World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a double axel lesson at a camp. We join the lesson already in progress, and Audrey has the skater attempting a double axel from a standstill. She describes the double axel as “a one-foot axel backspin all done in the air.” Audrey is trying to get the skater to create more edge pressure and pivot on the toe pick at the end of the take-off edge. She talks about getting the (skating) toe to turn more on the ice, creating a sideways take-off. She also suggests allowing the edge to deepen until the free knee is in position to create the sideways take-off. From this particular entrance, Audrey is trying to get the skater to jump across the blue line with the hips facing down the blue line.
A great double axel exercise is the one-foot axel, as skaters will typically work to create a better take-off edge and sideways take-off position on the one-foot axel than on a single axel with its ingrained muscle-memory. In other words, it’s easier to get a change in take-off technique on the one-foot axel as opposed to a single axel. The one-foot axel that Audrey is using here lands and keeps turning or spinning on the non-axis foot (focus on continuing rotation). In another attempt to get the skater to understand, Audrey talks about the right hip at take-off saying, “You’re actually jumping almost sideways in the air.”
Next Audrey asks for a slow double loop from just one push to get the skater used to landing while having to continue the rotation down to the ice. Audrey says, “You need do standing doubles all the time.” The skater has never done these before. Audrey again wants the skater to land and keep turning into a backspin or pirouette to focus on the feeling of keeping the rotation going.
To build more comfort with this rotation, Audrey asks for a version of a pivot drill that is a double salchow that starts with a spin and ends with a spin. She says, “You can spin it and then jump.” This again is intended to get the skater used to feeling more rotation at the moment of take-off and maintaining rotation down to the ice. Audrey then uses this concept to try to get a sideways double axel take-off saying, “Now take off a little sooner. So instead of turning all the way around on your foot you just turn a quarter turn.”
