 Skaterina student working on a gentle baby stretch with Elesia Ashkenazy while learning to point her toes. The photo above features one of my preschool-aged Skaterina students. She is currently a United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) Basic 2 skater. This little one recently began private ballet lessons in order to complement her artistry in skating competitions. We have had loads of fun playing games that foster early concepts of body awareness, alignment, creativity, flexibility, and musicality.
Playing and learning go hand-in-hand for preschoolers. Children this age are often enthusiastic to interact with props like silk scarves, hula hoops, balls, wands, streamers, fairy wings, stickers, dance-themed books, or anything else that might spark creativity. A popular activity for this age group involves holding wands or pom-poms and tapping them together to the beat of songs used in classical ballets. If the child is a figure skater and has a skate program, use their program music in addition. This activity introduces the fundamentals of musicality. Another popular activity involves music and a large colored circle (or a hula hoop, or a stuffed animal). Have the preschooler run to the circle, hop on or over it, and then skitter away. After a few turns, perhaps the child can walk slowly toward the circle, hop on the circle, and then quickly dash or skip to the other side of the studio. To further build upon this activity, teachers may place down a hula hoop, step inside, and model a turn or a spin with airplane arms that rotate toward stage-right. After the child gets the hang of it, model arms that rotate toward stage-left. Children also love hopping or leaping over circles or small stuffed animals while holding streamers, wands, or silk scarves. These types of games target spacial awareness, direction, movement patterns, and memory. Anne Green Gilbert, Director of Creative Dance Center, notes that quality preschool dance instruction seeks to develop strong and healthy bodies and brains via movement and exercise. Emphasis is on body awareness, control, balance, and coordination. Physical energy is positively released through physical activity. Social skills are nurtured with directives like: "Look for the empty space as you dance in general space with other dancers,” and/or "Move strongly and powerfully when the music is loud, lightly and delicately when the music is soft." During lessons, it's important to gauge a preschooler's interest and to always be ready to switch things up. I continuously ask myself:
In moments where preschool-aged students exhibit especially deep focus and concentration, I take lightning quick advantage (who knows how long it will last!) and use it to teach something age appropriate, yet challenging. On the other hand, when a child is much more active and antsy, I tend to stick to the center of the studio and build upon/switch up active games and jumping exercises. Matching a child's level of energy often goes a long way toward a successful lesson. Having a child enrolled in both dance and skating is a big commitment, especially for a preschooler. It's a good idea for parents and teachers to continuously assess and gauge a child's level of excitement and ability to focus. For example, if you are questioning if dance and skating might be too much for your preschooler, observe their behavior. Do they hop up and show eagerness to get dressed for skating and/or dance? Do they skip or run to their lesson when they arrive? Do they practice things they have learned at home? Do they search for willing "audiences" to watch them? Do you hear, "Mommy [or Daddy], watch this!" These are all signs that your child is enjoying their lessons and that they are at a stage of physical and cognitive readiness. While some figure skating coaches advise their students to delay cross-training in dance until they graduate from basic skills levels, other coaches feel that the earlier the better. Though this is not a hard-and-fast rule, skaters who demonstrate a high level of interest, discipline, and talent are often strong candidates for early cross-training. Learning and practicing the concepts of body awareness, alignment, artistry, flexibility, and musicality during formative years, often translates to little to no time devoted in the future to correcting and managing bad habits and poor understanding of presentation and body lines, especially where it really counts in performances and competitions. Skating and dance benefit preschoolers by supporting communication and social skills, building confidence, introducing discipline and tenacity, and serving as a fantastic option for creativity, movement, and exercise. What are your favorite dance and/or skate activities for preschoolers?
