Backwards Woodshedding

Today's lesson was the first in our new timeslot, 8:45 a.m. Thursdays. This was a nice environment -- only 4 skaters (and 2 coaches) and freshly Zamboni'd ice. I had a nice warmup.

Today's lesson:

• BXOs and back edges -- We spent a lot of time on this since it's one of my key problem areas. Sonya had me skate some BXOs, then hold the BO edge with free foot in front, then put free toe to heel and face the other way, then step forward. We did make some progress in keeping off the toe and keeping turned in, but much more practice will be required.
  
• Spins -- We worked on these both from the windup and also just from a step forward. Sonya showed me how I could work on it against the boards, too, and that helped quite a bit. I need more kneebend and a more pronounced outside edge on the step forward. Again, more work required. Sonya also suggested I should work on just entering a 2-foot spin from a forward glide (on 2 feet).
  
• Half flip -- We finished with this. It's coming along. Sonya wants me to practice just the "jump" part, against the boards as needed.