Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a spin lesson (see Part 1 here and Part 2 here) with emphasis on an upright attitude position as well as the hair cutter position. In the previous parts of the lesson, this… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger teaches a seminar class on toe loops. She begins class by asking the skaters if they worked on something they should have and if they did something better than before. These concepts are part… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau continues a lesson for a skater working on her US Figure Skating Novice Moves in the Field test. The skater already knows the patterns, so this is an opportunity for Kate to help the skater improve them… Continue reading
Skating skills and moves in the field specialist Karen Olson shares insights to improve the two Power Double Three Turns to Double Rocker patterns on the USFS Senior Moves Test. The ideas presented apply to both patterns. Karen begins by… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Denise Myers begins a multi-part series sharing a variety of exercises and drills intended to improve overall skating skills. These exercises would be excellent as part of an on-ice warm-up or at the end of a… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna gives a lesson to a skater who is starting to work on double axel. In the first part of this lesson, Nick is focused on determining the readiness for this skater to try… Continue reading
Coach and choreographer Rohene Ward leads a warm-up edge class for advanced skaters. The class is warming up with very slow music using 3/4 timing. The exercises are meant to warm up the skaters’ bodies and provide an opportunity to… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh continues a “double axel” class for more advanced skaters who are consistently landing single axels and most if not all of the other double jumps. In the Part 1 Michelle taught take-off details, proper… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte continues his description of the physical processes of jumping, especially for toe jumps (although the concepts also apply to edge jumps). In the previous videos, Chris discussed the theory of how skaters create lift and how… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen offers insights and drills for combination jumps. He begins with a discussion of toe loop combinations and the all-important “reset” between the first jump and the toe loop. Jeremy defines the reset as… Continue reading
Choreographer Garrett Kling continues the off-ice choreography class for an on-ice group performance to skaters at a camp. He begins this video where Part 1 left off, adding new movements and steps. Skaters often struggle with steps and footwork while… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a spin lesson (see Part 1 here) with emphasis on a sit back position or mushroom and the basic camel spin. In the previous part of the lesson, this skater worked on the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a group lesson to 3 skaters at a camp. Audrey has the skaters do 2 classic jump drills. The first drill is an axel drill and starts with the skater in a forward… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau gives a lesson to a skater working on her US Figure Skating Novice Moves in the Field test. The skater already knows the patterns, so this is an opportunity for Kate to help the skater improve them… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen discusses the lutz entry and offers some alternatives to the classic “lutz corner” entry. The old-school “lutz corner” entry remains popular but causes massive problems with session flow, safety, and even proper lutz execution.… Continue reading
In this video, Karen Olson discusses the importance of the entire kinetic chain of joint and muscle usage for powerful jumping. As she notes, it is common, especially for lower level skaters, to struggle with properly engaging the glutes and… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna offers a number of helpful jumping insights based on the concepts associated with throwing a frisbee. As he notes, many skaters benefit from seeing and using physical objects for understanding important ideas. Nick… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh begins a “double axel” class for more advanced skaters who are consistently landing axels and most if not all of the other double jumps. She starts by asking for super fast backspins as a… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte continues his description of the physical processes of jumping, especially for toe jumps (although the concepts also apply to edge jumps). In the previous videos, Chris discussed the theory of how skaters create lift and how… Continue reading
Choreographer Garrett Kling teaches choreography for an on-ice group performance to a class of skaters at a camp. He begins by telling the class about the music choice, including some deeper meaning. Next he explains that he will teach the… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen discusses the double axel, including common errors and drills for creating a proper take-off. The first mistake he mentions is “going out too much” or extending the arms and free leg (and sometimes… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch gives a spin lesson, focusing on upright scratch spin and sit spin. For very calm and gentle skaters, coaches often struggle to get strong pushes and aggressive edges. The primary solution is to keep… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger is working with a young skater who is struggling with properly moving the non-picking foot through the take-off of the double toe loop. This problem is often referred to as a “toe axel” as… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau explains and demonstrates the process she uses for creating original edge classes and step sequences. The process begins with finding out which turns and elements her skaters can do, and trying to include at least one of… Continue reading
Moves in the field expert Karen Olson discusses and demonstrates key issues for the Waltz Eight pattern of the US Figure Skating Pre-Preliminary Moves in the Field test. For simplicity and as a way to set reasonable circle sizes for… Continue reading
