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Patch Times
Unlocking the Ice Rinks – back to training post lockdown
It’s been a long time and the waiting is nearly over – rinks will be starting to open up soon and that means all the hard work you’ve been doing off-ice will pay dividends when you step back on to that lovely smooth cold sheet of ice… or will it? Everyone’s been in...
A Rocky Road to the Olympics
Injuries are the constant bugbear of skaters and it is always hard to cope with being off ice for any length of time, undergoing physio and taking things much more slowly than you would like. And the return to training can be fraught with self-doubt and anxiety that...
Back to School – tears and fears or miles of smiles?
As I write this it’s that time of year when the obligatory picture of smiling happy children in pristine uniforms are standing by their front doors on the first day of school. Whether it’s a brand new educational venture for them, or a step up to “Big School”, social...
Calling all story writers!
Have your story published in the 2019 SkaterPlanner™, win a coaching session and a whole bunch of goodies worth £250! Would you like to see your story about ice skating in print? Write a story about ice skating in 500-750 words for the 2019 Skater...
Relating Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to Your Athletes
This came up in one of my groups this week in a fun way (the spoof version where WiFi is deemed a basic need before all else!) and it occurred to me that not everyone will have come across Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It's a psychological theory put forward by Abraham...
Getting Back – a short story by Rhiannon Parker-Nicholls
(Rhiannon's story was selected as runner-up in the 2017 competition to provide a short story for publication in the 2018 SkaterPlanner™) It’s been 213 days. That’s seven months, 5,112 hours. That’s a long time. As I pushed open the door, the familiar sensation...
All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them
Listen on the Podcast: What does that even mean? Do you have to be brave and courageous to achieve your dream of making it to the nationals/world championships/Olympics? You love what you do – it makes your heart sing (when everything’s going well) so what does...
Burnout! When you’re feeling flat – and it shows.
Sometimes when you’re at the top of your game it can be pretty hard to stay there. Or when you’re that big fish in a small pond and suddenly you move up a level and become the small fish. At times like these your negative self-talk may start to kick in a bit louder...
Don’t let it get to you!
When someone or something upsets you... Do you find yourself getting stressed and upset when you’d rather be cool, calm and composed? Sometimes when things aren't going so well and it's hard to find something to be cheerful about it's because we are feeling 'done to'....
Practice Positivity and Make it a Habit
Are you a Positive Peter or a Negative Nellie? Are you a Pooh bear type of person, who sees wonder in every little thing or a Tigger, bouncing around spreading joy wherever you go? Or are you more of an Eeyore? Human beings tend to default towards an Eeyore-like...
