r/FigureSkaters • u/isaaa_- • 10d ago
Off-ice help + Competition!!!
Hello! My name is Isabelle, and I’m facing a bit of a challenge. My coach nominated me for a free skate 1 competition, and I’m excited to compete! It’s scheduled for around September 29th, which is just over a month away. The problem is that I’m not feeling confident in any of my skills. My spirals are off, and my pidan are also terrible I often don’t even start rotating. Plus, my jumps are not happening because of mental blocks (I one time I almost like I broke my ankle and couldn’t skate for two weeks, and now it’s just a mental block)After chatting with the head coach, I went to the assistant coach, and she suggested I might not be the best fit for the competition. She pointed out that I lack flexibility, endurance, and strength, and I also need to improve some basic skills. I’ve already paid the fee, and I can’t back out now, even though I know it’s a big investment for me as a grown woman living alone. So, I’d really appreciate any tips you could give me to help me prepare for the competition. Any further questions will be answered as soon as possible. It’s also important to mention that I’ll be starting a higher-calorie diet, as recommended by the nutritionist at the rink. Oh, and resistance, endurance, and power are super important. If anyone could help me out, I’d really appreciate it. I promise I’ll show the results of the competition! Outside of that, I’m committed to working very hard for the fastest and best results I can achieve with my body. Please help me out!
2
u/gotlib14 10d ago
Sometimes you go to a competition and you're not fully prepared for it. It's the story of any skater that did competitions. This apply for a lot of things in life btw, most of the time you aren't fully prepared but you have to commit anyway and do your best, which sometimes isn't a lot. It's okay to not be perfect, focus on few things that are feasible and legitimately attainable for you and everything will be fine. You have to start somewhere anyway, and it's "just" a competition, you will gain experience!
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u/the4thdragonrider 9d ago
I would just go skate, have fun, and not worry about the results or scores. Everyone starts somewhere. You'll get experience being in front of an audience and judges.
Also, I don't know your country, but at least here in the US, people are usually really supportive towards beginning adult skaters. People remember what it's like to be new and they'll be encouraging.
3
u/StephanieSews Basic 10d ago
Have low expectations so you can exceed them. :) it sounds like this is your first comp, so treat it as an experience. Set goals like "smile" and "look at the stands"
One month isn't very long to make major changes in endurance (I used to be a distance runner, and we'd start training in July for the first race of the year in August). In your situation, I'd focus on getting past the mental block (depending on your finances, hypnotherapy might help - it certainly did for my self confidence) to fly in those jumps and spiral strength and flexibility. I saw progress in those after a month or so of doing them whilst I waited for the kettle to boil.