Frequently Asked Questions
about private coaching in figure skating
What's the difference between a coach and a choreographer?
A private skating coach is going to work with a student consistently and long-term, teaching the elements of the sport (skating skills, jumps, spins, etc.). A choreographer designs programs that both fulfill the technical requirements of a skater’s competitive level and demonstrates storytelling/presentation elements that complement the chosen music.
While some coaches (like myself) are also choreographers, they are distinct areas of expertise. If a skater’s coach isn’t also a choreographer, they will typically hire one to work with on a short-term basis when a new program is needed.
Is it ok to work with more than one coach?
Yes! I have both primary students, to whom I’m the “head coach”, and students to whom I’m their “secondary” or supplemental coach. It can be very helpful for a skater to hear something explained in a different way from another coach’s perspective (or to have it explained in the exact same way by a coach they aren’t as familiar with). While choosing to work with one coach, exclusively, or working with a small team of coaches, it’s always good to make sure that skaters—especially kids—feel comfortable and safe to go to other adults for support and to develop an awareness of different coaching/leadership styles.
What's the difference between a head coach and a secondary coach?
This may vary by coach and by club, but generally speaking, a skater’s head coach is responsible for their overall development. This includes designing training plans around their goals, preparing skaters for—and putting them on the ice at—tests and competitions, being the first point of contact for families, staying in the know and adjusting training plans around a skater’s health and safety needs, and making sure that skaters and families abide by club and U.S. Figure Skating rules and policies. If a head coach is also their choreographer (like myself) they are also typically the ones cutting music and designing programs according to the requirements of a skater’s level and event. To put it a bit more bluntly: A head coach does the bulk of off-hours/unpaid work required to make sure a skater is prepared, confident, and growing. This is why, even when two or a team of coaches have a collaborative working relationship, it’s important to distinguish and maintain primary communication with one head coach.
A secondary coach should be someone who has a positive, working relationship with a skater’s head coach. They may simply be an additional coach for the sake of it and/or a back-up coach who is familiar to the skater. A secondary (or a supplemental coach beyond that) may also be someone who specializes in a particular area of skating either to fill in the gaps where the head coach’s time is limited or to teach outside of the head coach’s expertise (for example, ice dance). These coaches follow the lead of the head coach.
How often should I/my skater have lessons?
Ultimately, a skater’s training plan will be unique to their goals and lifestyle. A beginner skater can do great starting with one or two 25 minute lessons in a week. For skaters interested in pursuing the sport more seriously, I always start by recommending (as advised by youth athletics and medical experts) that they have no more hours in a week of structured and facilitated athletic activity than they have years of age. So an 8-year-old, for example, shouldn’t have any more than 8 hours per week of organized sports/training. I also recommend that they spend at least as much time practicing on their own as they do in a lesson. So if that 8 year old has 2 hours of soccer practice each week, one hour of ballet, and one hour of after school ultimate frisbee club, that would leave about 4 hours left for skating: 2 hours for lessons and 2 hours for practice.
If a young skater has ambitious competitive goals and is really serious, shouldn't they specialize early?
Absolutely not. While the pressure in our society for kids to specialize in one sport and to do specialized training for that sport exclusively is astronomical, every bit of research tells us that this is a nearly surefire way for a young athlete to suffer serious and chronic injuries and to burn out, not to mention risk poorer mental health outcomes and a negative relationship to sports in the long-run. A diversity of movement-based activities is imperative for a child’s physical, sensory, and neurological development and I ask parents to keep their skaters participating in other organized sports and athletic activities at least until they’re 16 years old.
In the short-term, watching the rapid progress of young skaters who specialize in figure skating can seem compelling. I’ve witnessed skaters and parents struggle with this pressure time and time again in my almost 30 years of skating and 20 years of coaching. It takes patience, but the long game of mastering fundamentals and growing as an athlete from the inside-out always pays off.
When is figure skating's off-season?
Fun fact: there is no off-season. Not really. And, once again, this puts the sport of figure skating at odds with the advice of experts at the intersection of child development and competitive sports: they advise training in one sport for no more than 8 months of the year in order to avoid overuse injuries and to allow for full mental and physical recovery. For many reasons, it’s almost unavoidable to make skating a year-round sport once a student moves beyond the introductory levels.
When it’s not possible to take four months off, we have to think creatively. Taking at least two days off per week for rest is recommended for all ages of athletes across all sports so in skating, this becomes imperative. Then we can look at each season of skating, its major events, and the on-ice training required for those events. There’s always a way to work in 1-3 weeks to take a break in each season. If these breaks can take place during school vacations and major transitions (like back to school week), that’s even better.
Remember, time off and recovery is as much a part of training as the work!
I'd love to work with you as a coach and winning/being competitive are priorities I care about. Can we still be a good fit?
Of course! It is completely possible to take an athlete-led approach that puts their safety and wellbeing first while being competitively successful.
I’m still worried that being competitive and winning isn’t possible without specializing in the sport and maximizing our time at the rink. Since I’m paying you, can we just take that approach anyway?
No.