ARE THERE MOVES IN SKATING THAT YOU CAN TRY WITH JUST A SIMPLE SPOTTER?

[FSWer]

Say,I've always wondered about that?..ARE there moves that you can do with just a simple Spotter? A Coach, or someone spotting you?

 

[treesprite]

I guess it depends on what you mean by spotting. I always associate that term with gymnastics or trampolines, when the athletes are doing tricks on pieces of equipment off of which they might fall.

 

[Clarice]

I'm not sure what you mean either. As a coach, I am always spotting for my students - watching and correcting, shouting warnings if it looks like there might be a collision, letting them hold my hand sometimes for extra balance as they learn something new. I can't prevent all falls or accidents, but I do my best to minimize them. One thing I do is teach beginning skaters how to fall so they're less likely to get hurt when falls happen.

 

[overedge]

@FSWer any time you are trying a move for the first time, even if it seems like a simple move, it is a good idea to have a coach watching you. The coach can help you do the move the right way and can help you if you fall or hurt yourself.

 

[Yazmeen]

FSWer - in learning to skate on my ice dance boots and blades, my coach will sometimes hold my hand or hands to help position me and get my balance for the move. And skaters often learn jumps in the harness which goes around their waist and which allows the coach (on the other end) to pull them up from the ice and prevent a bad fall.

However, since your interest is ice dance: if you are talking about things like lifts or carries in ice dance, you would not be allowed to try these with a partner until you and the partner could safely do them off ice after a LOT of practice. A coach cannot really "spot" a lift or carry and hold or skate next to the partner being lifted in case a drop or other problem happens. That could cause collisions and more injuries than it would prevent.

Best way I can put this? You cannot try a very advanced move way above your skating level just by having a spotter. You have to learn from the basics up with your coach at your own speed and ability with as much practice as you can do.

 

[FSWer]

Could somebody try an Ice-Dance lean with a Spotter?

 

[Clarice]

Of course. You always try new moves with your coach watching out for you. But there's nothing magic about it. Having a spotter doesn't make it any safer to try the move if you're not ready to do it. If you aren't yet at the level to try this move, you shouldn't do it, even if somebody is watching you. You should only try new moves under the supervision of your coach, who won't let you do things you're not ready for yet.

 

[Yazmeen]

Could somebody try an Ice-Dance lean with a Spotter?

My answer on this based on your current skating level is a firm No. I will second what Clarice said. You should not even be attempting any move unless you have the skills to complete it and your coach says you are ready to try it.

FSWer, I think that sometimes you might think some of us are being hard on you, but we're really not, we want to support you and your skating. You are only learning the very simplest basics of skating right now, but all of your focus seems to be on getting a partner and doing partnered moves like leans and lifts and carries. You have to learn to skate first before you can get a partner and try advanced moves like these. Many of us here who answer you have been skating for several years, and we're still not skilled enough to do difficult moves like these. It's best if you just concentrate on learning your basic skating skills now so that you can become the best skater you can be and potentially work with a partner and learn more difficult moves in the future.

 

[overedge]

@FSWer I am still not sure what you mean by a spotter. In gymnastics a spotter can do things like grab or move a gymnast who is falling off an apparatus, so that the gymnast falls more safely. Or they can hold a gymnast and push them through a move on the floor or on an apparatus, so the gymnast can learn what the move feels like.

But a skating coach can't do those things. A gymnastics coach is standing on the ground. A skating coach is on skates and is moving on the ice. They're not on a stable surface like a gymnastics coach is. So skating coaches can't do things like grab a skater to stop them from falling when the skater is landing a jump.

Like @Clarice says, a skating coach will watch you skate and maybe hold your hand or adjust your body while you do a move. But they can't save you from hurting yourself, like a spotter can in gymnastics.

I'm still also not sure what you mean by a lean in ice dance. Ice dancers are leaning all the time, because they are always skating on an edge, and being able to lean helps them stay on their edges. But it takes a LOT of work and practice to be able to lean as much as an ice dancer does. It looks easy, but it isn't. You have to be a really confident and strong skater, and be able to feel when you are skating on a strong edge. A coach can help you learn all of those things, but you have to learn for yourself how it feels for you when you are doing it right. And that means doing it over and over and over again, and sometimes falling.

A coach can't hold you up when you are skating in a lean. The coach would have to be very close to you to hold you, and you might not be able to lean very far because of that. If you slipped off your edge - which is very easy to do in a lean - it could be very dangerous if the coach tried to catch you. You could both fall quite badly.

Like @Yazmeen says, we are not trying to discourage you from your dream. But we want you to be safe. Skating can be really dangerous and it is very easy to get hurt, even when you're doing simple things. To be as safe as you can, you need to have good basic skating skills. You should only try moves that you've discussed with your coach and that your coach thinks you are ready to do, and, at least at first, only do them when your coach is supervising you.