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World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek discusses the importance of a “big muscle backspin” as a tool for improving jump air position. This is essentially a regular backspin with details that make it more valuable as a jump training tool.… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte continues his lesson with a skater who wants to learn a triple toe loop. In Part 1 Chris analyzed the double and decided to work on improving the double rather than trying triples.… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues her lesson working with a skater on a relatively new camel spin. See the initial part of this camel spin lesson here. In this video, the initial focus is on the camel catch… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen compares split lutz and h-position lutz take-offs and offers opinions on which to teach. This is a continuation of his presentations on beginning lutz, 3 helpful lutz drills, different lutz entrances and reach… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger works with skater Ryan Dunk on his triple axel at a seminar a number of years ago. After a warm-up single axel, Audrey reminds Ryan to include the “quick” acceleration to finish the take-off… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan teaches flying camel spin in a class at a seminar. She begins by explaining that a skater really needs to have a good camel spin and a good back camel spin before they’ll create a good… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau works with a skater on basic spirals. This lesson is in the context of the Pre-Preliminary and Preliminary USFS Moves in the Field tests, although the tips for control and presentation apply to all spirals. For the… Continue reading
Coach and former French competitive skater Vincent Restencourt gives a quad salchow lesson to 2015 US National Champion Jason Brown. (The previous part of this lesson focused on the quad toe here.) It is uncommon for skaters and coaches at… Continue reading
World and Olympic ice dance medalist Madison Hubbell continues her lesson on basic skating skills and patterns for the USFS Preliminary Moves in the Field tests. (See the previous video here.) In this video, the focus is on alternating forward… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen offers insights and drills for improving double loop in combination. She begins by having the students do single loop double loop combinations, which is one of the most common ways of training a double loop… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna teaches a double/triple lutz class to advanced skaters at a seminar. Rather than starting immediately with the lutz, Nick begins by discussing the edge for the flip jump. For those struggling with the… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen discusses considerations for selecting the best lutz technique for a given skater. This is a continuation of his presentations on beginning lutz, 3 helpful lutz drills and different lutz entrances and reach details.… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and inventor Sheila Thelen discusses research she has been involved with regarding the body’s vestibular system, and how figure skating training methods offer benefits not only to figure skaters but others as well. Sheila begins by… Continue reading
Coach and choreographer Rohene Ward shares insights and ideas for landing positions. For this presentation he has 4 advanced skaters as demonstrators, all having slightly different body types and jump landing technique. Rohene begins by noting that he chooses a… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte continues his lesson with a skater who wants to learn a triple toe loop. In Part 1 Chris analyzed the double and decided to work on improving the double rather than trying triples.… Continue reading
2011 US Men’s Champion Ryan Bradley works with a skater on the initial stages of double loop development. They are working on the jump from a forward inside three-turn entry, which can be a great way for skaters to feel… Continue reading
International coach Lorie Charbonneau finishes her presentation on using a simple air-filled balloon as a jump training aid. In Part 1 she introduced the concept and had her skaters demonstrate single jumps as well as axel and double salchow with… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues with a double axel lesson. In the previous video, Audrey focused on the single axel, the pivot on take-off, and stand-still double axel attempts. In this lesson, the focus shifts to moving double… 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 a short discussion of toe picks. (See Part 1 of the series here and Part 2 of the… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch works with a skater on a relatively new camel spin. After watching an initial camel attempt, Charyl has this skater do a forward spiral down the ice to work the camel position. She mentions… Continue reading
Skating skills and moves in the field specialist Karen Olson continues a discussion of power pulls. In Part 1, she discussed ways to make power pull practice more interesting, ankle and knee bend timing, and vocabulary misunderstandings. In this video,… Continue reading
World and Olympic ice dance medalist Madison Hubbell works with a young skater on basic pushes and crossovers. The pattern this skater uses is the first pattern of the Preliminary US Figure Skating Moves in the Field Test, but the… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen shares two important exercises for developing the double loop. These exercises are also valuable for learning double loop double loop combinations. The first exercise is performed at the wall, starting facing the wall with b0th… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues a jump lesson. In the first part of this lesson Nick taught axel and double salchow drills. In the second part of the lesson he worked on double toe loop, double loop,… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and inventor Sheila Thelen discusses how an electric spinner is helpful as a training aid for figure skaters. She explains she was initially skeptical of the electric spinner, but she changed her mind after trying one.… Continue reading
Coach and choreographer Rohene Ward gives a jump lesson to eventual 2022 US Ladies Champion Mariah Bell (this video was taken several years before she won her national title). This lesson focuses entirely on the triple flip triple toe combination… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte works with a skater who wants to learn a triple toe loop. This entire portion of the lesson is a discussion of what it takes to create a triple, and all skaters need… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen offers additional insights regarding the lutz jump. This is a continuation of his presentations on beginning lutz and 3 helpful lutz drills. Jeremy begins this video by discussing options for the lutz entrance… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan explains how to practice spinning, including how much to practice. Kim recommends training spins 15 minutes during every 45 minute to 1 hour on-ice practice. The 15 minutes should be focused and continuous, and not just… Continue reading
