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Why You're Avoiding The Hard Jumps · The Nadia Chapman Show

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  There. Welcome to the Nadia Chapman Show, the figure skaters edition.
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  I'm Nadia Chapman, mindset and life coach for figure skaters.
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  And today I want to talk about something that happens very frequently in almost
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  every session at some point or another.
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  And it's that moment when a skater sets up for a jump that is very hard,
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  that's new, and then backs out, you know, hesitate and sometimes avoid doing it all together.
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  Or maybe suddenly decides, you know, I'm going to go work on something else.
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  If you've been around the skating world for a long time, whether it's as a parent
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  or a coach or a skater, I know you've seen it too.
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  And usually the assumption is quite simple.
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  Oh, you know, they're scared or maybe today they're a little tired or they're not focused enough.
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  Maybe there's too many people out there on the rink and it's difficult or maybe they're not ready.
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  But what I've learned is that it's almost never about the jump itself.
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  It's about what the jump represents.
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  When the skater avoids a jump that they cannot land consistently.
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  What's really happening is often identity protection. So if I don't attempt
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  this jump, well, then I will not fall.
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  And if I don't fall, I can still hold that belief that I can land it. You know what I mean?
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  So the possibility stays intact and the ego stays protected.
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  The moment they attempt it and they miss it and they fall, especially in front
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  of others, the story can shift from I'm working on this to maybe I'm not as good as I think I am.
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  And that feels threatening, especially for teenagers whose identities are still
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  forming and who are incredibly sensitive to comparison.
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  And let's be honest, skating is such a visible sport. It's not like you're practicing
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  piano alone in a room. It's public.
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  Everyone is on that session. Everybody is looking at you.
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  Everyone on that session knows who's landing what and who passed which test
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  and who's moving up a level.
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  There's a lot of eyes in the ice rink.
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  And there's this unspoken awareness on the rink and kids feel it very deeply.
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  So when the skater avoids that jump, it may look like a lack of effort,
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  but very often it's self-protection.
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  It's a way of saying, you know what? I'm not ready to let this define me.
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  And there's also a nervous system component that we don't talk about enough.
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  The body remembers experiences. If a skater had a bad fall or got an injury
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  on that jump, let's say, or maybe felt embarrassed after missing it repeatedly,
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  the brain will link that movement pattern with threat.
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  And the next time they set up and they're supposed to go work on that jump,
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  even if consciously they want to go for it, their whole physiology can shift
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  before they even realize it.
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  The heart rate is going to rise, maybe the breathing becomes shallow,
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  and their muscle tightens.
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  So the timing change is just enough to throw you off your takeoff.
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  And now they're not just going for something that's difficult,
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  like trying to do a difficult jump, they're attempting it with dysregulated nervous system.
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  And when the nervous system senses that there's a threat, performance is not the priority, never.
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  Safety becomes a priority. And what the brain is doing, which is quite simple.
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  It's just trying to protect the skater from reliving the discomfort again.
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  And this is not weakness, it's
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  wiring. And wiring can absolutely be retrained, but not through shame.
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  So there's another layer also that I want to talk about, especially in high
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  achieving skaters, and it is perfectionism.
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  Oh yes, many skaters would rather perform beautiful, you know,
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  beautiful easy instead of something messy that they cannot fully control yet.
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  And if you are a coach, I know you understand what I'm talking about.
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  You know, doing the clean double reinforces their identity as,
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  oh, I'm solid, I'm consistent, I'm good.
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  But attempting a triple and falling changes that identity. But growth in skating
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  or in life is rarely beautiful in the beginning. It's awkward.
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  It's inconsistent. It's humbling. The skaters who eventually break through are
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  not the ones who never felt fear or frustration, because of course, we all feel it.
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  But they are the ones who are willing to be seen in the middle of growth.
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  And that is not easy. And especially if you are a teenager.
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  So that requires a lot of emotional maturity. And we also need to redefine what
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  confidence actually means.
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  Because so often people think, oh, confidence is landing the jump consistently,
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  but not true confidence.
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  But true confidence is the ability to handle missing it without spiraling,
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  you know, falling, trying again, getting up and not let that ego get in the
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  way and keep working on it.
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  Confidence is being able to fall and get up and try again and retry again without
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  self-worth collapsing.
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  All right. When the skater avoids a jump, the brain records that avoidance has
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  evidence that the jump is dangerous. That's what's going on inside.
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  Each time that they avoid and they circle it or they pop it and they don't go
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  for it, that neural pathway in the brain straightens.
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  But when they attempt it, even if they fall, the brain also records something very powerful.
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  The brain says, oh, I survived that. And over time, it builds resilience.
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  So the goal isn't immediate mastery. That will not happen.
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  You know, it's increasing tolerance for discomfort and tolerance for imperfection.
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  Tolerance for being in the process. So for parents listening right now,
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  this is where your response really matters deeply.
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  When you see that your skater is avoiding something, it can be tempting to push
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  or to criticize, but often the more effective approach will be curiosity.
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  Instead of saying, why didn't you go for this?
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  Just say something like, what feels hard about this jump right now?
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  And that opens a door rather than closing one. And for coaches listening.
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  Technical corrections are very
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  important, absolutely. but sometimes the breakthrough isn't mechanical.
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  Sometimes it's emotional regulation. So helping a skater calm their breathing
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  and reframe the fall into something more positive,
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  or even reduce the story that they're attaching to the mistake can truly unlock
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  more positive feedback than another drill or another exercise ever will.
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  And if you are a skater listening, I want you to hear this clearly.
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  The jump that you're avoiding is not exposing your weakness.
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  It's revealing your edge to growth.
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  Every skater has one at every level.
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  Avoidance feels like comfortable at first. It feels safe, you know,
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  in that moment, but in the long term, it shrinks your capacity.
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  All right. So attempting it
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  and going for that hard jump, even if it's not perfect, we'll expand that.
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  So you don't need to be fearless all the time. It's okay. We have to learn to
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  skate with some fear. You don't need to feel perfectly ready.
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  You just need to be willing to show up imperfectly and experience the discomfort of growth.
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  All right. And if you stay in just a little longer than you did yesterday,
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  you will see better result.
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  That is where the breakthroughs happen.
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  So the jump is not the problem. It is the story that you attach to it.
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  That identity you attach to it.
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  And all of that is absolutely trainable.
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  And this is the work I love doing.
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  Helping skaters build that internal strength that support the technical skill.
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  Because as you know by now, skating doesn't just test your ability on the ice,
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  it exposes your mindset. It reveals how you respond to pressure,
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  how you respond to comparison, and how do you respond to imperfection.
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  And it's very rare that in skating, we are perfect.
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  And when we learn to leader solve through those moments, ooh,
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  that girl goes far beyond the rink, trust me.
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  If this resonates with you, please share this with a skater,
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  a parent, or a coach that might need to hear this.
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  And if you are ready to build that kind of resilience, you know where to find me.
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  I'm Nadia Chapman, Mindset and Life Coach for Figure Skaters,
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  and I'll see you next time.