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 Elizabeth Ryan of Ice Cool Confidence: Mindset Skills for Skaters Welcome to Part 2 of this fabulous interview with Elizabeth Ryan: Mindset Skills and Mental Toughness expert for competitive figure skaters! Check out Elizabeth's website, Ice Cool Confidence, by clicking here. Her full bio can be found at the conclusion of this interview. Elesia Ashkenazy: Have you noticed a common thread in how fears tend to develop? Are there common themes in skaters’ lives that contribute to the development of fears? Elizabeth Ryan: Yes I do notice that age, rather than level of ability, makes a difference. Skaters who have not yet graduated from primary school (elementary school in the US) don’t tend to have the same issues with their confidence. When they start secondary school (middle or high school in the US) they become much more aware of their peers and what they perceive others may be thinking of them. Self-esteem is a big factor at this point and often there are challenges with friends at school – or even at skating – which are at the back of their minds and prevents them from performing at their best. When I ask my skaters if they talk to themselves as they would talk to their best friend, I get a resounding no! There’s a huge pressure in teen years to ‘conform’ so stepping out and being different can be hard to do. Elesia: Do you have a particular student with a story that has resonated deeply with you over the years? Elizabeth: I only take a small number of students at any one time because I like to be completely immersed in their world and not be ‘mixing them up’. That way I don’t say to one, “How’s the double loop going?” only to find that it somebody else’s issue! Each and every one skater has resonated deeply in some way. I just love to see them at the end looking so happy and having made so many positive changes. It’s hard to pick just one story. And for reasons of confidentiality, I am unable to go into detail. There have, however, been a couple of cases where skaters were really struggling after a change of coach, where the old coach had used a lot of negative language and “reverse” psychology. They found it really hard to trust again with their new coaches and settle into a good working relationship. Another student came to me recently with a really big block around her double axel. She couldn’t even take off for it. We worked hard to break down the thinking processes around it and replace them with something more positive. It took a little longer than I expected (by session three I was wondering if we needed to change our approach!), but then she started jumping it. And I’ve just heard that she has successfully landed it in competition, and even came in first! Elesia: What types of students tend to get the most out of performance coaching? Elizabeth: Those who really want to overcome their challenges and who are prepared to work hard to do something about it. I always make sure the skater wants to work with me and that it’s not just something their mum has pushed them into. If they don’t want to improve and work on their performance then whatever we do will be less effective. Skaters don’t have to have a ‘problem’ for us to solve. They can still get great results and improve quickly if they are already pretty good at what they are doing but just want to get even better. Olympic athletes use mindset training, so we don’t just take people from ‘bad’ to good – we can go from good to great too! I have to say that thus far, girls outnumber the boys in wanting help. Elesia: Is there anything I haven't asked that you would like to share? Elizabeth: Sometimes skaters don’t like people to know that they are working with me. There’s still a taboo among young people about anything to do with the mind. I liken the mindset skills to a missing piece of the puzzle that makes up a champion skater, along with on-ice technique, strength and conditioning, flexibility, dance and so on. Nobody minds practicing those and making it known, but when it comes to mental toughness they sometimes feel that others will think there’s something “wrong” with them if they are working on ‘mental’ stuff. It’s really important that this taboo is dispelled because this age group above all others can really benefit from flexing the mind to keep as mentally fit as they are physically fit – and it helps them with exams and schoolwork too. This sort of help hasn’t been available to skaters in the UK or much of Europe up to now and so I’m having to make myself very visible. I’m going through an awesome rebranding process at the moment to help with that - so your readers can sign up for my free newsletter for exciting updates as the new website emerges, which includes not-to-be missed hints and tips for skaters. I’m aiming to take skaters’ confidence to a new level! Elesia: Thank you so much Elizabeth, it was honor to have you as a guest. I wish you all of the best in your endeavors. Always remember you've got fans over here at Skaterina! And we send our hellos to the United Kingdom. Elizabeth: Thank you! Bio: Elizabeth Ryan is a Mindset Skills and Mental Toughness expert providing FUN, fast and fabulous results for competitive figure skaters.
Her extensive background in dealing with crisis, chaos and conflict was based on nearly 14 years in the Diplomatic Service where she had to think on her feet in very hairy situations using a set of ‘mind-tools’ that she built up over the years which work fantastically well at beating inner Gremlins! Now a Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Time Line Therapy™, Hypnosis and NLP Coaching, and professional member of the Association for NLP, she’s very good at getting the Skating Gremlins out of your head! Her experience in the UK and Eastern Europe inspired her to create The Ice Cool Confidence Programme, helping young and adult skaters around the UK and worldwide have strong mental confidence under pressure. And the great thing is – it works for more than just skating. Elizabeth’s monthly motivational and confidence tips are sought after by hundreds of skaters from the UK and beyond. And they work! Her students change their whole outlook on life once they’ve cracked it, and they’re positively sparkling!  