Coaching Suggestion:
Do an off ice IJS theory class and talk through different scenarios that occur in competition with your athletes as a group. Using this format can help save valuable on ice training time but also makes the understanding of the information more tangible because when skaters can discuss the scenarios in group settings they better understand what to do if something like this happens to them in practice or competition (Goleman).
Nowadays with videos of elite level skaters available on YouTube, you can actually show a specific video performance to the group before you initiate the discussion of what the skater should have done. Not only does this help them learn but they also appreciate the fact that if the best skaters in the world can make mistakes so can they. This minimizes feelings of having to be perfect which will help the skater perform the program as planned (Silby).
As the skaters rise in the ranks from the Novice through Senior levels they become hyper aware of exact point values and specific point consequences because they have competed in the IJS system for several years and have learned through experience what can happen in various competition scenarios. In certain perfectionistic personality types this awareness can be a mental distraction during training and competition if the skater makes a mistake and then begins to panic about missing valuable points while they are performing their program (Davis).