2011 US Men’s Champion Ryan Bradley gives a skater a double axel lesson. The lesson begins with a double axel attempt, and after that Ryan immediately observes that the skater needs to get more energy from the legs (more jump… Continue reading
International coach Lorie Charbonneau continues her presentation on using a simple air-filled balloon as a jump training aid. In Part 1 she introduced the concept and had her skaters demonstrate single jumps as well as axel and double salchow with… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a double axel lesson to a skater she hasn’t worked with before. She begins with a double loop exercise as a way to challenge the skater and see the quality of the skater’s… Continue reading
Skating skills and moves in the field specialist Karen Olson shares exercises and insights to improve power pulls. She begins by noting that many skaters don’t find working on power pulls interesting or enjoyable. One way to make them more… 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 tips for proper blade care. (See Part 1 of the series here and Part 2 of the series… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen offers exercises for working on two jump combinations where the second jump is a double toe loop. A great way to improve double double combos is to work on single double combinations. Debbie has the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh gives a double axel lesson. She begins the lesson by having the skater watch a successful double axel example by an elite skater (Carolina Kostner). This provides an opportunity to review characteristics of a… Continue reading
World and Olympic ice dance medalist Madison Hubbell continues a skating skills lesson at a seminar/camp. Part 1 focused on skating skills associated with generating power from edges. This part focuses on the fundamentals of pushing for power. Madison describes… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and inventor Sheila Thelen continues her demonstration of off-ice jump training using an electric spinner and stationary off-ice harness system. This is a continuation of the previous videos here and here and here. In this video,… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau continues a general lesson with a beginner level skater, using program elements as a roadmap for the lesson. Part 1 focused on footwork and spins, and Part 2 focused on some jumps. Part 3 focused on spin… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen shares 3 different drills for helping skaters feel the proper outside edge lutz take-off. This is a continuation of Jeremy’s discussion of the beginning lutz here. Many skaters struggle with the outside edge,… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues a jump lesson. In the first part of this lesson Nick taught axel and double salchow drills. In this video, they work on double toe loop, double loop, and double flip. On… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte works with a skater on double flip development. This skater suffers from common issues, and Chris offers some helpful insights and drills. When initially learning the double flip, many skaters lack air time… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues a group class on layback spins. In Part 1 the focus was on proper upright spin entrance and spin centering. In Part 2 Kim started teaching the straight leg layback, and she continues with that… Continue reading
Coach and choreographer Rohene Ward skates along with Olympic medalist Jason Brown (a number of years ago) during a program run-through, reminding him throughout of important performance details. The purpose of this kind of exercise is the choreographer can repeatedly… Continue reading
2011 US Men’s Champion Ryan Bradley gives a skater a lesson on double toe loop using the forward inside three turn entrance. The forward inside three turn entrance has lost popularity over time, mostly because the forward inside three turn… Continue reading
World and Olympic ice dance medalist Madison Hubbell gives a skater a lesson at a seminar/camp. This lesson focuses on skating skills, and in particular, how to generate power on the ice. Madison begins with a simple two-foot weight transfer… Continue reading
International coach Lorie Charbonneau continues her presentation on using a simple air-filled balloon as a jump training aid. In Part 1 she introduced the concept and had her skaters demonstrate single jumps as well as axel and double salchow with… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger teaches a jump class at a seminar. This is a continuation of this video. In this video, Audrey begins by discussing the idea of using difficult and challenging drills in skating. Most skaters thrive… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a spin lesson, covering camel spin, introduction to layback, and combination spins with camel and layback (and sit spin). This is a continuation of this lesson. Starting with camel, Charyl focuses on keeping… Continue reading
Coach and former French competitive skater Vincent Restencourt gives a quad toe loop lesson to 2015 US National Champion Jason Brown. It is uncommon for skaters and coaches at this level to share such an intimate look at a typical… Continue reading
Skating skills and moves in the field specialist Karen Olson discusses the ‘alternating backward crossovers to backward outside edges’ pattern of the US Figure Skating Preliminary Moves in the Field test. When teaching this pattern, Karen often refers to it… Continue reading
Below is a revised and updated version (2022) of an article originally published in 2007 by Trevor Laak on his SkateCoach/wordpress.com blog which details jump height estimates based on jump air times. That article can be found at this link.… 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 tips for proper blade care. (See Part 1 of the series here and Part 2 of the series… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen shares exercises and insights for toe loop development, including toe loops in combination. She begins with a “toe drill from the wall” which is a drill to work the pivot of the take-off for the… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and inventor Sheila Thelen continues her demonstration of off-ice jump training using an electric spinner and stationary off-ice harness system. This is a continuation of the previous videos here and here. In this video, the demonstrator… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau continues a general lesson with a beginner level skater, using program elements as a roadmap for the lesson. Part 1 focused on footwork and spins, and Part 2 focused on some jumps. Part 3 focused on spin… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh works with a skater to improve the flip jump take-off with improved ankle flex in the air. (In previous videos, Michelle worked with this skater to get ankle flex on double loop jump and… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna gives a jump lesson, beginning with waltz jump drills. The first drill is a waltz jump, “land forward” on one foot, then snap into twizzle rotation prior to a strong landing position. For… Continue reading
