BellaZinga.Blog

Author: Jill Wismer

  • Coaching Chronicles: Keep Your Chin Up Coaching Friends

    Coaching Chronicles: Keep Your Chin Up Coaching Friends

    Originally posted February 2018

    A coaching friend of mine texted me last week.  I hadn’t heard from her in a while, but I had worked with her for a decade, and we keep in touch as often as our busy lives allow.

    This friend is an accomplished skater and coach.  In many ways, she exemplifies what the spirit of coaching is about; someone who passionately gives of themselves to their clubs and their skaters, often at the expense of their own well-being. In short, this is a person who has earned my admiration through the quality of her words and actions on the ice, everyday, for a decade.

    My friend is the kind of coach who is capable of teaching every level with ease. She has a wealth of technical know-how, a calm and supportive demeanor and a heart that guides her to volunteer most of her expertise and time to run some of the most successful programs in her club.

    And when I spoke with her, it broke my heart.

    You see, my coaching friend is usually steady, unflappable and self-assured.  And I could hear the pain, incredulity and disbelief in her voice as it cracked, on the verge of tears, as she told me about what was happening.

    It seems that after years of selfless devotion, of coaching athletes to gold levels, producing stellar results, leading the way by providing a shining light of volunteerism and excellence, and steadily growing the numbers of members in her organization, the club that should have had her back had decided to demean her, belittle her, and strong arm her with loss of work, all over a small issue that could have been addressed through simple communication.

    As I listened to my friend break over the phone, my heart ached for her. I wish I could tell you that this was an anomaly.  But the sad truth is, coaches are often the brunt of terrible disrespect, harassment, verbal abuse and manipulation by executives and clubs that should be showing them respect and deference.  And the reason they can get away with this is that we have a system in our country that allows it.

    Full stop.

    I’ll say it again.

    Our system is broken and does. not. support. coaches in smaller clubs.

    I’m not making this up.  One of the top officials in our section said to a room full of us in a seminar I attended a few years back that “he didn’t care about the clubs”.  The tone of the lecture was very much that he was delivering a slap to the wrist to all of us coaches who weren’t doing our jobs to get skaters interested in competing.  I know this was the tone because I made it a point to ask other coaches who attended what they thought, and they too felt they were being spoken down to and reprimanded.

    Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels

    It also did NOT escape my attention that the majority of coaches in that room were women.  I can’t help but wonder, if it was a room full of men would the tone of that meeting have changed?

    So, is it any wonder that this style of leadership filters down to the clubs that work underneath them?

    The culture of any organization starts from the top down, it’s not rocket science.

    When you create a system that puts more and more onus on coaches to pay through the nose for training and insurance, and you restrict their ability to work anywhere else but under the umbrella of your organization, you now have a monopoly where anything goes, and people look the other way.

    And then to rub salt in the wound, when you have procedures set up within that system for harassment and abuse of power that don’t work because the organization that is supposed to help you and you have been paying into for your entire career doesn’t have the manpower or the resources to follow through on it…there is no accountability.

    This means there are no repercussions for these volunteers with little to no knowledge of our sport when they decide to manipulate, strong arm, defame, disrespect and take financial advantage of the coaches that work for them.  It is striking how much it happens.  And it makes me furious.

    I want to be careful here.  I have met many, many, amazing volunteers and executive members, and when clubs work, they are excellent.  I want to make sure I don’t lump the good with the bad, because there are many ethical, caring and wonderful people whom I have been honored to work with.  Sadly, though, it’s about a 50/50 split between the good and the not so good.  And that’s when the coaches bear the brunt of the abuse.

    I can remember working for a small club in the mid 2000’s.  I was proposing a new program, called the Junior Gliders, and wanted it to be a new version of group programming that would promote accelerated progress and skating excellence for the beginners who had a passion and an affinity for the sport.

    Photo by bongkarn thanyakij from Pexels

    I spent well over 100 hours in devising the program, structuring it in much the same way as our current Star Program in SkateCanada.  We divided the mini-lessons into disciplines, with approx. 6.5 minutes of each station spent on either dance, jumps, turns, spins, edges, or moves in the field.  I also devised stroking exercises, each set to its own specific piece of music, so that when it was time to rotate, the kids would practice different skating skills as a full group based on whatever music was music playing before they switched to their next circuit and their smaller group formation again.

    We started the session with basic exercises on lanes for a warm up, rotated through three to four mini-lessons each day and followed up with theatre and four-lane high-way exercises for our cool down.  Twice weekly we offered this program, and we also provided an extra session called Junior Plus for those kids that wanted three days a week of skating. 

    On the third day, we encouraged the skaters and their parents to hire a private coach for some semi-private or small group lessons and some free practice time.  Of course, we also provided practice plans in books for each child who could read, AND pictures around the boards for those who weren’t old enough to read yet.

    The amount of work it took to run this program was staggering.  Particularly because I went the extra step of planning each lesson for each discipline for every single day of the year, complete with progressions, teaching tips, diagrams, and circuits.  I also coordinated the lessons, so that what a coach was teaching in one mini-lesson with one group (for example outside edges) would then coordinate with what the other coaches would teach i.e., outside three turns in the turns lesson, forward one-foot spin with spiralling entry in the spins mini-lesson, and salchows for the jump mini-lesson.

    Then of course, there was the music.  By the end of the season I had recorded at least 10 different hour-long CD’s, complete with musical cues for warm-ups, station switches, theatre, seasonal and holiday themes, you name it.

    I worked hard on this program.  And it was amazing.  I know it’s not considered cool (particularly for a woman) to brag about their accomplishments, but it was ahead of it’s time.  In fact, I often wonder about the similarities between that program and the Star program and Canskate programs SkateCanada uses now, because there are many.

    The reason I have explained this to you in such detail is because you need to know just how much work goes into creating and delivering a quality program.

    After creating the program, printing up all the lessons and materials, and organizing the entire program so it could virtually run itself, I then presented it to the executive.  The total cost of the work I had put in to create and develop the idea, with the time spent on the ice coaching and overseeing it combined with time spent preparing off the ice for it’s delivery from September through until the end of April would have cost at minimum $14,000. Of course, I knew there was NO way our club could afford this much, so I then told them I would do it for as little as $8,000 spread out over the course of the 8-month period it would run.

    I SHOULD have been paid $1000 a month for the work I put into the program. 

    They offered me much less. Much…. MUCH less.

    Slap-in-the-face-total-disrespect-for-the-work-I-had-done-or-the-innovativeness-of-the-program-insultingly-less. Now, I did go back and argue my case, and I ended up receiving slightly more than the initial offer….but it was still not congruent with what I should have been paid.

    You see, the sad fact is, very few people who aren’t involved with skating have any understanding of how much work we put in as coaches.  There is this misconception that it is just a hobby; something we do on the side to make a little extra money. I mean, it’s not a real career, is it?

    For some of us that may be true.

    But for most of us, to be a skating coach means you are a highly dedicated individual with years of training and expertise that very few people have. We spend hours online, getting our certifications, being assessed, filling out workbooks, networking, studying, and reading to hone our craft.

    So now, put those highly qualified people in the hands of a group of volunteers who have total power over our careers.

    Let me say that again.  These people have the power to demand that we work for less than we are worth.  If you live in a small town, and you need to work, this means you have little to no recourse other than to accept their terms…. I mean, a coach has to eat right?

    Basically, our options become; work for less and be exploited by people with no respect for the work we do or the sacrifices we make, or don’t coach at all.

    I’ve seen it happen over, and over, and over. To too many coaches to count, and I’ve had it happen to me more than I can say.

