That was the power of
the crossover for this small skater’s story. A challenge was met with the strength to persevere until success was found. A fear of falling on the ice transitioned into a love of skating. Te celebration rivaled that of landing a first Axel or winning a competition.
There will be countless
enough to enhance her bravery. Another beautiful crossover. What if her coach held onto one string pulling out of her glove? Once more, the little skater felt secure and executed a smooth gliding crossover.
It was time to go “hands
free.” Skater and coach decided having only a few inches between them was comforting and offered the support needed for her to try a crossover completely on her
own. One attempt sent her back to the two-foot glide. A second try, and another two foot-glide. With words of encouragement and a hand to hold within an inch of her fingers, the young skater lifted her right foot, shifted her weight, and successfully set it down inside the circle, crossing her left foot on her own!
With patience, practice,
persistence, and finally progress, a huge smile came across the
face of a proud, little girl. A few wobbly attempts followed, yet her crossovers began to work for her consistently. Her confidence grew, and her joy on the ice increased with each improvement. Within a few weeks, a skater went from being held back and defeated by fear from a seemingly simple maneuver, to expecting a progression to Beta and beyond. Te prospect of learning a small spin and jump even excited her.
more crossovers in our careers. We will ask our skaters to trust themselves, to push harder, to use their crossovers for power every day on the ice. Yet, it is possible a skater’s first successful crossover at a snail’s pace is the most powerful of all.
Lisa Paul
teaches both ISI and U.S. Figure Skating
programs at
Centennial Ice Rinks in Wilmette, Ill.
A great coach has 20/20 vision!
• Demonstrates organizational ability, and attention to detail and accuracy
• Possesses good safety awareness and judgment • Has a fun, positive, and enthusiastic attitude • Keeps up-to-date on all the latest developments
and innovative training methods and techniques
Does your coach plan to attend?
Our rebranded PSA Summit 2020* for education and professional development takes place May 2020.
* Register at our lowest rate on Cyber Monday 12/2/19 at
skatepsa.com WINT ER 2 019 33
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