(This is my first blog entry, in September of 2007.)
I have been involved in the sport of figure skating for 27 years. Math has never been my forte, but, with the help of my calculator, I have figured out that this is 77% of my life so far. Seems like the only thing I’ve been doing longer than skating is breathing.
Actually, what I’ve been doing for an equally long time is writing. These two pursuits – skating and writing – have long played a vicious game of tug-of-war in my life. (Oh, if only there were 25 hours in a day…) Recently, these two realms have stopped pulling away from each other and started to cohabitate more peacefully, within. What you are reading is a product of this new phenomenon.
A spate of personal hard knocks lately has prompted me to start the majority of my sentences with, “Life is too short to not…” This runs the gamut from “Life’s too short to not paint the walls of my bedroom Kermit green,” to, “Life’s too short to not suck the marrow out of every single waking moment.”Today? It’s, “Life’s too short to not write a blog.” So here is my first post.
To continue the earlier math problem…I have been coaching skating for 16 of those 27 skating years, which I’m surprised to write equals almost half of my life. The thing is, I had no intention of becoming a skating coach. And most people who knew me as a skater will attest to the fact that I didn’t seem particularly destined (or even remotely suited) for this career. Namely, I trudged through most of my training sessions only after a bout of kicking and screaming. Literally. When all that toiling didn’t pay off the way I felt I deserved – with fame, fortune, and, of course, an action figure in my likeness (complete with sequins) – I had a long list of other ways I was going take over the world.
It’s weird how people decide upon and settle into their professions. For a long time, I taught skating as a side dish to what was going to be the entrée of my life’s work. At a certain point, though, I realized that not only did this career make a lot of sense for me, but I really enjoyed it. I liked helping skaters learn new things, improve, and reach goals. The opportunity to have some kind of larger impact on a person’s development has turned out to be both thrilling and gratifying.
But this is a strange sport and a “unique” profession! To say the least. I feel compelled to examine the minutia of this wacky world and also ponder the bigger picture. I am a firm believer that writing is not only therapeutic but helps you to better understand that which confounds. I also believe that reading about common experiences (woo hoo, internet!) makes the universe a smaller, less overwhelming place. Finally, I believe that laughter is indeed the best (sports) medicine.
In future posts, I intend to explore subjects such as:
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The challenge of breaking in new skates when you don’t really skate anymore.
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The science of wearing exactly the right number of layers to avoid frostbite, yet still maintain the ability to move your limbs (at least enough to lift coffee cup to mouth).
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Group Lesson pedagogy with an emphasis on Snowplow Sam Three.
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Demonstration Anxiety: Do as I say, because I can no longer do.
So there you have it. I intend to post weekly, if not more. Thanks for reading.
March 11, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Oh, my! That made me laugh. When I used to coach at the Palouse Hills Skating rink in Moscow, ID, an outdoor rink with just a tent over top, I was always trying to find the right trick to keep from losing toes to frostbite while coaching. Yipes! It’s a lot easier here in Tel Aviv — another rink in a tent. Now I just have to worry about the ice surface melting during lessons in the summer.
Demonstration anxiety is still a biggie, though. I lost my axel and all of my double jumps 8 years ago when I went through a really bad illness. I remember how to do them, of course, but physically I’m unlikely to ever do them again. Explaining things in words — often in words in a language I’m not so good at — can be a huge challenge sometimes. It’s totally worth it when I see students get things right though! I love this job. I love this sport!