    It’s frustrating and infuriating.  We work in a system that allows this type of abuse of power and exploitation of arguably its second most important asset. (the first being its athletes of course).

    How does this make sense?

    So, I wanted to write this blog to reassure my friend that I and all the other coaches who have gone through this have her back.  That she has made a difference to me and how I coach, and to all the students she has coached or who have learned their skills through programs she has run.

    Just yesterday, as I was teaching one of my Canskate students in a private lesson, I used a technique I learned from her. It worked like a charm.

    You see, sometimes the only reward we get is the knowledge that maybe, just maybe, we have made a difference.  Maybe we’ve left our students better skaters, and better people because of what we’ve taught them.  Maybe somewhere, someone glides a little faster and holds their head a little higher because of the example we set for them.

    Sometimes it’s only that knowledge that keeps us lacing up our skates each day.

    My friend, your influence reaches farther than you know.  Never doubt your worth, and never let people with no regard for what we do as coaches take that away from you.

    Sound familiar? Sound off below!

    I want to hear your experiences, let’s start a revolution!

  • Suggestions to Increase SkateCanada Coach Satisfaction and Longevity

    Suggestions to Increase SkateCanada Coach Satisfaction and Longevity

    It happened again.

    For what seems like the millionth time, I am watching a coaching colleague go through the ringer in their skating club. Devalued, underappreciated, and gas-lighted, my friend is on the verge of leaving behind a successful coaching career because of the anxiety that seems to surround the profession.

    Two years ago, I wrote a similar blog about the experiences of another coaching friend. And here we are again.

    I know how they feel.

    Nearly a year ago now, I hung up my skates. I was so disillusioned and disenfranchised with our profession, and with SkateCanada as a whole, that I swore I would not pay another DIME of my hard-earned money toward an association that did not value their coaches.

    So why do so many SkateCanada coaches fall by the wayside? Why are so many figure skating coaches victimized, traumatized and exploited by our association, our clubs, our executive, and sadly even our skating coworkers?

    Well, it’s hard to come up with a short answer here. As you can imagine, there are many dynamics at play, and the answer is multi-layered. Before I proceed, I want to stipulate that I am only talking about my experiences with coaching for 30 years in the SkateCanada figure skating club system. I have mostly worked with smaller, less competitive clubs, and have no idea what it would be like to work in a larger, busier club that could offer more money and resources and boasts a positive club culture to boot…..(and blade…see what I did there?)

    I also want to stress that what I am about to write is an honest, and unbiased (as unbiased as I can get) representation of my 30 years experience in the Canadian figure skating coaching industry, as well as a summary of the hardships I have witnessed my coaching friends endure over the years.

    Read on to find out what problems figure skating coaches face while working in the SkateCanada figure skating club system, and what suggestions I have to fix them!

    Problem 1: We Don’t Get Paid What We’re Worth

    When you coach figure skating, you are a private contractor, so you are by definition self-employed. This means you don’t get sick days, you don’t get benefits, there is no pension for you to pay into, and there is no holiday pay.

    In itself, this is not a problem, the number of things we can write off as expenses for our business helps greatly with regard to taxes, but the problem lies in the perception that people have of figure skating coaches in general.

    AAANNNNDDD by people I am referring to those people who serve on the executives of figure skating clubs.

    There seems to be an assumption by many people who volunteer to serve on the board/executive of skating clubs that coaches:

    1. Make so much money an hour that we must be rich.
    2. That coaching is our hobby, and not our main source of income.

    Some coaches are lucky enough to coach as a hobby, (and how I wish I was one of them), but for many of us, coaching is our profession, our passion, and our main source of income.

    Some of us, like me, are single parents to kids with special needs, who rely on that money we make from our coaching to feed and clothe our children and put a roof over their head.

    The other misconception is that my fee, which currently is around $40 hourly for group work due to my qualifications, should be enough to sustain me.

    Hmmm…..to check out the amount of hours I spent OFF the ice in preparation for my ON ICE time, I actually used a time tracker app from December to February last year. For three months, I scrupulously tracked every minute I spent running the SkateCanada Canskate program.

    I spent 6 hours performing work off of the ice for every hour I spent on the ice. Now, to be fair, the club was paying me a higher hourly rate for coordinating the program. I was getting paid $80 an hour for every hour on the ice spent coordinating.

    So, let’s do the math…..when all was said and done, I was being paid $11 an hour.

    Now add to that that I was only teaching 2 hours of Canskate a week because it was a small club.

    That means I was working 14 hours a week, for $11 an hour.

    Think you could live on that?

    How do you think your self worth would be if you worked for that after spending 30 years taking courses to better yourself in your craft?

    But WAIT…it gets even better!

    I was only paid that rate for each hour I was on the ice for coordinating. So, when we lost ice due to a holiday or a hockey tournament, even though I was still doing paperwork and admin work at home to make sure the program ran smoothly, I received….duh, duh, DUH…. NOTHING, because I was not ACTUALLY on the ice coaching.

    I want to clarify something. These were not bad people. They honestly thought they were paying me a good and decent rate. The problem was, they had no idea what the job entailed, and unfortunately, they weren’t interested in finding out.

    They got their moneys worth out of me, that’s for sure. But you know what? I was an idiot for accepting that hourly rate instead of a salary for coordinating, so that’s MY BAD.

    Sometimes we get so caught up in wanting to create a great program, in showing loyalty to our club, and in wanting to create something good for the skaters that we forget to look after our own best interests…..

    And it’s exactly this work ethic, attention to detail and love of skating that makes skating coaches easy prey for clubs that expect tons of work for little pay.

    The other excuse figure skating coaches in small clubs hear constantly is that the club can’t afford to pay them the rate they should be paid at.

    Really? I’ve seen the books for most of these small clubs. They could pay for us, they just don’t. The truth is, if you truly regard coaches as one of the most important assets of an organization, then you will move heaven and earth to figure out a way to price your programs and organize your ice time so you CAN pay them.

    It’s all about priorities. Hiring and retaining good coaches should be the #1 first priority for a skating club.

    A coach who actually cares about setting up a program that will promote excellence and longevity in your membership is an asset that skating clubs need to keep around, and figure skating clubs need to pay their good coaches whatever they need to remain in their clubs.

    Solution to this Problem?

    1. Educate every. single. new. executive member about your SkateCanada coaches, their qualifications and years of experience, and the going rate for said qualifications.
    2. Pay your coaches what they are worth, then go back and pay them a little more. Seriously. Do it. According to this entrepreneur.com article, you should pay your good employees “anywhere from 20 percent to 40 percent over market rate.”
    3. In order to afford paying your coaches what they are worth, price your programs intelligently, and book ice accordingly. If you don’t have good coaches, you won’t have good programs, and your club won’t grow, it’s that simple. Find the money, somehow. You’ll be glad you did when you have a healthy, sustainable membership.
    4. After you have figured out how to pay your coaches what they’re worth, throw in some perks. Pay for coaching courses they want to take. Did they do a good job? Give everyone a Christmas bonus of a few hundred dollars. Pay for their SkateCanada membership every year, or pay for their First Aid re-certification courses. When a coach feels supported in their organization, they become loyal to their organization and will move heaven and earth to see it succeed.

    Summary of Problem 1: It’s not rocket science. Any and all time your coaches spend working for your organization they need to be compensated. Full stop. Nuff said. And as for you SkateCanada, asking for coaches to volunteer time and have it written into our contracts is nothing less than exploitation. You can’t train us to be business professionals, and then expect us to work for free. How and when we choose to volunteer is up to us, and should not be mandated.

