Some Thoughts on the Loop Jump (Frank Carroll)

Olympic coach Frank Carroll shares some thoughts and ideas about the loop jump. The loop is a challenging jump since it requires creating rotational energy from a strong back outside edge. Additionally, jumping off one leg with almost no assistance from the other leg makes it difficult to get height. Thus skaters often make errors with the arms and free leg to try to create more rotation or lift in ways that actually make the jump harder.

Frank focuses first on the arms and notes the arms should not swing out to the free side. He says, “Cardinal sin number one is crossing the long axis of your body with your arms.” Next he focuses on the leg and feet. He notes that a loop should not open the hips, forcing the skating to “catch up” in the air to get a proper air position. Also, as Frank teaches it the free foot does not have a lot of upward movement at take-off. He also talks about edge pressure which he discusses as “engaging the ball of the foot.” He also talks about the quick “snap” of bringing the arms and feet in together for the triple.