World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek teaches a seminar class to help skaters improve their double and triple lutz jumps. He begins the class not by discussing lutz but instead by reminding the skaters to take their warm-up more seriously. Tom wants skaters to have “purposeful and meaningful” movements and steps. Next, he references an off-ice class that happened prior to this session where the class focused on the “tap-up” which is a toe assisted jump that uses either a flip or lutz entry edge and goes up without any rotation. Since this is a lutz class, the entry is the lutz entry and the “tap-up” takes off backwards and lands backwards. Tom asks for 3 tap-ups in a row by implementing a mohawk cross between each jump attempt.
Next, Tom discusses a lutz drill he calls the “can opener.” He explains that a critical moment for lutz is when the pick enters the ice and before the jump lifts off the ice. He wants skaters to stay “down in the knee” during this brief moment as the skates come together. He has the class do 3 can openers in a row followed by a walkthrough or rehearsal for a double or triple lutz. He says, “Feel the impulse moment. Keep your body down.” After this drill he has the class go and perform a double or triple lutz.
The next drill Tom shares is 3 double lutz jumps in a row using the mohawk cross as a transition between each jump, essentially the same as he asked the class to do before with the tap-up. The demonstrator does a really nice job with the exercise.
To finish this video, Tom is summarizing for the coaches the idea of the can opener. He notes that “many of them (skaters) aren’t using their free leg correctly.” His concern is that many of the skaters have the “free leg too low” which hinders the side-by-side foot movement he highlights in the can opener.
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