    Problem 2: The Power Lies in the Wrong Hands

    Would Nike ask a group of people with no experience in marketing, fashion design, or business to come in and run their company? Would they put them in charge of the marketing decisions and products to be developed?

    Sound crazy? Well, it is! But that’s how SkateCanada clubs are set up.

    SkateCanada sets its figure skating clubs up as not-for-profit organizations, run by volunteers (mostly parents) of the skaters in the club, who have little to no knowledge of skating itself. Even if they have been skating parents forever, most have little to no coaching experience and have never taken a single course in how to run a SkateCanada program.

    This is NOT to say we don’t need volunteers. In a club, we need people to take on the off-ice duties such as fundraising, ice-booking, signing up members, and behind the scenes organization.

    The problem is, some executives feel they should have the power to tell coaches how to coach, what to coach and how to run their programs.

    And they’re right. In the current SkateCanada system, all the power for hiring, firing and dictating what programs are run, how they are run, and when they are run lies in the hands of the executive.

    Look, executives are full of highly capable, intelligent and talented people who willingly give their time and effort back to their community by providing a place for kids to skate.

    I have known so many wonderful people on so many executives over the years. The purpose of this post is NOT to blame SkateCanada club executive members. The purpose is to show how silly this system is, and the burdens it puts on volunteers who simply don’t have the experience or training to make informed decisions about the on ice programming.

    Now, on top of this lack of experience or training ADD A PERSONAL AGENDA into the mix.

    The parents serving on the executives all usually have skaters training within the club. How is it possible to make objective decisions about what is best for the long term health of the club when you have a child that may lose ice due to your decision?

    I’ve seen this too many times to count, the programs are all catered toward the best interests and emphasis of each current executive. If you have a good executive, you have good programs that are fair and balanced.

    But it only takes one or two people who are misaligned in their approach and philosophies and…well…..all hell breaks loose.

    C’mon my coaching friends, I know you’ve seen this before. Clubs can evaporate faster than a fart on the corner of Portage and Maine in the dead of winter when they are mismanaged.

    Solution to this Problem?

    SkateCanada should re-write the roles and responsibilities for each of it’s club members. They should delegate all off ice activities that do not involve athlete training to the executive, and delegate full authority for ice allocation, amount of ice bookings, and program execution to the coaches.

    Let’s call these two branches: the Administrative Team and the Coaching Team

    The people with the know-how and experience, in this case, the Coaching Team should be the people running the show on the ice.

    Now, here’s where we have to be careful, because sadly, (and I am not excusing myself from this behavior at all, I ain’t all sunshine and rainbows either) sometimes the worst strife in a skating club is caused by coach-on-coach crime.

    So, if the coaches are to have full authority and autonomy, how do they police themselves?

    I would pose several suggestions:

    1. Clubs should be required to hire a skating administrator/head coach/skating coordinator/head wizard who is themselves a coach. This person is the one with the ultimate decision making authority for what goes on, on the ice. This person is also the one in charge of mediating conflict among coaches, and reaching for outside help to resolve situations when needed.
    2. Even though the head wizard/skating administrator/coaching coordinator has the ultimate decision making power, all coaching issues should first be decided democratically, with timely and recurring (paid) coaches meetings to discuss said issues. In the event of a deadlock on any issue, this is when the skating coordinator would step in to make the final decision.
    3. It goes without saying that the head wizard/coaching coordinator/skating administrator should be carefully vetted by both the Administrative Team AND the Coaching Team, and each should get a vote, but coaches votes should carry more weight.
    4. A hierarchy needs to be created where each coach knows exactly what their roles are, and who they report too. I’ve seen it happen too often where one coach is hired and told they are “in charge” of a program. Then another coach is hired and they are told by another executive member they are “in charge” of that program. As you can imagine, this leads to too many cooks in the kitchen, and much confusion as to who has the final say. This will also stop those coaches with big heads acting like they are the bosses out there when in fact they are NOT. (c’mon, I know you’ve ALL worked with these types….hell, on occasion I’ve BEEN this type.)
    5. All head wizards/coaching coordinators/head coaches should be expected to take leadership courses of their choosing and this should be paid for BY THE CLUB.
    6. SkateCanada should hire and TRAIN mediators whose sole job is to travel and help settle coaching disputes in clubs if they arise and a suitable solution is not able to be reached withing the coaching team. It is not realistic to expect the Administrative Team of an individual club to solve coaching conflicts in an unbiased manner when their skaters are actively engaged with the coaches involved in the conflict on a daily basis. I would also suggest we make these mediators part of a Coaches Union….read further down for more details.

    Summary of Problem 2: By dividing up the power in a skating club, and giving coaches more autonomy concerning who they work with, as well as what ice is booked and which programs run, this would alleviate the stress placed on the Administrative Team. As a result, this could make the action of serving on the executive of a skating club a more enjoyable experience for all.

    Problem 3: Coaches Are Not Treated In A Professional Manner

    If I had a nickel for each time I was spoken to in a unprofessional manner, or talked down to, or admonished by an executive member as if I was a misbehaving child…….I’d have a LOT of nickels…seriously….WAY too many fucking nickels.

    “Well,” you’re probably saying….”maybe it’s you? I mean after all, what’s the common denominator here?“

    And to that I say, you’re right, I am certainly not perfect.

    But it’s. not. just. me.

    Countless numbers of coaching friends have shared that they consistently feel devalued, unheard, and often treated like mis-behaving children, all because they are simply attempting to navigate the treacherous political waters at their skating clubs.

    I struggle to pinpoint why this occurs, and what makes volunteers in our sport feel they can micro-manage and second-guess professionals who have dedicated their lives to the sport in this manner, but I would propose this occurs because:

    1. Club executives, and particularly the vast majority of presidents, don’t have a working knowledge of coaching or athlete development. By this I mean that even if they have some experience in skating, this is still not equivalent to taking the myriad of coaching courses, seminars and university courses most of us have taken. And they certainly don’t have the years of experience that club coaches have.
    2. Many club executives don’t have a long term vision or goal for the development of the club after they are gone. For most volunteers, they serve on the executive for only a couple of years, some make it to four years, but they are the exception, and not the rule. Simply put-short-term volunteers don’t have the same stake in the success of the club as the coaches, who look to the club for their livelihoods and for job security.

    Recently I ruminated to at friend that, that even though the names and faces change within the skating world, the issues all remain the same. And because of it I was becoming disenfranchised and disillusioned with the entire system.

    I can’t begin to tell you how tiring it is to just get used to working with an executive; training and educating them regarding how the programs should be run, and finally proving your worth to them so they actually hear and value your opinions, only to have to turn around and repeat this process again in two years time when a new executive comes to power.

    This endless cycle is exhausting, and it takes a toll on every coach I know. The stress of constantly having to explain our needs, actions or motivations is overwhelming and never-ending. What person wants to endure this kind of treatment year after year?

    Yet this is how the SkateCanada club system is set up.

    Solutions to this Problem?