In this short video, figure skating specialist coach and Champion Cords inventor Sheila Thelen explains and demonstrates how to use the cords to improve forward and backward crossovers. Young skaters in particular struggle with shoulder turn as well as arm… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna shares his updated process for developing the lutz jump. Nick briefly references his earlier iCoachSkating lutz videos which can be seen here: Introduction and Basics, Correcting the Edge, and Setups. These videos focus… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh finishes with her seminar beginner axel class (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). In this video, Michelle gives the class a “test” which is a summary of the important concepts discussed throughout… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte continues his description of the physical processes of jumping, especially for toe jumps (although the concepts also apply to edge jumps). In the previous video, Chris discussed the theory of how skaters create lift. In this… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan teaches a sit spin class at a seminar. The skaters in the class can all do a sit spin, but many need help getting the position lower so it’s a “real” sit spin. After watching the… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch works with a skater who has learned the basics of a sit spin and a camel spin but is working on improving them. (The previous part of this lesson focused on the backspin.)… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen discusses the lutz jump, and how to get a consistent outside edge take-off. He begins by acknowledging that it “really depends on the skater.” But then Jeremy notes that most of the top… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a single axel lesson to a skater at a camp. This skater can already do an axel, so the focus is on making the jump bigger. Unfortunately, after making the jump bigger, the… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau teaches an exercise that simulates the situation where a skater lands a jump or finishes a spin and then needs to gain speed quickly and control that speed with another element or skill. To start… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and Champion Cords inventor Sheila Thelen explains and demonstrates how to use the cords to improve arm awareness, resulting in better lines and overall upper body carriage. She begins by showing how to create a second… Continue reading
Fred Bartick, a Minnesota-based (Bloomington, MN) skate technician with over 35 years of experience, continues his discussion of boots and blades with more details about sharpening. (See Part 1 of the series here.) The focus in this video is the… Continue reading
Coach Karen Olson continues a series of videos talking about how to approach IJS footwork sequences (choreographed sequences or step sequences) in order to prepare skaters for higher levels and to maximize points in competition. See Part 1 here and… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna shares an edge drill intended to help skaters feel how to properly use their feet and ankles, as well as their legs and hips when creating edges. Historically, edges have typically been taught as sideways leans… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh continues with her seminar axel class (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). In this video, Michelle again returns to her “one focus” concept for practicing with one primary focus. The idea is to prevent… Continue reading
In this important video, International coach Chris Conte describes the physical process of jumping, especially for toe jumps (although the concepts also apply to edge jumps). Chris uses imagery of a car hitting a speed bump as a way to… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan works with a skater to improve a camel spin. (Previous parts of this lesson focused on the sit spin, Part 1 and Part 2.) This skater, who can rotate the camel a few revolutions and has… Continue reading
International coach Page Lipe explains how she handles the critical waiting time between a competition warm-up and competition skate. This wait time can be significant, especially for IJS events and high level events with longer performance times. Page takes a… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch works with a skater who has learned the basics of a backspin but is focusing on improving it. The errors seen at this level are nearly universal, with common struggles being rocking on the… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen addresses shoulder turn on jump take-offs. First, he notes that for all jumps the shoulders are checked and twisted to the axis side on the setup. This jump preparation helps control rotation and… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger teaches a class on double loop combination jumps at a seminar. The purpose of the class is to develop jump combinations with the single, double, or triple loop as the second or third jump… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau teaches a crossover exercise that is performed on a single circle. It is a sequence consisting of 3 forward crossovers followed by an inside mohawk with an overhead arm extension and then 3 backward crossovers… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and Champion Cords inventor Sheila Thelen explains and demonstrates how to use the cords to create improved landing positions. By connecting the cord to same-side hand and foot, a nice stretch can be created on landings… Continue reading
Coach Karen Olson continues a series of videos talking about how to approach IJS footwork sequences (choreographed sequences or step sequences) in order to prepare skaters for higher levels and to maximize points in competition. See Part 1 here. NOTE:… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna shares a fun and effective exercise to help skaters learn to jump higher and farther. Initially used primarily with waltz jump, this exercise is also good for salchow (and even axel). First Nick draws the take-off… Continue reading
In this very short video, World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh begins an axel class with skaters who are either landing the jump or are very close. The main point of this video is the free leg kick through position.… Continue reading
