Mental and Emotional Training for Figure Skating Continued (Kori Ade)

In this video, we get a closer look at the off-ice TAPS program developed by Olympic coach Kori Ade for the development of her skaters. In the first part of this series, Kori explained the purpose of these sessions. Here we get to see some sample activities. Naturally these activities and topics change regularly and this is just what was covered during the session that iCoachSkating.com visited.

In the classroom setting, notice the focus on deep thinking and building mental and emotional awareness. The topic of this classroom session was “Epiphany” and obviously the topic changes for every weekly session. In the dance and movement session, notice the focus on body movement while minimizing tension. Repeatable movement patterns allow the skaters to continuously work on improving their overall movement quality. And in the theater class, notice that the games are fun but serve the purpose of handing each skater the spotlight for a brief period and focusing on creativity without criticism or analysis.

TAPS is an important part of Kori’s success as a coach. Skaters that develop more ease and awareness of their movements will always looks better on the ice. And those that are willing to make mistakes or take risks (theater class) and accept the spotlight tend to respond better to learning new things and handling pressure in situations that are rare or unusual (the Olympics for example). And by digging deep and developing a better self-understanding in the classroom sessions, the skaters develop higher self-esteem and get clear on their goals and motivations regarding skating. This kind of training is still very rare in figure skating, but Kori’s success speaks volumes about the benefits.

iCoachSkating.com would like to thank Kori and her skaters for their willingness to share this information. Some of the activities are “personal” in nature and it shows a high level of self-esteem and self-confidence to be willing to share this with a much larger audience.