    I suggest that we go back to basics. In addition to re-distributing the power in Canadian Skating Clubs evenly between the Coaching and Administrative team alike, I propose:

    1. Clubs are mandated to appoint AND pay for a person to be the head of the administrative team. Their job description, first and foremost, will be to work with the head of the Coaching team to communicate what is being done in terms of membership, fundraising etc. and likewise to communicate the activities of the coaching team to the administrative team so the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. If we can keep continuity in a club with a paid position for the Head Administrator, we then stop the vicious cycle of having to retrain new executive members when they are appointed.
    2. By paying the Head Administrator, we place value on the position, and we make them accountable to all the membership as well. This ensures that, as coaches, we will no longer hear the “I’m a volunteer, I don’t get paid to be here” excuse from board members when caught in conflict with executive who feel they can act how they please because we get paid and they don’t. Think I’m kidding? I wish I were. It happens.
    3. We TRAIN our leaders how to be better. Great leadership takes time, and support, to develop. Both the coaching coordinator and head coach should be attending leadership courses, and reading leadership books together. (which, goes without saying, should be paid for by the club.)
    4. Clear channels of communication should be opened and regular meetings need to be scheduled for both the Head Administrator and the Head Wizard Coach. Again, these meetings and all club-related work should be paid for.
    5. One week each season, each executive member should shadow a coach to see the difficulties of the job. Likewise, one week each season, each coach should shadow an executive member to get a better appreciation what life is like in their shoes.

    Summary of Problem 3: By tweaking communication and asking for accountability to each other we will create a better understanding of the roles we fill. By seeing the value both the Administrative Team and the Coaching Team bring to the table, we create empathy, compassion and support for all stakeholders.

    Problem 4: We Are Our Own Worst Enemy

    Let’s pretend we are in the gymnasium scene in the movie Mean Girls. For those of you needing a refresher, here’s a link to the scene in question.

    Raise your hand if you’ve ever put-down another coaching colleague during a conversation.

    C’mon….be honest.

    Now, raise your hand if you’ve ever been told by your students or parents that Coach X told their students you couldn’t teach (insert any skill here.)

    If your hand isn’t up by now, you’re not being honest.

    We do it all the time. Hell I do it. Now, I will clarify, it’s not like I go around openly dissing other coaches I’ve worked with, I usually reserve my criticisms or concerns about other coaches for private conversations with trusted friends whom I know would never divulge my words.

    The point is, we all do it in one form or another.

    The question is, why are we so fucking competitive with each other?

    I mean, it’s not like there aren’t enough kids to find work for everyone. With the difficulties I’ve witnessed and experienced first-hand in hiring competent and qualified coaches, particularly for smaller or remote clubs, there is MORE than enough work for everyone.

    So why do our egos get in the way?

    Why do we lash out and tear each other down?

    I believe it’s fear. Fear of losing income. Fear of losing face in front of clients. Fear of not measuring up to our inner thoughts about our own abilities.

    Now add to the constant messaging by SkateCanada that it’s our job to police each other.

    That’s right, you’d better know that Coaches Code of Ethics, in fact, you’d better sign it every year, just in case you need to quote those conflicting and vaguely defined protocols to defend yourself against your coaching co-workers who step out of line.

    SERIOUSLY.

    According to SkateCanada, we are allowed to promote our services, indeed, we can advertise…but wait….BE CAREFUL, better make sure it’s not seen as soliciting, because that would be bad.

    The problem with the whole soliciting issue is, there are so many gray areas that it’s difficult to know where the boundaries lie.

    I’ve never intentionally solicited anyone, but when asked questions by parents about coaching philosophies, sometimes it becomes hard to know where the line is and how to NOT cross it.

    And this whole thing about making sure a new client has paid their bills to their old coach before they accept them as a student?

    Come on.

    It’s a beautiful thought. Imagine it. Every coach as honest as the next. All working together in perfect harmony. All following protocols exactly and verifying full payment has been made before starting to teach.

    Do you know how many times I’ve gone out of my way to make sure this is taken care of with new students. All the time.

    Do you know how many times other coaches have EVER reached out to me to make sure my students have paid their invoices?

    In thirty years….maybe 5 times?

    And I remember taking a new client a few years back that I had asked the mother specifically if all bills were cleared up. Within 5 minutes of having this conversatiom I then told the coach involved that the student’s mom had approached me for lessons via email Said coach never responded, and she certainly didn’t say anything about having any unpaid invoices.

    Suddenly after my first lesson on the ice with this new student, the coach literally berates me for teaching my new student when..(gasp) her final invoice wasn’t paid….even though she had plenty of opportunity to tell me it wasn’t paid before I started her lessons.

    Here are my points, and I’m going to be pretty blunt.

    Thinking that all coaches will act ethically with regard to how they treat other coaches is a candy-colored unicorn dream. Those of us who actually give a shit about acting ethically are the ones losing out to those who don’t.

    And SkateCanada does absolutely nothing about it.

    Oh, they say they have harassment and abuse of power clauses and protocols in place.

    Has anyone use these and received a satisfactory result?

    What about SafeSport through SkateCanada? Well, according to some of Canada’s top athletes, they don’t feel it’s working, and I have to agree. After 7 years of stress in one of the most hostile environments I had every worked in, I turned to SafeSport for help, and the process was a hollow waste of time and effort that produced no solution at all. In fact I ended up leaving my job as a result and suffering a year of financial hardship.

    25 years of paying into the SkateCanada system. Of working myself to the bone to be the best coach I could be. Of paying for ALL those coaching courses. Of supporting the athletes and sacrificing so much.

    And I was worth nothing to them.

    The culture of an organization starts from the top and trickles down. Is it any wonder why coaches run into lack of respect in their own clubs when this happens at the highest level.

    So, where do we go from here?

    Solutions to this Problem?

    1. Stop expecting coaches to police each other. Pepsi doesn’t police Coca-Cola. And they certainly don’t hesitate to solicit business. Look I’m not saying it’s okay to be unethical, but the rules we have aren’t working. Why not put the resources and effort spent in throwing out vague and conflicting clauses of the dreaded Coaches Code of Ethics at each other and work on developing a system whereby we let our old-fashioned laws of the land handle things like slander.
    2. Each club should be mandated to have a fair and equitable system in place for student allocation. I don’t care how it works, but every single coach in each club should have a fair shot at earning new students.
    3. The Head Coach and Head Administrator should take an interest in coaches as people, sitting down each season and discussing the coaches personal goals, and asking how they can help them achieve these goals. Treat people like they matter, it’s amazing what can come of it.
    4. We need a Coaches Union. I remember decades ago, hearing that a group of coaches were starting one, but it failed to gain traction. Well, my coaching friends, wouldn’t it be nice to have a group of people who were entirely there for our support and defense in times of trouble. Whose ONLY JOB was to help coaches who are in trouble or mediate disputes. Would it be worth a few extra bucks each year in dues? I know I’d pay a little more.

    Summing It All Up: I’ve been around long enough in the Canadian Figure Skating system to see figures banished, skills introduced, then revised, interpretive skating become artistic skating, then interpretive AGAIN. I’ve seen a new judging system, the introduction of the Long Term Development Plan, the inception and roll-out of Canskate, and finally, Starskate and coach evaluators all come into play.

    SkateCanada has been ever-evolving over the years, and has accomplished some amazing things. So why haven’t any changes been made in how we treat our coaches?

    Maybe you can answer that, because I can’t.

    Do you have any thoughts on what I’ve written? Feel free to comment and share!

  • SkateCanada Canskate: Has It Lived Up to the Hype?

    SkateCanada Canskate: Has It Lived Up to the Hype?

    As a coach with 30 years experience working in the Canadian figure skating system, and a skater of 47 years who also amateur coached, (I can’t be that old, can I?) I’ve seen and coached in nearly every variation of learn-to-skate program offered by SkateCanada. From the N.S.T. program, to Parent-and-Tot, to Learn-to-Skate, and EVERYTHING in between, I’ve seen them, coached them, and in some cases coordinated them all.

