World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh briefly discusses the concept of popping jumps and how he prefers to interact with his skaters to create positive changes. He begins, “I talk about something I never like talking about… popping jumps. I… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau explains and demonstrates how to learn to hydroplane. Sometimes a hydroplane is referred to as a hydroblade, and this skill is a “fun show trick” that isn’t particularly difficult but requires practice. Kate begins by explaining how… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger works with a skater who is struggling with achieving the correct edge on a double and triple flip jump take-off. The primary solutions that Audrey is using here include a back inside edge skid… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues her presentation on opposite direction spins. In Part 1 she explained the concept of spin gateways in IJS and worked with the class on basic spinning technique, and in Part 2 she taught an exercise… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte continues an off-ice jump class for skaters at a seminar. In Part 1 Chris taught some basic walking and skipping drills which served both as a warm-up and as an introduction to… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek begins a series of videos discussing some of the drills and exercises he uses when developing a double or triple axel. There are a ton of insights about the axel (and double and triple)… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen discusses cheated jump landings, including causes and solutions as well as thoughts about the “benefits” of initially learning jumps with cheated landings. He begins with the attention grabbing statement, “Special news flash! Cheating… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues a series of videos covering new insights and exercises for the lutz jump. In Part 1, Nick shared the Pigeon Toe Walk exercise to maintain the body in the correct position to… Continue reading
In this short video, figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch begins a spin lesson with an advanced skater. All of the spins in this video are relatively basic spins which this skater has already mastered so we don’t get too… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh shares thoughts and exercises about the loop jump. He begins by discussing jump landings in general, showing an exercise at the wall that simulates air position and checking the rotation at landing. He begins… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau continues her presentation on the Euler or “half loop.” In Part 1 she introduced the topic and offered a number of exercises she uses to teach the skill. She begins Part 2 by emphasizing the need to… Continue reading
In this fascinating video from a few years ago we get some insights into how an elite skater trains. World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger leads an off-ice seminar class, but this video is mostly Olympian and World Competitor Danny… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues her presentation on opposite direction spins. In Part 1 she explained the concept of spin gateways in IJS and worked with the class on basic spinning technique. In this video, Kim teaches an exercise that… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby discusses the position and movement of the head in jumps and jump development. Robert says, “Everyone has come to the conclusion that keeping your head straight (on take-offs) is a good thing, and something… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte continues an off-ice jump class for skaters at a seminar. In Part 1 Chris taught some basic walking and skipping drills which served both as a warm-up and as an introduction to… Continue reading
Trevor Laak analyzes a double lutz, discussing details related to jump timing and rhythm, the active take-off edge, toe pick placement, arm and shoulder timing, and more. The repeating power pull entrance for the lutz can be very helpful for… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen continues a multi-part series on the axel, with an emphasis on the importance of edge pressure and how to generate it. In Part 1 he discussed the take-off and the need for edge… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues a series of videos covering new insights and exercises for the lutz jump. In Part 1, Nick shared the Pigeon Toe Walk exercise to maintain the body in the correct position to… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek shares thoughts on the most fundamental or foundational jump in skating, the double loop. Tom begins by by saying, “It is an important jump, number one to learn properly, and number two to learn… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a lesson with a skater, focusing on the camel sit position change. Prior to this, Charyl worked on this skater’s camel spin and sit spin independently. On the first attempt for the camel… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh talks about a variety of concepts that combine to create great skating (and coaching). He begins by saying, “The foundation of skating period is how well can you skate – edge quality, the power,… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau begins a presentation on the Euler. Historically, the Euler has been called a “half loop” in the USA and elsewhere, but with it’s renewed significance as a result of it’s value in jump combinations in competitive IJS… Continue reading
