marks of being a regular.

"See, you need to renew your public skate card."

When do you know you've reached "regular" status?

It's like walking into the Cheers pub, where everyone knows your name.

'Cause not only do they know your name, they know your boot problems, test level, coach, car, boot bag, jacket, injury history and can tell at a glance if you've been practicing!

Hope you're having a happy holiday!