    This latest iteration is simply called Canskate, and has been presented to the SkateCanada membership as something akin to the second coming of Christ. Now, at nearly a decade since its introduction, we’ve all had a chance to get to know the program inside and out. After coaching the program for several years, and running it this past year, I thought I’d like to list my review of the best, and worst features of this heralded program. (in my humble opinion)

    Interested in finding out if SkateCanada Canskate is worth the hype? Read on!

    Organization

    As the person who nearly orgasms just by walking into Staples at the beginning of the skating year with visions of file folders and binders and training plans -oh my!!-I have to admit, I am truly impressed with the level of organization the Canskate program brings to the table.

    SkateCanada has created a manual that provides the clubs and coaches with everything you need to know to administrate the program, such as:

    • Founding philosophies behind the program.
    • An intensive list of “who” should be doing “what” and “when.”
    • Templates for EVERYTHING from program assistant (otherwise known as PA) training, to parent newsletters, to suggested time allocation for groupings depending on the length of your session, and so on and so on.

    Seriously. Kudos to SkateCanada for the thought and level of organization they put into this program and the Canskate manual they created so the program can be re-produced by the clubs it is meant for.

    As someone who thrives on organization (indeed, I am often accused of doing TOO much for my programs) the SkateCanada Canskate program hits a home-run with its level of organisation. If you have the resources, all you need to do is study the manual, follow the plan, and literally reap the rewards of a happy membership.

    Rating for Organization 10/10

    Fun

    This program, done right, is CRAZY fun for the students. With the colorful props, constant movement, easy to follow circuits, group activities for warm-up and cool down, not to mention stimulating music, there is endless color, motion and challenge for young skaters.

    Done correctly, the Canskate program should be a fun ride for neurotypical kids with no disabilities. However, if you are a child who struggles with sensory issues, neurodiversity, or disabilities, then this program may not be for you.

    As the parent of a neurodiverse child, and a coach with years of experience, I can tell you that this program is simply “too much” for many children who are simply bombarded by all the sensory stimulation. Think of it. If you are already wired to perceive loud noises, lights, or too much movement as painful, then the Canskate program would be incredibly overwhelming.

    We see this in many of the pre-skate students who are just starting out. Often, the slipperiness of the ice, the huge size of the surrounding space, the loud music we play for warm-up and the fluorescent lights are simply too much for them to process and they shut down.

    Sadly, the prevailing attitude from many parents and many coaches is to let a child sit on the ice and cry rather than let them skate back to their parents at the boards for a much needed break. They think it’s tough love, or dealing with problematic behavior, often not realizing that some children may not actually have the capacity to listen, pay attention or regulate their emotions.

    I feel strongly that blaming this behavior on the child for “being bad” or blaming the parents for a lack of stern parenting is simply…….well…..being ignorant of these issues.

    Note: This never, ever happens on my watch. In my humble opinion, letting a child sit on the ice and cry until they skate, particularly for a child with unique needs and challenges, is nothing less than child abuse.

    While some of this behaviour may indeed be acting out for “normal” kids (I use the term normal very warily, there really is no “normal” anymore), SkateCanada dropped the ball by not providing any information about how to recognize possible neurodiversity or disability.

    Yes, I can already hear the defenders saying, “but there are waivers that parents are expected to sign before signing up for the Canskate program, and there certainly IS a question that asks for disclosure of special conditions!”

    For that argument I would pose three statements.

    1. Many parents don’t disclose their child’s special needs.
    2. Many parents don’t know their child has special needs yet as they are still searching for a diagnosis.
    3. Most coaches and certainly most program assistants are not trained or qualified to coach special needs students.
    4. Often there is simply not enough man-power or volunteer helpers to give children requiring extra attention the help they desperately need.

    All in all, while tailor made to be TONS OF FUN for typical kids, sadly, many kids that aren’t so typical may not find it as much fun.

    Rating for Fun 5/10

    Effectiveness

    Next to fun for the skaters, this is perhaps the most important category. Does the SkateCanada Canskate program teach children how to skate effectively?

    Well, YES……and…..no.

    With it’s constant movement, the Canskate program is designed to keep the kids moving at minimum 90-95% of the time. This is a wonderful goal, given what we know about children’s attention spans these days. The Canskate program keeps the kids constantly learning and practicing their skating skills by virtue of carefully drawn out circuits, which the students follow repeatedly, with direction from their program assistants.

    The sticking point here is not that they are moving or practicing, but that they are not purposefully practicing.

    Here’s what we know about motor learning.

    When we learn a new skill, we form connections from our brain to the muscles required to perform that skill. This connection is called a motor neuron. Think of it like a computer program.

    Every time we perform that skill, the neuron we use to do so is coated with a fatty sheath called myelin.

    Myelin makes the nerve signal travel faster down the motor neuron. The more we perform the skill, the more myelin is sent to encase that neuron, the easier and faster we are able to perform that particular skill. Not to mention more signals can now travel down that neuron because it keeps getting bigger.

    If you’ve ever heard the terms “muscle memory” or “automaticity” then you’d realize that myelination is the mechanism by which we achieve the state of flow in our performance where we don’t actually have to think to accomplish a skill.

    BUT HERE’S THE CATCH. IF YOU PERFORM THE SKILL INCORRECTLY, THE NEURON YOU USE FOR THE INCORRECT MOVEMENT WILL BECOME MYELINATED MORE THAN THE MOTOR NEURON FOR THE CORRECT TECHNIQUE.

    This means you are developing a bad habit, because the brain and nervous system will always choose the faster, bigger, more myelinated neuron to perform the skill.

    Bad habits acquired in Canskate will follow skaters through the rest of their career unless countless hours of practice are spent in constant repetition of the CORRECT technique.

    Look, the optics are GREAT when there are 60 kids on the ice all moving around and never sitting still, but the truth is, for smaller clubs, often there is only one coach available, therefore the students are only receiving qualified instruction for 1/3 to 1/4 of the time.

    The rest of the time skaters are left in the hands of program assistants whose job is expressly stated in the Canskate manual as “to guide” but “not to coach.”

    This worries me. This means that for MOST of the time each skater performs a skill on a Canskate circuit, they may be performing it incorrectly, or with poor technique, therefore myelinating those sub-optimal pathways.

    Given that most clubs have only fully implemented the new Canskate for approximately 8 years now, we haven’t seen the new crop of competitive elite skaters who have graduated from the program. It will be interesting to compare competitive results of those who started their skating careers in this new Canskate program with those who came before it.

    Look, parents want their kids to be moving. As a parent of a competitive dancer AND a competitive coach, I expect to see my daughter moving instead of standing around. But, it’s the quality of instruction that we should also keep in mind. We need a program that allows us to provide an affordable way for kids learn to skate that is appealing to ALL involved.

    This is how we build the base for club programs, and it is critical for a skating clubs survival that it is done effectively.

    I realize that realistically, only a handful of skaters will continue from the Canskate program to StarSkate or the Competitive program, but surely, quality should start from the very beginning of our instruction?

    If you are interested in learning more about how myelination affects motor learning, check out the book “The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle. You can read my book review here.

    (I do NOT receive any money for reviewing books or advertising them. It’s incredibly important that I only recommend books that have helped me with my coaching journey and I feel could help you.)

    Rating for Effectiveness 7/10

    Ice Usage

    I love, love, love the way the Canskate program is laid out on the ice. Done correctly, the program covers the entire ice by virtue of a well thought out structure and design.

    Perhaps my favorite innovation in the SkateCanada Canskate program is the use of both inside circuits and outside circuits, so ALL areas of the ice are maximized for the skaters use.

    For example, one circuit will be drawn outside the perimeter of the square of ice from the blue-line to the boards, providing one group of students a set of skills to follow and practice, and another circuit will be drawn utilizing the inside area of that square for a second group to use.

