Ellis Edge Masters Camp Day 4 – July 29, 2007
We start today with our before-and-after pictures. We work on the same sheet as the kids from the camp before, and worry about our artistic ability. Fortunately, stick people are the norm. Remarkably, the pictures are a pretty accurate representation.
Today, we’re going to tackle starts – my nemesis. Lots of work on the Techni-Cords on set-up, load and execution – the same basics as for everything we’ve worked on so far. But, we’re going to work on set-up first – a lot. Even more so than with other skating skills, the success of a start depends almost entirely on setting it up correctly. We’ll spend several hours on the ready posi tion before doing a step off the line.
We need to overcome our fear of gravity, and to set ourselves up to automatically fall forward – our goal is to “splat” forward – well, without the face plant, that is.
We learn the order of the set-up for a toe start – front foot, back foot, weight distribution, ankle position, knee position, body orientation, all before we sink into our loaded, then almost-fully-loaded position. Then we stop, step back, and do it all again... and again. First on the Techni-Cords, then on the ice. Lock and load… After much practice, we actually do a start on the ice. Not my most shining moment. Sigh… still my nemesis, it seems.
After lunch, we take our chairs and Techni-Cords onto the ice, all in search of the elusive thrusting hip. A whole new feeling, as we tow our partners down the ice. Finally, we attempt starts all the way into the turn on a marked track. Still not right, but progress. Sue’s eagle eye picks up the problem. Seems I’m not bringing my foot back under me – no knee thrust, no hip thrust. Next try, a Eureka moment – not a pretty start, but definitely a real start. I’ll take it!
We finish the camp with a review of what each of us has le arned. For some of us, it’s essential tweaks. For many of us, it’s more than we can begin to list, and for some, a lot of things we can’t even use yet, but will file away for later when we’re ready. Lots of comments about the three keys, what’s happened to our body positions, and the impact on our speed, power, and stability. The feel of the ride. The feel of the lay-in. Slowing it down to speed it up. Thrusting with the knee. Finishing our pushes. Doing our recoveries. Locking and loading.&n bsp; The feel of the hip thrust. Letting the ice rise up to meet us. Setting up the start. But, focusing on one thing at a time…
We talk about concrete things we can do to retain and build on this when we go back home. Quite a number of us are lucky to have club mates who attended with us, and will be able to help us.
The day ends with farewells and thanks. To our fellow skaters, who’ve become our coaches and friends, encouraging us and providing feedback and pointers. To Caleb, who has demonstrated, and demonstrated, and demonstrated again – both how to do it right, and what we’re doing wrong – all with a smile on his face. And especially to Sue, who has found time to individually coach each of us no matter what our skill level, answering our questions, analyzing our video playbacks, and effortlessly identifying the one key thing that is essential to overcoming our stumbling blocks.
And we talk about coming back next year… and maybe looking at a Masters camp in Ontario next summer?
Awesome!
We start today with our before-and-after pictures. We work on the same sheet as the kids from the camp before, and worry about our artistic ability. Fortunately, stick people are the norm. Remarkably, the pictures are a pretty accurate representation.
Today, we’re going to tackle starts – my nemesis. Lots of work on the Techni-Cords on set-up, load and execution – the same basics as for everything we’ve worked on so far. But, we’re going to work on set-up first – a lot. Even more so than with other skating skills, the success of a start depends almost entirely on setting it up correctly. We’ll spend several hours on the ready posi tion before doing a step off the line.We need to overcome our fear of gravity, and to set ourselves up to automatically fall forward – our goal is to “splat” forward – well, without the face plant, that is.
We learn the order of the set-up for a toe start – front foot, back foot, weight distribution, ankle position, knee position, body orientation, all before we sink into our loaded, then almost-fully-loaded position. Then we stop, step back, and do it all again... and again. First on the Techni-Cords, then on the ice. Lock and load… After much practice, we actually do a start on the ice. Not my most shining moment. Sigh… still my nemesis, it seems.
After lunch, we take our chairs and Techni-Cords onto the ice, all in search of the elusive thrusting hip. A whole new feeling, as we tow our partners down the ice. Finally, we attempt starts all the way into the turn on a marked track. Still not right, but progress. Sue’s eagle eye picks up the problem. Seems I’m not bringing my foot back under me – no knee thrust, no hip thrust. Next try, a Eureka moment – not a pretty start, but definitely a real start. I’ll take it!
We finish the camp with a review of what each of us has le arned. For some of us, it’s essential tweaks. For many of us, it’s more than we can begin to list, and for some, a lot of things we can’t even use yet, but will file away for later when we’re ready. Lots of comments about the three keys, what’s happened to our body positions, and the impact on our speed, power, and stability. The feel of the ride. The feel of the lay-in. Slowing it down to speed it up. Thrusting with the knee. Finishing our pushes. Doing our recoveries. Locking and loading.&n bsp; The feel of the hip thrust. Letting the ice rise up to meet us. Setting up the start. But, focusing on one thing at a time…
We talk about concrete things we can do to retain and build on this when we go back home. Quite a number of us are lucky to have club mates who attended with us, and will be able to help us.
The day ends with farewells and thanks. To our fellow skaters, who’ve become our coaches and friends, encouraging us and providing feedback and pointers. To Caleb, who has demonstrated, and demonstrated, and demonstrated again – both how to do it right, and what we’re doing wrong – all with a smile on his face. And especially to Sue, who has found time to individually coach each of us no matter what our skill level, answering our questions, analyzing our video playbacks, and effortlessly identifying the one key thing that is essential to overcoming our stumbling blocks.
And we talk about coming back next year… and maybe looking at a Masters camp in Ontario next summer?
Awesome!
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