Progress Over the Years
A former coach once told me that progress in our sport is measured in millimeters. It’s difficult to see one’s progress day-by-day, unless there is some type of evidence. This is one reason why I like to video myself. It’s neat to see how something was a struggle one day (hello, camel spin) and then become stronger.
One of my good friends (hi, H!) keeps a detailed spreadsheet with all of her skating scores from over the years. I had wanted to do something similar but never made the time to create one of my own.
Finally, I dug out all of my old protocol (minus two… one from my first competition in fall 2013 and Adult Nationals in 2014). I created individual tabs based on the program I was performing at the time and input all the individual element scores.
Then, I created this summary sheet to see the overall trend.
Some things that jumped out at me after creating this document:
- I made over a 10 point improvement from my first competition (18.10) to my last competition (29.30)
- My scores have increased year over year
- This past competitive season, I set two new personal bests (28.87 and then 29.30)
I started my competitive skating journey in my mid-thirties and am now in my mid-forties. Don’t ever let anybody tell you that you cannot progress or improve as you grow older. It’s been cool to see my scores climb towards 30, even as my body starts to ache and I continue to lose flexibility. If you continue to put in the work, you can improve!