    This allows coaches to put a maximum number of skaters in a small area in a safe and organized way. This is crucial for the success of programs in small clubs, for in order for them to be sustainable, they need to maximize participants to offset ice cost.

    Combine the use of inside and outside circuits with a fast track surrounding the perimeter for use for warm-up, speed drills, transitions, and anything else the coordinator wants to use it for, and it makes for a tight, effective design for ice usage.

    Some tips that we found that might help, ( I can’t take any credit for thinking of these things myself, I’ve been lucky enough to work with wonderful and innovative people than ensured the program ran smoothly.)

    1. When using inside and outside circuits, draw them on the ice with different colors of marker or bingo dabber, otherwise it’s too difficult for the kids to follow.
    2. Always allow a few feet between the inside and outside circuit so beginning skaters with little control don’t run the risk of colliding.
    3. Make sure you draw the start of the circuit CLEARLY and in big letters with BIG arrows for the direction of flow, then make sure to put the START of the inside and outside circuits that are sharing the same space in DIFFERENT places. If they are too close together, the skaters (and the PA’s) will get confused.
    4. During warm-up for the fast track for the Canskate students, take the Pre-Canskate students to a dressing room where they can practice basic skills like falling down, getting up, balancing on two feet, and marching on the stable ground in a quiet environment before hitting the ice. When the Canskate warm-up is done, and the students are in their groups and off the fast track, then it is safe and easy to guide the Pre-Canskate students across the fast track and into their allotted lesson area.

    All in all, the SkateCanada Canskate program scores max points for ice usage. This is one smartly and efficiently designed program in terms of ice flow and usage.

    Rating for Ice Usage 10/10

    Implementation

    Out of curiosity, I decided to download a time tracking app and track the time I spent outside of the regular Canskate lesson time for things such as set-up, take-down, organizing the weekly schedules, keeping track of PA’s, writing e-mails, creating music playlists, printing and updating attendance lists and group records, writing report cards, preparing for PA training and actually PA training, communicating with coaches, writing newsletters for parents, etc., etc., etc..

    Want to know how much time it takes to run a Canskate program well? (Yes, we ran a stellar Canskate program, I could be humble here, but……why?)

    For every hour on-ice for Canskate I was spending an average of 6 hours off ice to coordinate it.

    Yes, you heard me, one hour on, and six hours off.

    Even if you are getting paid an increased hourly wage of $40 or even $60 per session, that still works out to a shitload of work for WAAAAAYYYYYY less than minimum wage.

    This is why IMPLEMENTATION is the area of greatest concern for me, and possibly for some of you that have struggled to deliver this program as it is outlined.

    I’ve taught and coordinated a LOT of programs in my life, and this one was by far the most work I have ever encountered. With the drawing of circuits, to the daily retrieval and storage of huge amounts of props and learning aids, to keeping track of daily lessons and rotations, the list is never-ending and it takes a huge toll, both physically and mentally.

    Now add to that the other issue when it comes to implementation.

    You need to have enough people to do the Canskate program properly.

    This means you NEED to have enough coaches on the ice, you NEED a coordinator, and you need TONS of good PA’s who are willing to learn, take direction and are committed to the training required to be a program assistant.

    I think you can see where I’m going with this?

    Look, with the increase in the cost of living, affordable housing skyrocketing and both parents in families working more and more, that means there is less time for volunteering and less ability for people to get their kids out to volunteer opportunities.

    Not to mention, (and I know I may offend some people), but not all volunteers are created equal, and not all coaches are either. As coordinator, it is a never-ending and often thankless task to try and figure out how to best keep your volunteers happy so they will keep coming back, but to also make sure the lessons are taught with the coach or volunteer who is best suited to that level or that task.

    Often, just managing the PA’s or volunteers, (some of whom are amazing and you wish you had 10 more of, and some of whom are never on time, never follow direction and require constant monitoring), is a job in and of itself.

    The worst feeling in the world is looking at a full sheet of ice, knowing you have to draw 6 circuits, set up props for those circuits and re-organize your coaches, all within 5 minutes!

    Now, add in the fact that you know your coaches and PA’s will be angry because they only want to teach their circuit. Why? Well, because it is within their comfort zone and they only want to be the “master” of their circuit, but you have no other choice because one coach has just called in to say they aren’t coming, three volunteers aren’t able to show, and you are now missing 5 PA’s with the flu.

    Never mind that your back is breaking from the strain of already lugging all the props and materials out of storage, and you’re not getting anywhere near enough of the pay you should be for this, yet it’s all on you to figure it out for the 45 skaters who are about to hit the ice and expect a good lesson.

    Oh yeah, and be supportive and set a good example for everyone while you’re doing this, ok?

    Never-mind that after the fact everyone (parents and board members alike) will be a critic and feel they can weigh in on your performance, even though they have not even a tenth of an idea of how much work this program is to pull off.

    See where I’m coming from?

    Look, (and I’m looking squarely at you SkateCanada), this isn’t a club-level problem, it’s a problem with how you’ve got the club system set up and the way you expect coaches to be remunerated for their jobs for programs like Canskate.

    Canskate coordinators do not get near enough pay for what they are doing, and I will say the same about any coach for group programs. It is customary for coaches to only charge half their hourly on-ice fee for off-ice work.

    To this I say BOLLOCKS! Coaches with years of experience and solid credentials are highly skilled and rare individuals and should be paid what they’re worth both on and off the ice at the same rate.

    When you pay a highly skilled individual only half the amount they should be paid for off-ice work, you de-value their work. When you incorporate things like “mandatory volunteer hours” into their contracts, it becomes exploitation, pure and simple.

    So, all in all, while I am a big fan of this program, the systems in place to support it in most small to medium-sized clubs just aren’t there, and the expectation that coaches should work for nothing is frankly, unacceptable.

    SkateCanada needs to do better. Yup, I said it, and I’ll keep saying it until changes are made.

    Rating for Implementation 3/10

    Buy-In

    What does “buy-in” mean? Well, this means that the club membership, from coaches, down to board members all have to buy-in to the Canskate program and decide it is worth the effort it takes to run it, and worth the money it takes to pay for people to coordinate it and coach on it.

    I personally think the Canskate program is the most important program the club has, and should be thought of as ‘long-term investment” for the longevity and success of the club.

    I love the Canskate program. I believe that with a few minor tweaks, it could be phenomenal for helping young skaters develop a life-long love of skating, and even better, it could ignite that competitive spark for those who develop a passion for it, like I did.

    The problem is, there are so many hurdles to overcome in order to run this program. When you factor in the workload, the volunteers and manpower required, and the knowledge and training that are mandatory to make it successful, many clubs either can’t run it the way it was meant to be run, or to be honest, some clubs and coaches simply choose not to run it.

    SkateCanada has gone over and above with promoting the Canskate program. Opportunities for training abound, plus there are tons of incentives for those who run a great Canskate program, but let’s face it, even though they say that clubs are expected to follow the program as it was intended, and we know that a club could have it’s sanction revoked for not following it….this hasn’t happened yet.

    Quite frankly, I don’t think SkateCanada has the money or the means to make visits to clubs and monitor and police how they implement their Canskate programs, and just as frankly, they shouldn’t have to.

    But the sad fact is, many clubs, coaches and yes, even board members haven’t bought in to the benefits of this new program.

    I hope in time this will change, I’ve seen the benefits it can have, and with the cost of ice increasing rapidly, the future of small clubs may come to depend on their ability to move away from single coaching and toward a group coaching format that can pack as many bodies safely on the ice for training.

