Loop de loop de loop de loop

Well it has happened.....I thought it wouldn't but lo and behold the elusive loop jump finally clicked today! First I should probably apologize for not updating the blog last week, it was a bit of a hectic week with work last week! But back to the lovely loop jump.... I was a bit frustrated with the loop jump as I have previously stated. It didn't help that I was getting differences in coaching as well. I am in a jumps and spins class on Thursdays and my coach (who ROCKS!) always takes the 'high' skaters AKA the girls throwing doubles and combo spins. Hopefully I'll be in their group by next summer. But anyway, there's a very good reason why she always works with them. Different coaches obviously have different styles of teaching. My coach is also all of the high skaters' coach and doesn't want any other coaches messing up their jumps. Not to mention that they won't jump for one of the other two coaches that teaches the class. She's very nice and means well and is a great ice dancing coach but that's about where it stops. Her background is in ice dancing, not freestyle, and it really shows with her coaching. She pushes the higher skaters to do jumps and combos that they aren't ready for and tries to completely change their jumps. Of course, the problem then is also that skating is largely dependent on muscle memory so time spent changing a jump incorrectly ends up being more time spent correcting it. Two steps forward and one step back essentially. So I have had this coach teaching me for the last few weeks. I don't want to speak badly of her as she is certainly a good person and a good coach but her training is in ice dancing. It's like a figure skating coach teaching hockey. It just doesn't work. So two weeks ago when my coach left for a week of vacation, she left me with the assignment of getting all of my toe loop and loop combos. Toe loops were no problem but I was really struggling with the loop, especially with just a single loop and even a loop combo was really only intermittently working for me on the toe loop and Salchow. Then this coach keeps pushing me to really kick forward on all of my jumps....to the point of practically doing a split jump on every jump. Not only was this really messing up my jumps, but I could barely even land half of them, let alone try to get into a loop combo! Needless to say I was very happy to get my wonderful coach back this week and I informed her I wasn't jumping for this other coach anymore. I was welcomed into the ever growing folds of skaters at the rink that also feel this way. After spending most of my lesson on Friday fixing my jumps, we started talking about putting together my program for my first competition (YEA get EXCITED!) at the end of October. We decided on three jump combos: Flip-toe loop, toe loop-loop and Salchow-loop. Then a solo flip and solo loop. And maybe one other solo jump. It wasn't set in stone yet but obviously I'm already rolling my eyes because I'm not landing loops very consistently. So I just went out this morning and decided that I was going to kick the loop's butt. I was not getting off that ice without figuring it out. So I decided to revert back to what my coach had originally shown me when learning the loop, as in scrapping this straight line intro that the other coach had me doing. I went back to the forward 3 turn entrance into the backspin position to take off for the jump and after doing that a couple of times from a standstill I went back to the circle and set it up wider just like a toe loop. It worked like a dream. And suddenly, the light bulb went on! I realized that when you wanted to come down into a loop combo set up you had to 'flip' or switch your hips around in the air, mid jump. Bam! Just like that I was able to throw loop combos on all five single jumps. The only thing I had trouble with was the Waltz jump. I think I need to just throw a straight Axel because I was over rotating it to get into a loop. I was very excited. I'm not sure if we will really change my jumps around but it does open up a couple of other possibilities. I like the flip-toe loop combo though because I feel like I really fly though the air on it. Other than the loop jump I've just started working on sit spins and I can tell I'm actually fairly close to getting them, I think a week or two of squats, squats and more squats will really help that out. I'm looking forward to another great week of practice and I get to put in harness time this week.....I fully plan on winning that bet I made of having a double by the second week of September! I can't stand to loose! Oh so since I didn't write last week, I should mention that I did attempt to throw a double Salchow last week, and I got one and 1/2 revolutions out of it. I think I really need the harness just to figure out what the rotation feels like, because I kept wanting to put my foot down too early. So hopefully I'll be a rockstar and land my Axel at least speedily and of course and double of something quickly! I will keep you posted....:-)