In a class setting at a seminar, International coach Chris Conte offers helpful insights about the flip jump. He begins by addressing the position after the 3-turn or mohawk and just before the reach and pick. Chris wants the “toe… Continue reading
As in the previous part of this lesson, spin specialist Kim Ryan works with a skater to improve a basic sit spin. In the previous part, the focus was on getting the balance and tension correct to get all the… Continue reading
International coach Page Lipe shares important insights about the critical training time in the days and possibly weeks leading up to an important competition. Like most elite coaches, Page wants her skaters prepared for competition well in advance. But as… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch gives a spin lesson, covering one sit forward variation she calls the bullet and one sit back variation she calls the mushroom. This video is the final part of this lesson, and the previous… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger teaches a class on double toe loop combination jumps at a seminar. The purpose of the class is to develop jump combinations with the single, double, or triple toe loop as the second or… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau teaches a crossover exercise she calls “The Snowman” where skaters perform crossovers in 3 large circles down the ice. The skaters go around the circle one and half times each for the base and body… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen discusses the flip jump. As Jeremy notes, entry edge issues are more common with the lutz jump, but many skaters struggle with performing a flip jump off of a clear inside edge. Unfortunately,… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and Champion Cords inventor Sheila Thelen demonstrates the benefits and uses of Champion Cords for 4 different camel spins: the regular forward camel, the back camel, the flying camel, and an inside camel. The Champion Cord… Continue reading
Coach Karen Olson begins a series of videos talking about how to approach IJS footwork sequences (choreographed sequences or step sequences) in order to prepare skaters for higher levels and to maximize points in competition. NOTE: The rules of the… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna shares insights about the air position used in jumps by elite skaters. As a critical observer of everything in skating, Nick has found that jumping air position of the upper body has just two critical parts.… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh continues her seminar class for skaters just learning the axel. In Part 1, she introduced the jump with an emphasis on head anchoring and proper take-off mechanics with flow. In this video, Michelle explains… Continue reading
In this short video, International coach Chris Conte quizzes a class of skaters on jump names. All of the skaters in this class can do all of the jumps discussed, but notice how challenging it is for the skaters to… Continue reading
In this lesson, spin specialist Kim Ryan works with a lower level skater who is struggling to get down all the way on a sit spin. This is a very common problem at this level, and Kim addresses it first… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch gives a spin lesson, covering a combination spin and the pancake. The combo spin is a camel sit change sit, and the focus is on improving the sit and back sit positions. For sit… Continue reading
International coach Page Lipe shares an effective way to use small amounts of money to help motivate skaters. In this example, Page lays out quarters for each element in a program and may use small bills (such as $1 or… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues her series discussing motivational games for skaters. The process of learning new skating skills can be brutally slow. The grind of training can take a toll, especially on skaters who are “results-oriented” rather… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau offers insights and exercises for forward crossover development. She starts with how she teaches beginners. The classic “step over” non-gliding sideways walk is very helpful for beginner skaters to learn balance and the basic… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen discusses the loop jump. Jeremy cautions against “setting up too straight” where the upper body is very upright on the loop jump setup. Instead, the body should be leaning forward over the axis/skating… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen discusses the process of learning a cantilever. The cantilever is a well-known balance skill made famous by Mr. Frick (Werner Groebli) in the old days of Ice Follies, as Sheila notes. The cantilever has… Continue reading
Coach Karen Olson gives a double toe loop lesson to a skater, with the emphasis on developing good combination jumps. In Part 1, Karen shared two valuable toe loop exercises, and in Part 2 she offered additional insights and exercises.… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna discusses and demonstrates proper skating alignment, including a way for coaches and skaters to test for it. Historically, proper alignment was taught in detail on test figures or school figures, meaning that each new generation of… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau demonstrates a fun and challenging exercise for improving strength and balance. The exercise consists of a continuous glide with a spiral, a shoot the duck, and an upright victory position (y-spin). Kate says, “This is… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh teaches a seminar class for skaters just learning the axel. She begins the class by focusing on head positioning and anchoring. Many skaters really struggle with turning the head strongly in the direction of… Continue reading
In a class setting, International coach Chris Conte offers insights about common flip jump errors and how to fix them. He begins by demonstrating a single flip with a massive head turn problem. This is often caused by skaters attempting… Continue reading
