Renewing the Evolution of Figure Skating– The Big Picture

Renewing the Evolution of Figure Skating–
The Big Picture

Originally published Nov/Dec 2015 PS Magazine

Some believe that we can blame judges for the substandard quality of skating today as too many tests pass that are poor. I don’t entirely believe that. We can’t blame the judges exclusively, because as coaches, we continue to seek out the minimum standard needed to pass tests. As an early specialization sport, coaches understand that skaters tend to struggle through the maturation phase. We are in a hurry to get our skaters doing triples before maturation sets in. Worse, with the margin of error for smaller, lighter skaters being much greater than those who have matured physically, it allows coaches and judges to overlook flaws in technique that will eventually stop the skater’s progress. As a whole, we have strayed from the correct way to develop talent. The emphasis of developing skaters either as a judge, or coach should not focus on passing tests but mastering skills. In some ways it’s not the skill itself, but the root of the skill to be learned that needs to be mastered.

As an example, a senior level skater does beautiful footwork… great edges and turns with speed and power. The coach asks the skater to do a basic back three turn by itself on a circle; something so simple to many of us who skated figures. But this skater struggles to hold onto the check and stay on the circle. It’s as if they were learning this turn for the first time. The skater is not over their skates, arms firm and on the circle. They turn by swinging the leg, breaking at the waist, as opposed to rocking to the heel, rising out of the knee and countering pressure between the shoulders and hips as the hips and shoulders rotate against each other. A few simple corrections and the turn looks good. The skater completed two distinctly different turns. One that is off axis and the skater struggles to hold the position but doesn’t put his foot down. The second is smooth with a strong check and is easily held for three seconds. I believe this is the problem. As the standards of passing tests have declined, we often see skaters pass tests with a poorly done turn like the first example. They complete the turn…but it was not easy. The story could be repeated for many elements.

Additionally, I believe the majority of jumping mistakes happen during the take off. Often because of weak basic skating skills, the skater is unable to balance their center of mass over the correct portion of the skate. Think about the two distinctly different turns I described above. Literally with the first turn, if they don’t jump quickly after the turn they would fall to the ice. As opposed to the skater controlling the edge, gravity does it for them. Why do you think U.S. skaters have such a problem staying on the outside edge for a Lutz? Back to the top please… a lack of understanding of fundamental skating skills and the the four basic edges.

This also contributes to what I have been writing about the last two de-evolution of figure skating editorials. Matt Robinson and Jeff Schneider of the University of Delaware, wrote in the most recent issue of Olympic Coach Magazine, 

…Bayli, Way and Higgins (2013) reported that the younger ages are the most critical stages in an athlete’s development. In competitor countries it is common that trained coaches work with athletes at these critical stages. It is also common in some countries that a coach must have a coaching license in order to coach at any developmental stage. In contrast, in the U.S. it is common that youth athletes in those same critical developmental stages may have untrained coaches who unintentionally may be inhibiting a young athlete’s development by not implementing appropriate playing-to-training ratios, not emphasizing fundamental skills over tactics, and using drills that are not age or skill appropriate. These are all important aspects of player development that an untrained coach may not appreciate.

This supports my position in my July editorial where I said that 16 year old instructors, “… did not understand how the progression of skills worked, nor had any knowledge of the standards required to keep kids progressing.” Unfortunately, there are many established coaches that either don’t understand how the progression of skills leads to more complex skills or just ignore them. In my opinion, the one foot glide and swizzles are the most important skills a skater will learn. They are the foundation of all skating skills. Not only important to figure skating, but hockey and speed skating too. Do you teach a triple Axel? No? How about a one foot glide or bunny hop, forward and backward three turns, waltz jump, loop jump, and back spin? Many will answer yes to the second set of skills, but not the triple Axel. But in theory isn’t the triple Axel a combination of the latter set? Why would we not focus on mastering the basics to achieve that goal?

How do we fix this? Personally, I can’t wait for the unveiling of the updated and rebranded Learn to Skate USA program later this year. This is a tremendous opportunity for the industry to “right the ship.” This is the chance to re-educate all coaches and judges on the proper fundamentals of long term athlete development. PSA is now planning new programs focusing on those basic fundamentals… the same fundamentals that are relevant to the beginner AND elite skater.

Specifically, PSA will focus on issues relating to the early specialization of figure skating, the understanding of physical literacy, and the physical and emotional growth and development of our athletes. The growth and development of children can vary immensely between the ages of 9 and fifteen but are often, states Dr. Balyi, trained at the chronological age. PSA needs to help develop a sport-specific, long-term development plan by fostering a better understanding of how becoming a skater falls into the growth of a child. Our development strategy should focus on the science of teaching. Balyi points out that by age 7, 95% of the brain and nervous system are developed. Teaching “…movement skills of agility, balance, coordination and speed should occur by age 7,” he says. Between the ages of 5 and 12 is the best period for skill development. At the development stages, we should be competing less and spending more time learning skills. The system should not only develop champions, but healthy skaters for life.