Speaking Out Loud to Learn Figure Skating (Sheila Thelen)

In the video below, Sheila Thelen shares an important figure skating tip to improve learning that is largely overlooked in the sport. Sheila discusses a technique she uses with skaters to keep their mind actively engaged in what they should be thinking about in the air while learning or improving their jumps. The technique involves the skater verbally saying out loud a quick phrase to keep them focused on the correction they are trying to make. Sheila has found this strategy to be very helpful for skaters who “blackout” or don’t remember what they are trying to correct when attempting the jump. (Sheila has coined a term that many coaches will relate to for skaters that tend to go blank during their jumps: blackout disease.)

Sheila notes that internally repeating the phrase is much less effective than actually having the skater speak it out loud while jumping. By speaking out loud, the skater must be more engaged. Sheila admits that skaters will often feel embarrassed or self-conscious when speaking out loud while jumping, but she notes it can be done in a quiet corner of the rink or the skater can say it in a very low voice. The benefits are often so powerful that skaters should simply do it and get over the embarrassment phase as fast as possible. Along with the auditory component Sheila also discusses how she incorporates video analysis along with this technique to combine the benefits of speaking and hearing and seeing to speed up the process of developing correct muscle memory of jumps with landings instead of falls.

This is a great idea that is extremely underutilized in a sport that whose primary learning mechanism revolves around “feeling” or kinesthetic sensations. Only a relatively small percentage of the population have “feeling” as a dominant learning mechanism. A much higher percentage of the population learn primarily through seeing and hearing and self-talk. This tip doesn’t work with all skaters, but it’s worth a try as it can be really effective in combating blackout disease.