    I guess we’ll wait and see.

    Rating for Buy-In 6/10

    Content

    When I say content, I am talking about the skating skills we teach on Canskate and the different areas of focus, such as warm-up and cool down.

    My favorite thing about the SkateCanada Canskate program is its focus on teaching skating skills for all ice sports, so when a skater is done, they may choose figure skating, hockey, ringette, or speed skating. I love this approach, and salute the creative team who put together the stages, fundamental areas and skills. This is a well thought out and easily follow-able pathway to skating competency.

    I love the way the Canskate program utilizes the fast track for developing speed, and I also love the circuits themselves, they are fun, and colorful.

    One note I have found over the years, is that we shouldn’t allow the skaters to stay in a fundamental area on the same circuit for more than about 5-7 minutes. Kids these days simply get too bored and need more stimulation, so I have found that it’s better to do more rotations each session than the manual actually prescribes.

    Keep in mind, this differs for differently-abled children or neurodivergent children who may need an entirely different learning plan than the one followed by the masses.

    Another note: I found if you want to utilize the fast track during each allotted stage/circuit time frame, you might want to have large cardboard arrows placed on the glass around the rink with sticky putty, and as coordinator, you can switch these arrows during warm up and during each rotation to show the direction of movement on the fast track so everyone stays safe.

    My only big concern with the content of the Canskate sessions is there is no allotted free time for the kids. Look, these little kids are structured from the moment they get up, throughout their school day, and for our entire Canskate session. Whey not allow for some free time for them to practice what they learn, explore the space they are in, and learn how to interact with each other for 10 minutes at the end of the session.

    The science backs me up.

    According to study after study, scientists are shouting from the rooftops about the need for unstructured play, and its benefits both socially, emotionally and cognitively cannot be understated.

    I like this quote from Time Magazine: The Secret Power of Play best:

    But scientists have learned that free play isn’t just something children like to do—it’s something they need to do. It exercises their minds and their creativity. More than anything else, play teaches children how to work together and, at the same time, how to be alone. It teaches them how to be human.”

    Time Magazine: The Secrets of Childhood, Inside the Minds of Our Younger Selves

    So while I love nearly everything about the content of the Canskate program, I would love to see some time allowed for fun, unstructured play for its participants.

    Rating for Content 8/10

    Opportunities for Mentorship

    This topic is near and dear to my heart. I strongly feel that it is our duty to help mentor and guide young coaches as they start on their journey. Coaching is not an easy profession, and there are often more negatives than positives.

    Canskate provides the perfect opportunity for young coaches and skaters to test the waters as they learn basic coaching techniques surrounded by supportive mentors.

    In theory, every club should have a supportive culture and a philosophy of empowerment, but in practice, this is harder than it looks.

    I feel that there should be more attention placed on the mentorship and guidance aspect of the Canskate (and the Star Program) and those coaches involved should be provided with paid leadership courses which can give them the tools necessary to create a positive and nurturing culture for PA’s and fledgling coaches alike.

    Leadership ain’t easy. As a person who struggles with it, I can attest to the fact we need more emphasis on how to be positive, encouraging and supportive leaders for our membership. This would only benefit us all.

    Interested in mentorship in coaching, why it’s important, and how you can get on board? Check out the Guide from from Coach.ca.

    Rating for Membership Opportunities 6/10

    Summing It All Up

    As you can see, I am a fan of the SkateCanada Canskate program, but after working as a coach on it, and implementing it as a coordinator, I would love to see some small tweaks to both the program itself AND the underlying club system supporting it.

    If feel that if we REALLY want to look toward the future growth and sustainability of our sport as we see prices rise and wages drop, we need to get more creative than ever, open ourselves up to feedback, and work together to make the SkateCanada Canskate even better for everyone involved.

    Final Score for the SkateCanada Canskate program: 6/10

    Any Canskate coaches or coordinators out there? What are your thoughts on the program? Do you agree with any of these ratings? Disagree? Sound off in the comments below and share to your friends! Let’s start a conversation!

  • A Book Review of “Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success

    A Book Review of “Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success

    Product: “Smartcuts:  How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success” by Shane Snow

    Price:  Kindle Price $17.99

    Cheapest Place to Buy:  Amazon.ca

    Note: I do NOT currently receive any perks or money from my reviews. My goal is to give my HONEST opinion about books and resources that can help anyone be a better coach, administrator, mentor or parent.

    In time when I build up membership, I may participate in affiliate marketing, but, I will only recommend products on my site that I believe to be the best quality and the most educational.

    My Rating for “Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators and Icons Accelerate Success“:  9/10

    Overview:  For any coach who has wondered if there was a better way of teaching a skill, or for any club administrator who spends hours trying to find new and innovative ways to schedule programs for maximum efficiency this book is for you. 

    For those of you who don’t like to challenge the status quo, and who believe in doing things as they have always been done….. well…. this book may change your mind.

    As the author, Shane Snow, writes: Smartcuts is a book that studies the “patterns through which rapid successes and breakthrough innovators achieved the incredible.” Snow explains that through his studies of pioneers in various fields, he has created a “framework for breaking convention” which “explains how people do so much with less.”

    Sound interesting? Perhaps appropriate for youth sport organizations?  Read on.

    As coaches, we all ascribe to the conventional wisdom of working our way up the ladder, both in our careers and in how we train our students. Smartcuts debunks this theory, suggesting that instead of climbing the ladder, we should create our own ladder and develop the self-awareness to determine when it is time to make our lateral move over to it.

    This is only the first method Snow uses to illustrate all the ways people can create spectacular successes in their lives and each consecutive method will spark light bulb moments of either recognition from your own experiences of past triumphs, or discovery of new ideas that may propel you to the next level in your career or life.

    For those of you who feel constrained by our conventional systems of learning in sport, and in life, this book outlines why YOU may actually be the next great pioneer simply by challenging the status quo.

    Smartcuts speaks to the rebel in all of us.

    Best Feature of this Book:  Snow has whittled this book down into 9 basic strategies for creating a smarter, more efficient way to success, and explains each strategy through entertaining anecdotes of real success stories.  This personal touch allows the reader to become engaged in each tactic, and identify with each story, driving home the lesson encased in each chapter.  

    Pros:  Snow is obviously an expert in the subject matter, and his intelligence and passion for the subject matter reaches out from the page and captures the interest of the reader from start to finish. Every person can find a little bit of themselves in the narrative, and will finish the book feeling inspired for their next adventure or project.

    Cons: Many of the principles in this book relate more to business practices than athletics, however all of the theories listed for success are easily modified and adapted in order to increase chances of success, and decrease the time it takes to achieve that success for coaches, skaters and organizations alike.

    Conclusion:  Smartcuts is an excellent and eye-opening read that will leave you inspired, invigorated and chomping at the bit to create your own Smartcut to a more successful you. I highly recommend Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success for anyone looking to take a firmer hand in their own destiny.

    Have you ever had to create your own ladder? Share stories of your SMARTCUTS in the comments below!

    If you like my blog, share with your friends!

  • Single Mom

    Single Mom

    A year or so ago, a celebrity gave an interview to a trashy tabloid news magazine (for the life of me, I can’t remember the name of the celebrity, suffice to say, I have T-shirts older than her) and in that interview, she referred to herself as a single mother because her NHL hockey player husband was away for weeks at a time.

    The internet exploded.  Single mothers everywhere saw red…..then purple……then pretty much every other color of the spectrum as they threw fits of rage and spewed venom. 

    It was spectacular.