In this very short video, World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger covers a few different off-ice exercise options. Many skaters jump rope as a way to warm up the body for skating, but they rarely focus on anything specific or… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan teaches a class opposite direction spins. She begins by explaining the new concept of spin gateways in IJS and notes that opposite direction is a gateway. [Editor’s note: We do not in general have videos detailing… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby continues his presentation (see Part 1 here and Part 2 here) on the toe loop as a second jump (toe loop in combination). He begins here by explaining that even if the first jump… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte continues an off-ice jump class for skaters at a seminar. In Part 1 Chris taught some basic walking and skipping drills which served both as a warm-up and as an introduction to… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen continues a series of videos covering a lesson for an adult skater who is working on her USFS Senior Free Skating test. In the first part of this lesson, the focus was on the double… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna begins a series of videos covering new insights and exercises for the lutz jump. He begins by acknowledging the added importance today of having the correct take-off edge on lutz in IJS competitions,… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek discusses the important of head anchoring on jumps, as well as a great way to describe it to skaters. He begins by saying, “If your head is not anchored over your jumping side it’s… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen continues a multi-part series on the axel, with an emphasis on the importance of edge pressure and how to generate it. In Part 1 he discussed the take-off and the need for edge… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby continues his presentation (see Part 1 here) on the toe loop as a second jump (toe loop in combination), both with clarifications on ideas in the previous video as well as helpful information for… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch gives a basic camel spin lesson. The skater already has some experience with the camel spin, and the issues covered are very common for skaters trying to master this foundational spin. This skater drags… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen explains the results and benefits of the off-ice harness work in the previous video, Part 1. Because Sheila took ‘before and after’ measurements on a balance mat, she is able to show empirically how… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau continues her presentation and demonstration of how to perform and teach an A-frame or upright forward spin (see Part 1 here). She begins this video by explaining that the A-frame spin “feels very different than the three… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh continues his discussion from the previous video covering insights of the seatbelt air position. He begins this video by analyzing a video of the take-off movements of a double axel of one of his… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan teaches the flying reverse sit spin to a class of advanced skaters. She begins by having the skaters perform the basic movements at the wall. These movements start with a jump and a straight kick through… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger shares an inspirational behind-the-scenes story from the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano. Audrey’s skater Michael Weiss was injured prior to the Games, and the combination of the long flight from the USA to… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte continues an off-ice jump class for skaters at a seminar. In Part 1 Chris taught some basic walking and skipping drills which served both as a warm-up and as an introduction to… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen continues a series of videos covering a lesson for an adult skater who is working on her USFS Senior Free Skating test. In the first part of this lesson, the focus was on the double… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek shares an exercise he uses for developing the necessary tightness in the feet on double loop, triple loop, and even quad loop. Tom calls this exercise “cha cha cha” as this is a memorable… Continue reading
In this video, International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues giving a lesson on double toe loop where the skater has a mental block in terms of crossing the feet in the air. In the first part of this… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen works with a skater using an off-ice stationary harness and an electric spinner. Prior to the harness lesson, Sheila takes baseline balance mat measurements in order to compare balance after the harness session. She… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch works through some basic spins with a skater. After the first forward upright spin Charyl tells the skater, “You’re sticking your booty out just a little bit.” This is a fairly common error, where… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen continues a multi-part series on the axel, with an emphasis on the importance of edge pressure and how to generate it. In Part 1 he discussed the take-off and the need for edge… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau explains how she teaches the A-frame or upright forward spin. She begins by noting that she uses a wide variety of entrances, and the primary goal is to choose an entrance where the skater will hold the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger supervises a class of advanced skaters who are running through a number of off-ice warm-up exercises. The class is student-led with one of the skaters in the class are sharing the exercises she uses… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues working with an advanced class of skaters on the death drop. In Part 1 Kim taught the class a basic exercise at the wall to learn the necessary movements, as well as an illusion exercise… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh shares insights and benefits of using the “seatbelt” air position for jumping. He begins with a short discussion of philosophy on continuing education, with passion, details, finesse, and purpose. As an introduction to air… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby teaches toe loop as a second jump (toe loop in combination). He begins by drawing a circle on the ice near the boards, and then dividing the circle into thirds. One radial line points… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte continues an off-ice jump class for skaters at a seminar. In Part 1 Chris taught some basic walking and skipping drills which served both as a warm-up and as an introduction to… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen continues a series of videos covering a lesson for an adult skater who is working on her USFS Senior Free Skating test. In the first part of this lesson, the focus was on the double… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna gives a lesson on double toe loop. He begins by asking for a double toe, but the skater never crosses the feet and lands the jump on two feet facing forward. Nick is… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek continues his explanation of the “barrier step up exercise.” In Part 1 Tom taught the first phase of the exercise, and in this video he teaches the second phase which he calls the “merry-go-round.”… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen teaches a class of beginner skaters to improve their jump landings. She begins by describing the arm positions, with the axis side arm pointing into the circle and the non-axis side arm pointing outside… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte teaches and off-ice jump class for skaters at a seminar. He begins with a series of moving exercises to warm up the skaters, and this process also allows him to see their natural… Continue reading
In this very short video, figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch has a very young male skater demonstrate some spins for the camera. This video is valuable from a coaching perspective, as Charyl shows an honesty that many coaches shy… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau continues her discussion and demonstration of the technique and unwritten rules of performing a cursy or bow at the end of a skating performance. In Part 1 Kate discussed the basic differences for high and low level… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen continues a multi-part series on the axel, with an emphasis on the importance of edge pressure and how to generate it. In Part 1 he discussed the take-off and the need for edge… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues her axel lesson with a young male skater. In Part 1 of the lesson, the focus was on the take-off itself and the quickness needed to transfer the weight in the air. In… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau begins a short series on the technique and unwritten rules of performing a cursy or bow at the end of a skating performance. A curtsy or bow at the end of a performance is a gesture of… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan teaches an advanced class of skaters her approach to the death drop. Even though this a class of advanced skaters, Kim teaches the skill “from the beginning,” initially focusing on fundamentals and exercises. She explains… Continue reading
Coach and former French competitive skater Vincent Restencourt continues a small “group” lesson for two male skaters who are both working on triple axel (see earlier part of lesson here). One of the skaters essentially pops every attempt in this… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen continues a series of videos covering a lesson for an adult skater who is working on her USFS Senior Free Skating test. In the first part of this lesson, the focus was on the double… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna gives a lesson on triple salchow. He begins with single salchow, single loop, single toe loop in combo, and then a double salchow, single loop, single toe in combo. After that Nick asks… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen teaches a class of beginner skaters to improve their upright backspins. This video is part 2 of a Champion Cords class Sheila gave at a seminar, but the focus here is strictly the backspin… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek teaches what he calls the “barrier step up exercise” which is important for learning proper jump air position and landing movements. This kind of exercise is important because it helps skaters learn these positions… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte continues a presentation on the fundamentals of good jumping and good jump technique. In Part 1 he discussed the idea of less complicated movements and he introduced the “sideways moment” concept. In this… Continue reading
In this very short video, figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a lesson with tips on the bullet sit spin (also called cannonball or Fratianne) and overhead arms in upright spins. (See Part 1 of this lesson here.) To… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen begins a multi-part series on the axel, with an emphasis on the importance of edge pressure and how to generate it. He begins by comparing the axel take-off to jumping on a trampoline,… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger is giving a young male skater a lesson on single axel. This skater’s axel is not yet fully rotated, and Audrey shares helpful drills for this stage of development. After watching an axel attempt,… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues her seminar class on flying camels (see Part 1 here and see Part 2 here). In this video, Kim troubleshoots some specific issues and offers some very helpful tips. After watching some attempts, Kim focuses… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte begins a presentation on the fundamentals of good jumping and good jump technique. He starts by explaining what he will focus on, which is the part of the 5 primary backward jumps (toe… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau continues her lesson on spirals (see tips on basic spirals in Part 1 and Part 2). She begins this video by offering insights about a Biellmann spiral. For this spiral Kate recommends pulling up strongly with the… Continue reading
