2019 was a huge year for me, skating-wise. It was the year I started testing through USFSA, started feeling actually confident in my skills and myself in general, and met, skated, and worked with some amazing people on ice. Late last year I set some goals for myself, wrote ’em down so they’re real and a binding contract.
Let me first applaud myself for keeping track of everything I worked on in practice sessions and lessons. I have been wanting to bullet journal for years, but never got around to it. So I decided to start a bullet journal for mostly skating, but also some other life stuff and it has pretty much become my bible. I set up a big grid of skills I work on, and fill in the squares for each practice or lesson. I also write a quick, one line summary of my sessions. And finally, for tests specifically, I put each test item in a column and marked off using a green, yellow and red system (confident to not at all confident) for each session. Phew! It seems like a lot but I just take a few minutes out of my day to jot everything down.
And now, drumroll please…my 2019 goals. Here’s how I did:
Test in April – DONE. I signed up for, took, and passed both adult pre-bronze moves in the field and free skate tests on April 15th. This was a big day for me! I’d never tested before and had no idea what I was getting into or what to expect. I was nervous but worked really hard to nail everything on the tests. I also tested and passed bronze moves in the field in August, something I didn’t think I’d be doing but hey, it’s a nice bonus!
Land loop jump – ehhhh. I chronically underrotate my loop. It is very hard. I’ve been trying since late April but it’s a major blocker for me. I’ve worked with a few different coaches on my loop and I WILL GET IT BY THE SPRING. I know what I’m doing wrong but can’t quite get my body to do it all. Check back in with me in a few months, ok?
Work on artistry – DONE (and still ongoing.) I think I’ve made major strides in this area. Last year I didn’t know wtf to do with my arms. Since then, I’ve gone to a handful of special classes for arms and artistry and did two private lessons with an arms specialist, and worked with my primary coach on this too. It’s still pretty unnatural to me to look graceful and fluid with my arms, but I have a better idea of what it’s supposed to look like!
Adult camp weekend in June – DONE. I had the most amazing time at Lake Placid Adult Skating Weekend! (Psst check out my girl madonice’s awesome review of the weekend.) 18 hours of skating over the course of three days! I took 9-10 group lessons each day, a 30 minute private lesson every morning, and met some really great adult skaters. It was just a wonderful environment to be in – everyone was so supportive, even if they didn’t know you! Adult skaters really are the best.
Get scratch spin – ehhhh. Spins are not my strong suit. I am wildly inconsistent. My thing with a scratch spin is crossing my leg over is just SO SCARY to me. I don’t know why. I can occasionally cross my leg over but definitely not as consistently as I’d like. On the flip side, I do feel like I’m making decent progress with my sit spin, something I didn’t think I’d be working on at this point. AND I’ve tried a camel spin a handful of times which is one of my ultimate skating goals.
Compete (?) – did not happen. This was a question mark for me from the beginning, so I’m not too upset I didn’t compete this year. I focused pretty hard on my tests instead. I am planning on competing in an adult competition in the spring so I’m really only a few months behind. Onward and upward!
Feel confident going to my club freestyle sessions – DONE. Last winter, I was TERRIFIED to skate during my club’s freestyle sessions. There are some very talented teenage skaters and everyone is moving at a fast pace and I just could not. Over the course of the year, I started going more and more, even straying from the ends of the rink. I felt most comfortable during the late spring, when I assume many of the skaters were doing other sports or finishing up their school year, because sessions weren’t too crowded. I still have an inferiority complex but I am pleased with my progress.
Higher spirals and on edges – DONE. I. Love. Spirals. Ya girl even learned a catchfoot spiral this year. Spirals are just so beautiful and fun for me. Since I started working on silver moves. I’m now doing spirals on edges a majority of the time anyway. 100% proud of myself for my spiral skills. I’m now doing yoga regularly so hopefully my spirals can get even higher!
Overall, I had a great skating year. According to my bullet journal, I skated 137 times, not including all my skating at Lake Placid. I’m still mulling over my 2020 goals but I hope to have an even better year!