    Then came the “us” against “them” brigades, trying to dictate who had the right to call themselves a single mother and who didn’t.

    I read quietly from the cheap seats and bit my tongue.

    There were even memes on Facebook cataloging just how hard it was when married women (or men) had a spouse that traveled extensively, again citing the fact that they felt like they were single parents and how difficult it was to hold everything together.

    Some of the people who shared these memes are people I consider good friends and whom I respect deeply, so it didn’t bother me.

    The thing that did bother me was the fact that, yet again, woman was turning against woman, trying to shame, explain, ridicule, and devalue someone else’s experience because it wasn’t the same as theirs.

    It really saddened me.

    Throughout millennia, women have been oppressed.  We have been beaten, branded, stoned, burned, subjugated, brushed aside, marginalized, and exploited. Every inch of progress we have gained as a gender we owe to the women who have gone before and have suffered so much and sacrificed all.

    And yet, it took one question to put us back at each other’s throats.

    Where does this come from?

    I have an eight-year-old daughter, and with her, it started in Junior Kindergarten.  For two years, she had a frenemy that was, in turn, kind one day and sneaky and cruel unkind the next.

    My daughter was ostracized and excluded to the point where she suffered from anxiety which manifested itself in physical symptoms.  She didn’t want to go to school and was in pain EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

    Why are young girls conditioned to be cruel to each other? Is it because we don’t have the physical strength of men, so instinctively, we realize we must utilize covert means to get what we want?

    If so, why does it manifest so early in our young women? I wish I had the answers.  If you go online you will find a plethora of information, papers, and theories that will attempt to explain the phenomenon of girl-on-girl crime, but nothing will really give any concrete way to solve the problem.

    Either way, the “single mom” debate inspired some real animosity from both sides.

    And I don’t get it.

    I’m a single mom.  I’m the type of single mom that does it all.  My babydaddy child’s father lives across the country, and although he is a good man, we don’t see him much.  When I was pregnant, I saw him even less and had to go through the whole process alone.

    My experience as a single mom has been one of bone-deep weariness, gut-wrenching anxiety, loneliness, crushing responsibility, and endless….and I do mean endless amounts of guilt…that I am continuously fucking messing up.

    But it’s also the experience of raising a beautiful, bright, funny, awesome little human who is, in SO many ways, a gift from the Universe.  Every single day, I have moments where I know it was all worth it because she is the greatest love I will ever know.

    So, just because I define my “single mommyhood” with these parameters, does that give me the right to judge others who call themselves single mothers?

    I don’t think so.  After all, isn’t it about perspective?

    • To the mother in a loving marriage who must hold down the fort while her husband is away for weeks at a time, YES, you are a single mom.
    • To the mother that has 50/50 custody of their children who works like a fiend when her kiddos are at her ex’s because she doesn’t want to be still long enough to realize how much she misses them, YES, you are a single mom.
    • To the mother that has to drive her children two hours to their spouse’s house every other weekend so they can get quality time with their father, because even though the round-trip drive is exhausting, you know how important it is for them to have time with their father, YES, you are a single mom.

    We are all single moms. 

    There is room enough on that pedestal for all of us.

    P.S.  There’s also room for all of you single dads too.

    Got any single mom stories? Share in the comments below, and let’s support each other!

    And do me a favor, and help me reach more people by sharing my site with your friends (only if you like it, of course.)

  • Here’s to the Coaches

    Here’s to the Coaches

    I recently made the decision to step away from coaching. It wasn’t an easy decision to make. I have loved skating, and loved coaching for as long as I can remember. I love everything about being on the ice with my athletes, interacting with them, guiding them, planning their training, reassuring them when needed, and laughing with them.

    The simple fact is, I got TIRED. I will write more on WHY I stepped away and how I felt after I made the decision in another blog. In this one, I want to pay my respects to the many amazing coaches I have had the opportunity to work with.

    I have been incredibly lucky to practice my craft alongside some of the best coaches in the world; coaches who care, and go the extra mile for their students, time and time again. Coaches who have inspired me, challenged me, and taught me so very much. So as I step away from the world of coaching, I wanted to say a thank-you to all my fellow coaches.

    So, here’s to the coaches who give everything so that their skaters can succeed.

    Here’s to that first coach that carried us onto the ice on our first day of skating; drying our tears, wiping our noses, and picking us up over and over and over until we could, finally, get up by ourselves and stand on our own.

    Here’s to the coach that helped us develop our abilities from the very beginning, often for years, giving us the foundation we needed to excel later in our career, until we decided it was time to move on and had to say good-bye.

    Here’s to the coach who gave us that last bit of finesse, polish, and competitive push we needed to succeed at the highest levels of competition.

    Here’s to the coaches who found us a dress for our first competition when our mom forgot.

    Here’s to the coaches who lectured us on taking responsibility for packing our own skate bag, tying our own skates and bringing our own water bottle, even while re-tying our skates EVERY session for us until our fingers could FINALLY tie them on their own.

    Here’s to the coaches who spent countless hours finding program music, cutting said music, (12 hours or more for one cut, amiright?) finding or designing the perfect costume, and then, as if that wasn’t ENOUGH…. choreographing those programs.

    Here’s to the coaches who pick up students and take them to and from the rink, even though they know they shouldn’t, and are making themselves legally liable if anything happens during that drive, but if they don’t, their skater won’t be able to participate in the sport they love.

    Here’s to the coaches who find a second job, so they can afford to coach when the hours they get at their small club just won’t cut it.

    Here’s to the coaches who find a second job so they can afford to coach when the small club they work for refuses to pay them what they are worth. (You ALL know it happens.)

    Here’s to the coaches who place their skaters over their own children and family, re-scheduling family vacations, weekend get-a-ways (Ha! WHAT weekend get-a-ways?) and after-school activities to accommodate their athletes’ skating schedule.

    Here’s to the coaches who risk their marriages because their spouses don’t understand the stress of coaching and are tired of hearing us complain about work.

    Here’s to the coaches who teach in small clubs, yet somehow manage to find the off-ice programs, extra-ice, and equipment needed to help their skaters succeed even when the skaters themselves can’t afford it.

    Here’s to the coaches at large clubs who deal with competitive pressures every day and manage to navigate political waters like champs.

    Here’s to the coaches who feel like if they EVER see another hotel room again it will be too soon.

    Here’s to the coaches who desperately need that glass of wine to take the edge off after standing for 14 hours on the cold concrete at a competition and taking an emotional ride with EVERY student.

    SKATING PARENTS. Enough said.

    Here’s to the coaches who spend more than they can afford on books, seminars and courses to give their very best to their clients.

    Here’s to the coaches who stay awake at nights worrying and wondering why they just can’t get their skater to LAND. THAT. DOUBLE AXEL!

    Here’s to the coaches who don’t let the politics get them down; who stick to the plan and trust their instincts and their athletes.

    Here’s to the coaches who know when it’s time to move on and provide support and encouragement through-out all phases of a skater’s career.

    Here’s to coaches that know that while their time with an athlete may be small, their impact is great, and strive to be the best influence they can be.

    Here’s to the coaches who spend hours and hours pouring over technical announcements and strategizing program content to make sure they give their skaters the best chance they can during a competition.

    Here’s to the coaches who lessen the sting of defeat by bolstering confidence and emphasizing the lessons learned from failure.

    Here’s to the coaches who teach winning with grace and dignity, and set THAT example EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for their skaters.

    Here’s to you coach, WE SEE YOU.

    Got any stories you want to share about how your coaches inspired you? Any funny coaching stories? Share with the class in the comments below. While you’re at it, do me a favor, and share this with your friends!