Baby Steps
Over the past few weeks, I’ve shared what I have been focusing on for my axel jump. Coach wants me to learn how to jump outside the circle and celebrate the little wins. I’ve also seen my axel jump come and go as I start to refine my technique and make it a “prettier” jump. It’s all part of the learning process, albeit extremely frustrating.
Coach B’s latest endeavor (OK, that’s a lie… she’s been telling me this since the beginning but now I’m laser focusing on it) is to get me to cross my ankles during the jump. I tend to “stork” the jump so my legs are side by side rather than crossed over each other. Technically, my jump is clean, but the technique is pretty ugly.
Her suggestion was for me to buy an ankle buzzer, which I just ordered this week. I’m hoping that it helps my body learn the correct air position during all my jumps.
I did try to cross my legs more during a practice this week, so here is a quick glance at how it turned out. For comparison, I’m also including a clip of my axel from about a year ago today so you can see how it’s progressed over 12 months.
Though I am making baby steps towards a prettier axel jump, I’ll take it. Coach says that we need to measure skating success in millimeters, not miles, so every incremental improvement is something to be happy about.
Axel from December 2013
