EDUCATION Carol Rossignol, MD, MS, MG, MPD, MFF
Longevity in Teaching and Coaching Figure Skating B Y R O N L U D I N G T O N , M F F, M P , M D F D , L E V E L V I I I R A N K I N G
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hen I was asked to do this article, I had to think very hard about what has kept me going in this profession. Forty years of teaching and coaching is a long time. I have certainly had my ups and downs during that time but on the whole it has been Figure skating legend Ron quite successful. Ludington, a friend, coach, Ever since I started teaching mentor, story teller, and icon I have treated it like a business. recently passed away. In I have always kept good records honor of his memory, this is and my clients have always a reprint of his article from received bills on a regular the May/June 2000 issue of two-week basis. They would much PS Magazine in which he rather have it done that way than gives advice to coaches on receive an enormous bill after a surviving in the sport and couple of months. Many coaches profession. make this mistake and they pay the price down the road by not being paid the full amount that is owed to them. In my case, I keep records so complete that none of my parents question their bills. When booking lessons with students, I treat all of them the same. For example, if I have six senior pairs, they all get the same number of lessons (one a day) regardless of their ranking. The skaters appreciate this and it creates great harmony. The minute you start favoring one skater or team over another you ask for trouble. Don’t do it! Life is too short. I spend very little time talking with parents. Not because I don’t like them but because there are so few hours in a day. I can’t be effective with my teaching when I’m distracted. If there is a problem I will discuss it with them but I don’t go looking for problems. In the evenings at home, I discourage phone conversations pertaining to students. That’s my time to get away from the business of teaching and coaching. I’ve always been big on outside activities. At present its golf and in the past it was water skiing, sport fishing, radio controlled model airplanes, and many other hobbies. I have always taught many hours in a day and I don’t want my job
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to consume me. I don’t need stress and my hobbies help me to eliminate this problem. There are times when I don’t feel like pushing myself. Regardless, I make myself work hard to get rid of the tendency to “burn out”, which I am sure every teacher or coach has experienced. It’s a mental thing but it does happen. Vacations are great for that problem at which point I’m ready to come back to work. Something that has been important to me is that I teach all levels and all disciplines. This way I don’t get stale and give poor lessons. I explain to my students that are interested in teaching that the variety of disciplines they can teach will keep them busy on the ice and it is great for the pocketbook. Another point that I would like to bring up is that I don’t believe in giving free time. If a skater books a 20-minute lesson, that skater gets the full 20 minutes. If I give five minutes free lesson time to one skater, then I should be giving it to all the other students. This would only be fair and for me, impossible. Never get caught in giving excess numbers of lessons per week to one student. If that student leaves you, there will be a big void in your schedule. It is better to have many students than just a few. Problems dealing with coaches have never “I explain to my been a big issue. I have always tried not students that are to step on anyone’s interested in teaching toes, especially when it involved their that the variety of students. I teach my students, they teach disciplines they can theirs, and we go our way. There will teach will keep them own always be the problem of skaters leaving busy on the ice and one coach to go to another, and that’s it is great for the part of coaching. The pocketbook.” best way to handle it
