Comments on: The Practice Guarantee

By: BA

BA — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:04:14 +0000

As a former competitive skater, I used to love practicing. I found great pleasure in finally mastering something I had been working on for months. So great! There’s really nothing like it.

By: Miami

Miami — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:31:53 +0000

I must say that without practicing, I wouldn’t have accomplished ANY of my goals. Sure, I might’ve gotten lucky here or there on tests, but without the practice and diligence behind it, passing those tests wouldn’t have meant half of what they mean when you know you’ve earned it. Especially after passing my gold dance and moves tests, it became even harder to figure out what to practice. I realize now, however, that I have more time to revert back to the basics, and improve my skating that way – having a stronger foundation to build upon. Each skater has to find what practice strategy works for him/her, and use that state of mind to motivate him/herself to move forward. If nothing motivates you, perhaps you need to rethink your long-term goals, and whether this sport is right for you or not.

My mantra has recently become, “If you want something bad enough, it won’t matter how many obstacles you must overcome to get it.”

By: Suzee

Suzee — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 06:20:03 +0000

Your comments on practice really made sense, and I can easily identify the types of skaters you mentioned.

One thought to share about Dance practice: How can you Dance solo as well as you can with your Pro Coach or Partner? (From someone who’d never thought they could do the Dutch Waltz with such extreme edges, control, and speed)

The answer: Try it once, try it twice, a few (lot) more times and guess what? You are dancing with similar edges and speed as the Standard. (partnered) dance. Here’s to the “P” word!

By: Practo

Practo — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:16:26 +0000

Addition to Skater Quote of the Week: Six year old after receiving list of what to practice before the next lesson. “(Heavy sigh) Everything in life is practice.” From the mouths of babes…

By: Aaron

Aaron — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:51:49 +0000

“Practice makes perfect. But nobody’s perfect. So why practice?”

The answer: Because you can get pretty darn close to perfect…which can give you the most points and you win!

By: Martina

Martina — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:26:00 +0000

Babysitting-ouch, sad but true. Here are some great practice quotes…

“Practice as if you are the worst, perform as if you are the best.”

“When you are not practicing, remember, somewhere someone is practicing, and when you meet him/her she/he will win.”

“An ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of preaching.”

My personal favorite…”Practice is the best of all instructors.”

By: Heartig

Heartig — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:57:13 +0000

To contribute two cliches…skating is a marathon, not a sprint. And of course, you get out what you put in!

By: Paula

Paula — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:43:55 +0000

This is great. Though I agree with everything you have said the sad fact is that with jumps skaters do eventually reach a plateau and sometimes no matter how much practice they do they may not ever land that double axel. However, practicing does increase the chances of landing it or other jumps. I also think the importance of off ice work can not be underestimated.

By: Zenskate

Zenskate — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:57:03 +0000

It really is pretty simple: just like anything in life, you get out what you put in. I have learned this many times.