National level coach Jackie Brenner shares thoughts, insights, and observations about basic spins. She begins by explaining that she has her skaters do a set of basic spins every day as part of their warm up, and these include scratch back scratch, sit change sit, camel change camel, a flying camel, and a layback. She then discusses the 3 aspects of every spin: centering, position, and speed.
After the skater demonstrates a scratch back scratch, Jackie asks for a sit change and sit and reminds us the initial goal is to get the thigh of the spinning leg level or parallel to the ice so that the spin counts as a sit spin. For this combo, Jackie wants 10 rotations in the front sit and 10 rotations in the back sit. On the sit spins, Jackie wants this skater to grab the hands to provide a stronger point of contact to generate downward pressure. Jackie also explains that spin exits are a great opportunity to practice the final jump landing position, and she recommends having the free side slightly forward so the free arm is slightly forward, the axis arm is pointed directly into the circle and the head is turned slightly to the axis side (arms “at 10:15 with head 5 seconds past the hour” for a CCW spinner/jumper).
Next Jackie talks about camel change camel. She immediately cautions against being too fast to pull the non-axis arm back on the spin entry prior to the hook (deep edge at end of entry and three turn). She says, “Let your hips ride the edge. Edge creates rotation.” She also encourages coaches to have skaters do a camel back camel every day to maintain the skill once mastered. Regarding arm position Jackie says, “Different schools of thought – some coaches lead in with the skating side in front, some do the free side. It’s a matter of preference. I like the skating side to be in front just because I think it’s more aesthetically pleasing.” She notes that when done well, skaters should be able to get just as much rotational energy from the edge regardless of which arm is in front on the entry.
For the camel position itself, Jackie is looking for an arched back and high free leg position (“banana on a stick”) with the free leg straight and the toe turned out fully. She continues, “I like my hands to be in line with my ears” for the basic position, meaning the arms remain well forward rather than being pulled back close to the body in the basic spinning position. As she explains, this arm position allows for a balanced position where the hips are pressed back slightly and the skating foot is pressed forward slightly. She warns against skaters getting dependent on having the arms back close to the body as it can affect the entry, and it limits the success of a change edge camel and other camel variations. This skater’s free toe is pointed down a bit in the back camel and Jackie explains why it isn’t aesthetically pleasing (the back of the knee “breaks the line”). She recommends having “tension from the hip all the way through the toe and elongating the spine” to help open the hip properly.
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