Frequently Asked Questions:

What exactly is Performance Coaching?

Performance Coaching uses questioning techniques which get you to think deeply about a challenge and see it from new angles. Coaching presupposes that every client, whatever their age, has the answer within. With time, space and focus everyone can come up with their own best solution.

Coaching will get a skater to set goals, explore what might be holding them back from achieving them, create options and move forward step by step. Coaching looks ahead to the next level and melts away the blocks to getting there. It works with people of all ages – and young people especially can be very creative in coming up with solutions. Coaching focuses on where or what you are now and where or what you want to be, do or have in the future.

Remember, when we refer to “coaching” on this website, we are talking about the kind of coaching which involves questions and conversations with the skater to help them set and achieve their goals, and work on their confidence mindset and mental toughness, not the kind of coaching which skating coaches do brilliantly in teaching the techniques of figure skating!

My child needs this – how do I sign up?

Just get in touch using the contact details on the left. Parents please remember though, with young clients, it is very important that they want to be coached on these issues – and not just because a parent thinks they should. If the skater doesn’t want to work on their challenges, then the coaching will not be as beneficial. Ice Cool Confidence contracts with both the parent and the young skater to ensure the coaching is as effective as possible.

Equally, Ice Cool Confidence is very happy to take referrals from Skate Coaches, but the skaters must want to participate in order to get the desired results!

Is there a minimum or maximum age/level?

Performance Coaching can be undertaken by anyone, but realistically it is geared towards skaters who are eager to improve their ability and move up through NISA (or other national) levels and/or are competing. For this reason, I prefer to work with skaters from NISA level 2 (or other national equivalent) upwards.

There is no minimum age, but skaters under the age of 9 are unlikely to have the maturity to grasp the techniques. However, maturity differs from skater to skater and in certain circumstances we would be happy to discuss possibilities with parents and the child’s skating coach.

We can also work effectively with Adult Skaters who have come to the sport as an adult or who have taken it up again after a long absence and wish to be more confident. In this case the NISA level 2 requirement does not apply.

I’m a skater – what exactly do I have to do?

Just turn up to sessions on time (they are mostly on Videolink). Be ready and open to talking about the things you are finding tough and be willing to try creative and imaginative ways to overcome your challenges. There will be some activities to complete in between sessions, but these are not difficult or time-consuming and will not impact on your schoolwork or homework time. They are designed to be fun, thought-provoking and get you started on a lifetime’s habit of being more positive, confident and self aware.

You are expected to be fully committed, be available for all agreed sessions and be honest and open to examining what you really want from your sport. In return, Ice Cool Confidence will be 100% committed to establishing a working relationship based on confidentiality and trust to support you in setting and achieving your goals and overcoming any competition nerves. You will be challenged at the level you feel comfortable with, and helped to overcome any barriers and limiting beliefs which may be holding you back from achieving your full potential.

“If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re probably right”

How many sessions will I need?

Packages consist of around six to ten sessions over a period of around three months or a school term. Sessions look closely at your particular challenges and are usually spaced around two weeks apart to allow time for you to practice and build upon what you are learning in between sessions.

Can I use the techniques elsewhere?

Yes! The tools and techniques which you learn through Ice Cool Confidence’s Performance Coaching can be used successfully in many other areas of your life not only giving you greater confidence in your skating, but also in school and with exams or with challenges in social activities.

Skaters often find that their school and non-skating friends don’t quite ‘get’ their obsession with skating or understand why a skater would prefer to be at a freezing cold rink early in the morning and miss a late-night sleepover with school friends. Helping you to balance this in a way that is comfortable for you is one of the many areas the sessions can cover.

Can you run sessions during our Skate Camp?

Ice Cool Confidence is very happy to adapt the packages to work easily with Skate Camps. For example they can be run as half- or full-day workshops. They can also be two separate half-day workshops on the same day to address different issues or different levels. Just contact us by email and let us know how many sessions, how long, number/age/approximate level of skaters and what you are aiming to achieve.

Details of some of the workshops we run can be found here.

How does it work?

Ice Cool Confidence uses tools and techniques which identify patterns of language, thinking and behaviour – either useful or negative – to challenge the negative or use the positive for the best possible results. These tools can be particularly effective in dealing with preparation for competitive sports and are used by many Olympic athletes. In a way it’s a bit like using a verbal ‘mirror’ to reflect back at you the negative language you are using, and then switching over to more positive language.

We work with the mind’s existing resources to achieve these results. Habitual negative language and limiting beliefs can prevent us from achieving our potential. If you constantly say to yourself “I’ll never be able to land an axel”, then your unconscious mind will prove to you that is the case. By focusing on maintaining positivity the mind finds ways to achieve goals we have only dreamed of. It also helps us to understand how we, and those around us, respond to the language and behaviours of others, and why and how misunderstandings may occur. It allows us to manage our state, focus, get rid of distractions and put mistakes and misunderstandings into context. It also allows us to study excellence in others and imitate the process to get similar results by way of accelerated learning.

Where does it take place?

One to One sessions are generally carried out over a good Skype (or equivalent) connection. It has worked with great success with skaters across the Atlantic as well as in the UK! Group sessions can be carried out in a convenient space at your local rink, in a seminar or conference facility. Ice Cool Confidence is also happy to put together bespoke programmes for clubs and skate schools or to complement skate camps.