Index
Skate Aloha 2003
Hawaii FSC
Articles
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(Reprinted from Recreational Ice Skating magazine with permission
from the
Ice Skating Institute (www.skateisi.org))
Use Visualization to Improve Skating Skills
by Alyssa Noelani Owen Lewis
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If you have ever watched a skating competition on television, you've probably seen one of the
competitors with a walkman. They were probably sitting quietly or maybe walking through their
program. More than likely, they were using their imagination to practice skills and prepare
for competition. Although this is called imagery or visualization, it involves more than just
"seeing." In order to get the most from this simulated practice, the other senses need to be
involved. For example, hearing the ice crunching beneath your skates and feeling the cold air
on your skin and in your lungs makes imagined rehearsal more life-like and more useful.
In order to use imagery effectively, you should understand a little about it. There are two
kinds of imagery: external and internal. External imagery is like watching yourself on
television. You are looking at yourself from somewhere outside your body. You are critiquing
your edges, body positioning, and how well you flow from one position to another. Internal
imagery is where you're looking out at the world through your own eyes. With this imagery you
sense your body doing things, think through how specific motions feel.
Like any skill, imagery must be practiced. Some people find it easier to do than others, but
anyone can learn to do it. It is best to start visualizing with simple, familiar objects. For
example, get an orange. Take a moment to look at it, feel it, and smell it. Now put it down
and close your eyes. Try to picture the exact shape and size of the orange. Did you notice
any bumps or marks? Make sure you picture them too. Imagine how the rough skin feels in
your hands. Try to smell its sweetness.
Those kinds of exercises are good for developing basic skills, but now we need to do some
skating-specific training. A good way to do this is with video-assisted imagery. First,
you need to find a video of an elite skater performing the skill you are trying to improve.
An old tape of Nationals or Worlds is a good place to start; you can also ask your coach for
suggestions of tapes to use.
Begin with simple skills that you are comfortable doing. For example, watch the skater in
the video doing crossovers or simple turns. Take note of important things like arm position,
knee bend, posture, and extension. These will be crucial to developing a good image. Now,
turn off the video and try to imagine the skater from the video performing the move. With
this simple skill you may see it on the first try, or it might take a little time. Be patient!
Make sure you can see the skater's head, arms, and legs doing the appropriate movements at the
appropriate time. When you can do this successfully, try to imagine yourself performing the skill.
Once you've successfully visualized yourself, move on to harder skills. More experienced skaters
may find that they quickly move ot difficult skills. Others may find the
exercise hard at first and spend a good deal of time trying to perfect their visualization.
That's great. Move at a pace that you feel comfortable with.
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Once you've developed the skill, you can then use it to do program run-throughs in your head.
Videotape yourself at a competition (preferably doing as clean a program as possible). Watch
yourself doing the program; then, try to imagine yourself doing the program.
You can work on sections at a time and build up to imagining the
whole program. Remember that you want to do more than see. Try to hear the sound your skates
make on the ice during the moves and feel the cold air about you.
Once you're comfortable with external imagery, work on internal imagery. Since skating
requires you to sense how your body moves, this kind of imagery is very important. However,
this is often hard for people to learn and so takes lots of practice. The best way to practice
is to have your coach (or another skater) ensure that your walk-through is correct. This
should initially be done off-ice and then during on-ice practice sessions.
Starting with a simple skill like a bunny hop, first do the skill off the ice. Now think about
some of the important parts of a bunny hop. What do your arms do? What about your legs?
Walk through the bunny hop again. Then, re-create the feeling of the skill in your head.
Could you feel all the parts of your body working together? It's pretty common to only feel
some parts of your body at first. If you felt your legs junping but could not feel what your
arms were doing, go back and walk through the bunny hop again. Concentrate on what your arms
feel like, then try to imagine it again.
As some skating skills do not transfer well off the ice (especially those spins!), it is
important to try this exercise on the ice. Follow the same patterm you just used off the ice.
First do the skill, then stand at the boards and try to feel it in your head.
With any of the above exercises, you may find that you have trouble controlling the image in
your head. You might repeatedly see yourself making a mistake. When this happens, try to do
the visualization in slow-motion. By slowing the picture down you can better control what
each position looks like. Video-assisted imagery is also helpful in this situation. You may
be seeing mistakes because you aren't sure what the correct image should look like. Go back
to a video of the skill being performed well, then use that picture as a basis for your imagery.
While mental practice with imagery will never replace practice on the ice, it is a great supplement.
If you're traveling or sick and can't get to a rink, you can do a little imagery to help maintain
your skills. Be patient and persistent and you'll find that imagery will work for you.
* Alyssa Owen Lewis is a skating instructor at Goggin Ice Arena at Miami
University and at Sports Plus in Cincinnati, OH. She holds a masters degree in Sports
Studies with emphasis in Sport Behavior and Performance.
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