Coach and former French competitive skater Vincent Restencourt gives a small “group” lesson to two male skaters who are both working on triple axel. In some parts of the world, this kind of group lesson is very common, while in… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen begins a series of videos covering a lesson for an adult skater who is working on her USFS Senior Free Skating test. The focus in this video is on the double salchow-Euler-double salchow combination jump.… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and inventor Sheila Thelen teaches a class of beginner skaters to use her Champion Cords. She begins by explaining and demonstrating how to attach a cord to a skate and then how to hold the cord… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues working with a class of beginner skaters on the lutz jump. In the first part of this class, Nick focused on helping the skaters understand and see what a proper lutz is.… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch gives a lesson on forward and backward upright spins. On the forward upright scratch spin, this skater has unusual arm positions and movement so Charyl makes her aware of it. Some skaters use their… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen discusses the potential edge change issue with the flip jump, and how to fix it. Historically, edge change has been more concerning with the lutz jump (and it continues to be), but as… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek explains what he means by the terms “first up,” “second up,” and “third up” as these terms continue to be used more and more commonly among coaches and skaters. Tom says, “When I’m coaching… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues her seminar class on flying camels (see Part 1 here). She continues with the walk-through at the wall that she introduced briefly in Part 1. This is one of the best ways to learn to… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger works with skater Ryan Dunk on his triple lutz combination jump at a seminar a number of years ago. (See the previous part of this lesson on triple axel here.) The initial comments in… Continue reading
Coach and former French competitive skater Vincent Restencourt gives a quad toe loop lesson to International skater Jordan Moeller (2nd place, 2017 Challenge Cup) a number of years ago. At the time this video was taken, Jordan had not yet… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau continues her lesson on basic spirals (see Part 1 here). The focus of this part of the lesson is on the pattern of the Consecutive Outside and Inside Spirals on the Preliminary USFS Moves in the Field… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen continues a short series of videos where she shares ideas for a well-balanced warm-up intended to be skated to begin the first on-ice session of the day. See Part 1 here. See Part 2 here.… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna is working with a class of beginner skaters on the lutz jump. The focus of this video is making sure the class understands what a proper lutz is and how to see it.… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and inventor Sheila Thelen discusses ongoing research regarding the body’s vestibular system, and how figure skating training methods offer benefits not only to figure skaters but others as well. In Part 1, she discussed such benefits… Continue reading
Coach and choreographer Rohene Ward (with insights from coach Kori Ade) gives an advanced skater a spin lesson, focusing on the spins in the skater’s program. Rohene makes some comments during the spins, and there are technical details to be… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek discusses the importance of a “big muscle backspin” as a tool for improving jump air position. This is essentially a regular backspin with details that make it more valuable as a jump training tool.… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte continues his lesson with a skater who wants to learn a triple toe loop. In Part 1 Chris analyzed the double and decided to work on improving the double rather than trying triples.… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues her lesson working with a skater on a relatively new camel spin. See the initial part of this camel spin lesson here. In this video, the initial focus is on the camel catch… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen compares split lutz and h-position lutz take-offs and offers opinions on which to teach. This is a continuation of his presentations on beginning lutz, 3 helpful lutz drills, different lutz entrances and reach… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger works with skater Ryan Dunk on his triple axel at a seminar a number of years ago. After a warm-up single axel, Audrey reminds Ryan to include the “quick” acceleration to finish the take-off… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan teaches flying camel spin in a class at a seminar. She begins by explaining that a skater really needs to have a good camel spin and a good back camel spin before they’ll create a good… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau works with a skater on basic spirals. This lesson is in the context of the Pre-Preliminary and Preliminary USFS Moves in the Field tests, although the tips for control and presentation apply to all spirals. For the… Continue reading
Coach and former French competitive skater Vincent Restencourt gives a quad salchow lesson to 2015 US National Champion Jason Brown. (The previous part of this lesson focused on the quad toe here.) It is uncommon for skaters and coaches at… Continue reading
World and Olympic ice dance medalist Madison Hubbell continues her lesson on basic skating skills and patterns for the USFS Preliminary Moves in the Field tests. (See the previous video here.) In this video, the focus is on alternating forward… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen offers insights and drills for improving double loop in combination. She begins by having the students do single loop double loop combinations, which is one of the most common ways of training a double loop… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna teaches a double/triple lutz class to advanced skaters at a seminar. Rather than starting immediately with the lutz, Nick begins by discussing the edge for the flip jump. For those struggling with the… Continue reading