by Anne Calder
Appel recently shared his expertise with skaters during a four-day program in Chandler, Arizona, that included private dance lessons and group exercises for solo and synchronized skaters. Chandler Ice Den Solo Dance Director Naomi Lang Strong hosted the event. Lang and partner Peter Tchernyshev were five-time U.S. ice dance champions (1999-2003).
The origins of the coaching series
“I saw Naomi [Lang] This past February, I was at a solo dance camp and told her about getting into personal coaching,” Appel explained. “She said she would be happy to arrange for me to go to Chandler and talk to her skaters. I gave her my schedule for the season and thought May might be a good time for me.
“We met again in late April at the Picken International in Reston, Virginia, and began working out the final details for me to fly to Arizona to coach last week (May 20-23).”
This is the first time Lucas Appel has shown off his coaching skills on the road. However, he would definitely do it again.
“Right now, it’s a lot to balance being a full-time student, training as a solo dancer and now a coach,” he said. “If I could get into coaching and make a good living, I would like to do it full-time or even part-time. It would be a really fun outlet for me. I want to give back to Solo. It has given me so much. Without Solo, I would have quit a long time ago Skating.
private lessons
Since Appel has been tutoring privately for several months, he already has lesson plans for his students. He usually starts with 15-20 minutes of basic skating just to see where they are at. Then, if the student has a rhythm or free dance, he will observe a part of it. If they were working on patterns, he would check one or two to gauge their spin, one-foot movement, etc.
At the Ice Cave, Naomi told him tidbits about each skater during individual lessons. She provides him with information about the skater’s goals and the patterns, rhythms and free dances they are currently practicing. He then points out the work they need to do most and what Naomi would particularly like to see him do.
group lessons
The first group class is for synchronized skaters.
“I’ve never coached Synchro. I don’t know much about it,” Appel admitted. “One of the rinks I train at in Florida sometimes has a small synchronized program, so I asked some of the coaches involved what to expect.”
“After seeing them skate the first day, I knew I totally needed to change because at first, I was doing all these turns and stuff with them, but then I said, you know what, we really need to get back to where we were. State. Let’s really work on it.
“Naomi said to do something music-oriented – get them to pay attention to timing. I created a playlist of faster music for them to save time. So all the exercises I designed for the session were based on skating Athletes bend their knees and ankles, push, and gain force orientation while maintaining time and ultimately increasing the speed of the movement.
On the second day, group classes were for solo dancers.
“Solo will probably be different,” Appel previewed after the Synchro class. “I’ll still be doing a lot of pushing work, but probably a lot more edge work and definitely working on the turns – all different types. I’m doing a little bit in Synchro and doing Choctaw drills.
“Solo is going to be more turn-based. I can see the potential in these dancers, with their level 2 and 3 dance sequences, maybe even level 4. This is going to be built for that.
Many athletes in both groups skate solo and synchronized. The solo season begins with the Magnolia Open in Alpharetta, Georgia, March 8-10, and concludes with the U.S. National Solo Finals in Wesley Chapel, Florida, September 12-15. There were 24 solo dance competitions.
The International Skating Union recently announced the 2024/2025 international solo dance competition schedule:
October 2-4, 2024 (Blackburn Cup, UK),
March 7-9, 2025 (American Solo Dance International, Atlanta, Georgia, USA)
April 12-13, 2025 (Helsinki International Ice Dance Solo Competition, Helsinki, Finland)
Reflection
After the solo group session, IDC spoke with Director Naomi Lang about the accomplishments of the first four days of the program and the skaters’ reactions.
“It was an awesome three days! Having skaters of all levels, getting to know what everyone thinks about speed, power and turning ability, and seeing Lucas show these things to dancers rather than just telling them what they should do What, this is a great opportunity for us. Most coaches can’t go out and say, “Do this level 4 spin” and show it to the dancers.
“I think they all have a lot of respect for him. They watch him compete. We’ve been following his skating career since he won the national championship two years ago. We like him a lot because he’s so competitive every time he competes. Personable, approachable and friendly to all my skaters, that’s pretty much why he’s here because he’s so approachable, friendly and wants everyone to have a great time skating.
Two skaters who participated in both groups shared their thoughts after their solo dance lessons.
Catherine: A lot of what he does in solo lessons is also strength, which can help with synchronization and We still need to work on the edges. Dance and synchronization often go hand in hand, so whatever dance he teaches can also help with synchronization and vice versa.
Abby P: I think these exercises are really helpful in getting into our strengths. I feel like we covered a lot of different things that we can continue to practice in the future. These lessons are a great tool to help us improve our skating. I found it very helpful that he was able to run through the drills from start to finish so that we could really see what we needed to aim for when we were doing the edges that really needed emphasis.
Lucas Appel, international player
Appel competes on the solo dance circuit from March to September, so he starts practicing his moves at 5:30 every morning. Several skaters who were training on the ice in the early hours of the morning were caught off guard by his rapid movement on the ice.
Solo dance will officially become an international event in December 2023. Won first place again in the first U.S. Washington Picken International Competition in Reston, Virginia.
Conclusion
Lucas Appel: Soloing was the reason I got into ice dancing. It’s not that I wouldn’t put together another team – the right people, the right environment, I would obviously consider putting together a team. However, if I were still with my partner, I don’t think I would have the same opportunities as I did with Solo.
I believe that things happen for a reason, so I am extremely grateful that I was able to continue pursuing solo dance during the season after breaking up with my partner. I really pushed myself back on the track and went on to win senior nationals and now get the chance to compete internationally.
I couldn’t be happier with how everything went – just like Naomi and her team made me do.