Elizabeth Ryan of Ice Cool Confidence: Mindset Skills for Skaters Elizabeth Ryan is a Mindset Skills and Mental Toughness expert providing FUN, fast, and fabulous results for competitive figure skaters. Check out her website, Ice Cool Confidence, by clicking here. Elizabeth's full bio can be found at the conclusion of our interview. Elesia Ashkenazy: You work in the figure skating world as a performance coach. Tell us more about performance coaching and mindset skills. Elizabeth Ryan: I work with skaters who have reached a ‘block’ of some kind in their ability to skate confidently in competition. Sometimes the block takes the form of a ‘lost’ jump that they used to be able to do, but which suddenly disappears. And sometimes skaters become so wrapped up in what their competitors can do that they lose confidence in themselves and no longer believe in their own capabilities. ‘Gremlins’ are those little voices that tell us we can’t do something and fill our heads with negative thinking. Performance coaching is about helping skaters to feel comfortable performing and to do so confidently. A skater's inherent grace and elegance is often lost when they lose confidence and start feeling self-conscious about what they think others might see as ‘showing off’. 90% of any sport is down to the mindset. In fact, the mind is 100% in control! I use a lot of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), which is incredibly simple and gets results quickly. Elesia: You live in the United Kingdom. Are you able to work with clients who live outside of your country? Elizabeth: Yes definitely! I work with a number of skaters who live quite a distance from me. I recently worked with a Scottish skater who lives about 350 miles away and we continued sessions throughout her visit to a skate camp in Canada! As long as the skater speaks fairly good English and there’s a strong Internet connection, we can use Skype or any similar online software to run the sessions. People are often surprised to find that I don’t coach at a rink. I do, however, run workshops at rinks for groups of skaters, their parents, and skating coaches. Sometimes I will do an online webinar if there’s a topic I think one of those groups would benefit from. When I work one-to-one with skaters, we usually work over the course of three months. I like to have two weeks in between sessions to give them time to try out the new techniques and mindset tools they’ve been learning – plus they have a little work to do in between. Then we look at what’s working and what needs developing further in each session. Goals are incredibly important. I also teach skaters to understand how to set effective goals (which keeps their skating coach involved!), then we work towards achieving them. Elesia: What are two of the top questions you tend to receive from skaters and/or their parents? Elizabeth: Skaters and mums who contact me almost always ask for help to overcome nerves at competitions. A skater might seem fine in practice, then on the run up to a competition they start to become more and more nervous, and then on the big day they go into meltdown. The strain on skaters and their families is tremendous. Most coaches (and some parents!) don’t really know what to do with skaters at that level of stress and end up trying to help but saying the wrong things. Some skaters contact me because they have a specific jump that they are just totally stuck on and the more they get stressed out by it, the worse it gets. There’s no quick answer – but I get them to break down the Gremlin voice in their head telling them they can’t do something. For example, if they have to say, “I can’t do that,” then I get them to add the word “yet” on the end at the very least. I encourage skaters to think back to something they found really difficult a long time ago, but that they can do easily now. It might be a single axel – or even tying their skates by themselves. I point out how hard that was at the time, but how easy it is now, and that they are going through the same process, which means there will definitely be a time when what they are struggling with will become easy. That helps them to put it in context. From there, we start breaking down the thought processes they are going through when the jump isn’t working and see what they could say to themselves instead. Elesia: What is the skate coach's role in the process of you working with a skater? Elizabeth: I like to work very much with the coach in mind – if the skater and his/her parent is willing, I like to talk to the coach at the start to get their perspective on the skater’s problems so that I have an all-round picture. Sometimes without realising it, the coach can be part of the problem by using negative language or even ‘reverse psychology’, so it’s helpful if I can also get the coach to see how they can get the best out of their skater by slightly adapting their approach. Even something as innocuous and well intentioned as “Don’t worry about your axel,” said just before they step on the ice can be disastrous, as the unconscious mind is then focusing on worrying about the axel! Elesia: What are the top fears you tend to run into with your students, and what's your starting point as far as a plan to address these fears? Elizabeth: Some skaters have reached a block and then had a series of poor results in competition. Their fears center around coming in last again or not qualifying for the national championships. Others have a ‘What if…’ mentality – worrying about things that probably won’t ever happen. And some skaters simply want to know how to perform without the debilitating nerves which strike them in competitions and tests. I start off by getting them to complete a questionnaire that gives me a much deeper insight into what else is going on for them, and that pinpoints what might be the root cause. Sometimes there are things going on at home or at school or with friendship groups that are preying on their mind and preventing them from focusing. Distractions and/or continually circling instead of taking a jump, or even popping jumps, are very common things for us to work on along with the negative self-talk. Another big fear is that their mums will be upset with them if they don’t do well. And these mums aren’t particularly ‘pushy’ mums, but sometimes when mum is simply tired or grumpy or wondering if her child is really still enjoying the sport, they come across to the young person as if they are ‘angry’ or ‘upset’, which worries the skater and affects their performance even more. Elesia: Thank you so much Elizabeth for gracing us with this fantastic informative interview. We're all the better for having some time with you! And we're eagerly looking forward to Part 2 tomorrow. Elizabeth: Thank you! Bio: Elizabeth Ryan is a Mindset Skills and Mental Toughness expert providing FUN, fast and fabulous results for competitive figure skaters.
