coaches

Incorporate your competition report card into your strategy for success

You’ve practiced. You’ve competed. You’ve gotten a score, maybe a medal, and a report card.

Now what?

Teams often find themselves asking this question after the first competition. There are an infinite number of different strategies a team can use to prepare for the next competition, and a chosen strategy may or may not change after you have a score and report card from two competitions, or three. No official can tell you which approach will lead to guaranteed success, but I do have a few tips to share to help you make the best possible use of your report card. (more…)

It’s GOE time: a look at the new guidelines

Let’s talk quality.

It took a few years after the implementation of the new judging system for many coaches to really start to pay attention to Grade of Execution marks and begin to strategize with them in mind. GOE has always been part of the equation, but the learning curve that came with understanding the newly invented technical requirements was initially so large, and the rules seemed to change so drastically each season, that GOE (and PCS) often took a back seat. The past few seasons, however, judges have been extremely pleased to see a significant increase in the number of coaches who are placing a high value on quality, displaying a more wholistic approach to choreography–teams are seeing greater rewards when levels of difficulty are chosen according to the GOE that’s likely to be awarded based on the skaters’ actual abilities. From my perspective, this is leading to a more enjoyable experience for both skaters and officials, as well as the development of a stronger foundation in basic skills across the sport. (more…)

November is the month for reality checks and finding balance

Ah, November. In all my years of skating, it didn’t matter which team I was on, who was coaching me, or what category I was competing in–November sucked. The anticipation and excitement of the early part of the season, when everyone was fresh and anything was possible, had been replaced by debilitating stress and total panic. A handful of skaters still didn’t know their steps. The intersection that had once been disguised as “challenging” now revealed its true nature: impossible. Elements were over-rotated one day and under-rotated the next. The program didn’t have an ending. There was at least one injury. The dresses either weren’t ready, didn’t fit, or were hideous.

Memories I hold near and dear to my heart.

The intent of this post is not, however, to reminisce. Rather, it’s to speak to a few key points coaches need to keep in mind during this very important month. An optimist might say November builds a team’s character. A pragmatist knows that choices made in November can have a big impact on the trajectory of the rest of the season, and prepares to make adjustments. (more…)

Requirements and summaries of calls and GOEs, oh my!

I wrote with great excitement about the publication of ISU Communication 1678 waaaay back in May, and had grand intentions of further dissecting and analyzing the new rules here…and then I blinked and all of a sudden it’s October. It has only been within the last two weeks, however, that the final pieces of this season’s rules pie fell into place. With the publication of the ISU Summary of Calls and Communication 1696, officials can finally become fully acquainted with the 2011-12 regulations, and subsequently provide comprehensive feedback to teams as monitoring season approaches. But it’s not just officials who should have requirements and deductions and GOE guidelines dancing in our heads–coaches, you must be accountable to yourself and your skaters to get intimate with these documents, so you can provide training and choreography that will help your teams reach their full potential. The number of documents to keep track of can be overwhelming, so here’s a snapshot of what you should be reading, and what purpose each piece serves (with a decidedly Canadian focus–apologies, international friends): (more…)