Monthly skating review: progress and goals adjustment

The skating last month was unfocused. I skated every Monday on the regular rink ( adult figure skaters and hockey players together), and some Wednesdays an Fridays on the studio rink. Then, I gave up on Wednesday an Friday because the ice quality was so bad few times, that I couldn't work on anything.

MITF:
I've tried to run the Pre-Juvenile moves, that I was ready to test in June, every Monday, so I maintain them. They go reasonably well.

Ice Dancing:
The dance exercises and the pattern dances are near impossible to do with hockey players skating fast all around me. But I skated few exercises and the Ten-Fox occasionally, so they won't all disappear on me. I also didn't work with my coach on dance in months. I finally had a dance lesson today and the coach said that I "regressed" because I skated so little. Yeap... Well, it is what it is. We started with the basics, stroking, forward and backward chasses, progressives, swing rolls, dropped 3-turns and ran the dance twice. Things started to come back and I was actually relieved that it wasn't worse.

Freestyle:
In the studio rink I've worked on spins and jumps. And I had a lesson on jumps and spins few weeks ago. There was a glimpse of progress there, but again, skating so little I didn't get to work on them much.

High Level Pattern Dances:
I'm learning the Silver and Pre-Gold pattern dances even if I cannot do them. I learn the diagram on the computer or paper, watch some on youtube and then, try to lay the steps on ice. As I learned so many at the same time I started mixing some steps, but slowly some of them are clear. I had three lessons towards higher dances, again, not to do them myself but, but now that I know the steps, to understand where are the most difficult spots. My coach explained and I took notes first on the Starlight Waltz as I knew the its steps for a while. Then, it was the Kilian and Foxtrot, again, because I don't mix the steps on them. I'm already confident in my knowledge of the Fourteen Steps, European Waltz and American Waltz. That leaves the Silver Tango and Rocker Foxtrot from the silver dances and the Pass Double and the Blues from the pre golds. It is quite fun to learn them, and actually do some of the steps, but then also disappointing because there are steps that I cannot do.


Plans for this month... The first two weeks may not have much skating, but then the ice schedule goes back to fall schedule. So, at some point, I expect I can start picking up the skating from where it "regressed".  I feel good about this coming month.