In this lesson, spin specialist Kim Ryan works with a flexible and talented skater on an advanced upright layback type spin combination. The skater is starting this spin combo with a side layback, but Kim notes that it is still… Continue reading
In this short video, figure skating coach and strength and conditioning expert Kristina Anderson discusses important considerations coaches and trainers need to keep in mind when laying out a specific athlete’s off-ice and on-ice training regimen. Ultimately, training should attempt… Continue reading
International coach Page Lipe explains how to write out an LRP Chart on the ice and use it for more focused program practice and tracking. LRP stands for Landed, Rotated, or Popped and this is a concept often discussed by… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch gives a skater a lesson on the layback spin. Charyl shares a lot of information in this video, and coaches can see how she explains it to a skater and what exercises she uses… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues her series discussing motivational games for skaters. The process of learning new skating skills can be brutally slow. The grind of training can take a toll, especially on skaters who are “results-oriented” rather… Continue reading
Coach Karen Olson gives a double toe loop lesson to a skater, with the emphasis on developing good combination jumps. In Part 1, Karen shared two valuable toe loop exercises. In this video, Karen offers additional insights and exercises. A… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen shares helpful tips for learning and teaching I-spins. Sheila notes that skaters need a very strong upright backspin before working on I-spins. Next she discusses the preferred foot grab, which automatically creates the desired… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau demonstrates a series of on-ice flexibility exercises. These are all front catch foot positions with different hand grabs. These have obvious application to the I-spin (also called the needle) but also enhance overall flexibility for… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna continues his presentation on his “grapevine” exercise. In the first video he demonstrated how to perform the grapevine and how to teach it in sections. In this video, he explains how to create useful variations by… Continue reading
In this short video, International coach Chris Conte has a class do a simple but effective on-ice jump warm up. Most coaches call these swizzle jumps and they consist of a backward basic swizzle preparation followed by a press up… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh talks about head control on jump take-offs. As she notes, it seems that head anchoring is ideal, where the head remains fixed with respect to the rink and the whole body turns under it… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan teaches sit spins in a class setting at a recent seminar. Kim begins by explaining the value of spinning in terms of points in competition programs. Not surprisingly for a spin coach, Kim would… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen shares many insights and teaching tips for the toe loop jump. He begins by acknowledging that the toe loop is one of the hardest jumps to teach properly today, as there are wide… Continue reading
Figure skating coach and certified strength and conditioning expert Kristina Anderson demonstrates 3 important exercises for strengthening the hips and glutes. The first exercise focuses on hip strength and stability, and starts in a sitting position with one leg forward… Continue reading
International figure skating coach Page Lipe talks about using inexpensive video tools for motivating skaters. Page uses video for “breaking skills down so that skaters can have little successes and little goals.” She continues, “If you don’t have some sort… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch shares some helpful tips for skaters working on sit-change sit combo spins. She begins by focusing on free leg positions and movement of the arms during the entry to maximize rotational energy for the initial… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger begins a series discussing motivational games for skaters. Audrey acknowledges that progress when learning new skating skills can be brutally slow. The grind of training can take a toll, especially on skaters who are… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau finishes a multi-part series where she shows a complete 20 minute warm-up edge class. Kate has her skaters start slow and then she picks up the pace, both with the skating and the music for… Continue reading
Coach Karen Olson gives a double toe loop lesson to a skater, with the emphasis on developing good combination jumps. In the first part of this lesson, Karen shares two valuable toe loop exercises. The first exercise is similar to… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen shares her insights on how to teach and master the hydroblade. Hydroblading is a relatively easy move for advanced skaters, and even skaters at relatively low levels with good edge and body control can… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna shares a skating drill he calls “The Grapevine.” The exercise gets it’s name from the off-ice grapevine agility exercise, which includes twisting and alternating foot positions. Nick explains that this is a fun exercise that all… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte continues his lesson on lutz technique and lutz development drills. In Part 1, he discussed details of the picking and foot timing and shared a useful exercise at the wall to teach the outside edge (“game… Continue reading
International figure skating coach Page Lipe offers some insights about when a skater is ready to begin working on the axel jump. As a minimum, Page recommends having a strong loop jump and ideally, a backspin or at least the… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan teaches a fun exercise that is helpful during the development of spinning fundamentals. The goal is to center a basic upright spin, then move the arms up and down such that both arms make… Continue reading
Figure skating jump specialist Nick Perna compares 2 common but very different types of take-offs we see for the salchow jump. In the video he is comparing a triple salchow by Olympic Champion Yuna Kim and one by US Ladies… Continue reading