Her extensive background in dealing with crisis, chaos and conflict was based on nearly 14 years in the Diplomatic Service where she had to think on her feet in very hairy situations using a set of ‘mind-tools’ that she built up over the years which work fantastically well at beating inner Gremlins! Now a Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Time Line Therapy™, Hypnosis and NLP Coaching, and professional member of the Association for NLP, she’s very good at getting the Skating Gremlins out of your head! Her experience in the UK and Eastern Europe inspired her to create The Ice Cool Confidence Programme, helping young and adult skaters around the UK and worldwide have strong mental confidence under pressure. And the great thing is – it works for more than just skating. Elizabeth’s monthly motivational and confidence tips are sought after by hundreds of skaters from the UK and beyond. And they work! Her students change their whole outlook on life once they’ve cracked it, and they’re positively sparkling!  Coach Autumn Lorca-Merono at Sherwood Ice Arena Autumn Lorca-Merono has coached at Sherwood Ice Arena in Sherwood, Oregon since 2012. Throughout her journey as a competitive skater she has trained with expert coaches and former Olympians. Autumn won the gold medal at the 2008 Regional Championships, as well as earned a gold medal for Moves in the Field in 2011, and a gold medal for Freestyle in 2014. Autumn's focus is now on the younger generation of skaters where she feels lucky to have the opportunity to pass along her knowledge and love of the sport.
Elesia Ashkenazy: What drew you to become a figure skating coach? Autumn Lorca-Merono: I began skating when I was 6 years old and I completely fell in love with it. I knew from a young age that skating would always be apart of my life, and what better way to stay involved with skating than to coach? As I grew up, I spent many years training with great experienced coaches. I always had a desire to give back, and to pass along my knowledge to the new generations of skaters. I love the idea of helping young aspiring skaters achieve their goals and progress in what they love to do. Elesia: What do you enjoy most about coaching? Autumn: I love watching skaters grow and improve. The excitement they feel when they accomplish something new is an incredible thing to watch. My skaters make me just as excited about their skating as they are. Sharing my passion of skating with my students creates a wonderful bond. Elesia: Do you recommend solid ballet or dance training for your students? If so, how does ballet help skaters and why should a skater should invest in it? Autumn: Yes, I definitely encourage my skaters to take ballet. Ballet is a great way for skaters to learn musicality, rhythm, and grace. I find that a skater who takes ballet is able to use their arms, head, and whole body to relate to music much better than a skater who doesn't do any cross training with dance. Ballet training helps skaters to improve their overall artistry on the ice. Elesia: What's your dance background? Autumn: I started taking ballet at four years old, before I even began skating. At the age of eight, I had to make the decision of picking one or the other. I chose skating, however, as an adult, I am taking ballet classes again. Elesia: I admire the choreography you set for your students. Tell us how you go about the process from start to finish. Autumn: I always try to find a piece of music that will best fit the particular skater I'm working with. I strive to find music that will bring out the skater's strengths. I also like to give my skaters the opportunity to select music that they like and feel they can relate to. If a skater is not connecting with their music, it will be obvious and everyone will notice. Choreography is similar. I try to involve the skater with certain aspects, such as their beginning or ending pose. It makes them feel more comfortable and excited if they get the opportunity to put their own unique style into it. Elesia: What inspires you most about choreography and how do you go about creating fresh ideas and material? Autumn: Listening to the music and "skating" around my living room. That's honestly how most of my choreography begins. I love to really get involved and do the movements myself. I find that it helps the skater to perform the movements if I can go through the motions myself. Ballet also helps me in this area. I love incorporating balletic movements into my skaters' programs. Elesia: What's your favorite program to arrange and cut music? Also, what's your go-to place for new music? Autumn: I use Garageband to cut all of my music. It has been a great program. I use a variety of different resources to find music. I don't have one particular site that I revisit each time. Elesia: What are a few of the most common tips that you give to students? Autumn: Most of my tips for choreography are about the little details that make a big overall difference. Corrections such as, whole body use, facial expression, pointed toes, and pretty fingers. Elesia: (Thank you so much for that pointed toes and pretty fingers comment!) You have been very supportive of my work and ballet for figure skaters. What improvements have you noticed in your students who take lessons from me? Autumn: Their movements have become much more graceful and they do a much better job of telling a story with their skating. Their chins are up and their arms move much prettier than before. Also, I've seen their confidence grow. It's amazing how much better skaters perform when they know that they look good. Elesia: I'll say! Is there anything I haven't asked that you would like others to know? Autumn: Working with you is a joy. You really care about the kids and put in all of your effort to help them. You also do a wonderful job of staying in contact with me as a coach. You've been great about answering questions, and you always address what I specify for my skaters. Lessons with you have been a great addition to my skaters' training! Elesia: Thank you for your time Autumn. My readers and I wish you the best of luck! See you around the rink and studio. |
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