Feedback

So- you want some feedback on your skills. That's great to hear- as a skater that is how you will get better! BUT please keep in mind some of the following things.

• When asking for feedback make sure it is the appropriate time to do so. In the middle of a bout- not such a good time. At practice in the middle of the drill when your coach is trying to help others- again not such a great time. Contact your coach, captain or who ever and maybe set up a time where you can meet and go over things. 
• Make sure you are asking the right person. As a new skater this could be hard since you may not know a lot of people. That would be a good time to talk to your coach and ask who you should ask. If you are asking a fellow skater, make sure the skater you are asking knows weather or not you are doing it correctly, that way you don't get told the wrong thing.
• When you ask for feedback be specific. Its really hard to answer "How am I doing" that is just a generalized question. Instead you could ask "How are my crossovers looking? Anything you think I should change-or work on?" 
• Know what you need to work on before you ask. It's hard to give feedback on a skater if they don't know what they need to work on. This goes back to the bullet above. 
• Be OK with constructive criticism. Nothing is worse then asking for feedback and then they tell you "you could go a little deeper in your crossovers" and then the skater asking gets mad. You wanted to know- so be grateful that they are helping you out- they aren't bashing you. 
• Watch yourself. It's OK to record yourself doing drills. I do it a lot, especially when working on my apex jumps. 

Learn your strengths and weaknesses. This will be your biggest success in getting feedback. 

~Thumpy