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 skater immediately begins over-rotating the jump and struggles with landings. This video provides a roadmap for addressing this process for any skater.
To help this skater jump higher, Audrey uses a simple two-foot standstill jump. She has the skater stand in front of the plexi-glass and Audrey holds her hand above the skater’s head. The skater then jumps to hit her hand. Notice the focus on neutral hips and a flat back (avoid anterior pelvic tilt and back arching) for powerful jumping, as well as the proper use of the arms.
To address the over-rotation and landing issues caused by the additional jump height, Audrey focuses on the landing mechanics. She wants the skater to initially land with the feet crossed but open (sometimes called the “eagle” position), then press the free foot/toe forward, before pressing the leg back and slightly around to the final landing position. This landing technique is nearly universal for triples and quads, and is effective because it dramatically slows the rotation as the skater pressed the free foot forward. Skaters that are focused on this landing sequence seem to avoid over-rotation as they naturally “prepare” earlier for the landing.
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