Coach and choreographer Rohene Ward works with a variety of advanced skaters who are doing program run-throughs without jumps. Rohene calls these performances “makettes” (SP) which he explains is a Russian ice dance word for “mark through” of an ice… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte gives a lesson at a seminar, and this portion of the lesson focuses on the waltz jump and the axel. Chris begins by asking for three waltz jumps in a row with nice… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues a group class on layback spins. In Part 1 the focus was on proper upright spin entrance and spin centering. This video starts there and discusses the place on the blade we need to balance… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen shares insights related to initially teaching skaters a single lutz. It’s common for coaches to simply share a basic entry and get rotation and initially overlook the details of the edge itself, instead… Continue reading
In a presentation to skaters and coaches at a local seminar a number of years ago, World and Olympic coach Frank Carroll addresses the question, “How do you make a champion?” In the first part of this presentation, Frank focused… Continue reading
2011 US Men’s Champion Ryan Bradley gives a skater a lesson on double loop double loop combinations. After watching a double loop single loop combo, Ryan notes, “You really have to be aggressive on the way out on these loop… Continue reading
International coach Lorie Charbonneau shares an inexpensive and safe training aid on the ice for jump development. A simple air-filled balloon can help skaters improve jump technique and challenge their precision and consistency. Lorie says that balloons are helpful to… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger teaches a toe loop class of advanced skaters. All of these skaters have consistent double toe loops, and some can do triple toe. But Audrey challenges this class with a difficult entry for the… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch gives a sit spin lesson covering the pancake, bullet (or shotgun), basic sit, and back sit (from sit change sit). They begin with the pancake and Charyl wants the skater to maintain a… Continue reading
Skating skills and moves in the field specialist Karen Olson discusses and demonstrates important insights related to forward outside and inside consecutive spirals. As she notes, this pattern is part of the US Figure Skating Preliminary Moves in the Field… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau continues a general lesson with a beginner level skater, using program elements as a roadmap for the lesson. Part 1 focused on footwork and spins, and Part 2 focused on some jumps. In this video, Kate has… 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 tips for proper blade care. (See Part 1 of the series here and Part 2 of the series… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and inventor Sheila Thelen continues her demonstration of off-ice jump training using an electric spinner and stationary off-ice harness system. This is a continuation of the previous video here. Sheila begins by noting that skaters can… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh works with a skater to improve the toe loop take-off and get ankle flex in the air on the double toe loop. (In the previous video, Michelle worked with this skater to get ankle… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna teaches a skater a basic axel development drill, referred to as the “axel pivot drill.” As you can see in the previous video, this skater is just starting the axel journey and the… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen shares an exercise that she calls The Waltz Jump Game. The purpose of this game is to help skaters who are working on axel or double axel to jump higher and create more jump distance… Continue reading
In this short video, International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte helps a young skater understand and perform proper head anchoring on single flip jump. He initially describes it as, “Everything comes under the chin before the head turns.” In… Continue reading
Coach and choreographer Rohene Ward finishes his warm-up edge class for advanced skaters. This class is performed to a variety of music and the emphasis is on warming up, mastering skating skills, and improving performance skills. Check out the entire… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan begins a group class on layback spins. Not surprisingly, the focus in this video is entirely on proper entrance and spin centering, so Kim only teaches details of the forward upright spin here. She begins with… Continue reading
In a presentation to skaters and coaches as a local seminar a number of years ago, World and Olympic coach Frank Carroll addresses the question, “How do you make a champion?” Frank begins by noting that it’s important to first… Continue reading
2011 US Men’s Champion Ryan Bradley gives a skater a lesson on double loop. This skater already has a consistent double loop, but she needs to improve it for combination jumps as well as for preparing to triple. Ryan begins… Continue reading
International coach Lorie Charbonneau continues an exercise/game she uses for encouraging skaters to efficiently work through all of their combination jumps. In Part 1 the game focused on double toe loop combinations while Part 2 focused on double loop combinations.… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Denise Myers shares more jump exercises. She begins with a jump air position exercise intended to teach “the flex” or the locking of the axis leg and flexing the axis foot upward. She places her mitten… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues her lesson with 3 skaters on double axel drills and attempts. See Part 1 here. Audrey begins this video by letting the skaters attempt some double axels so she can assess what to… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a lesson with a young skater. In the previous part of this lesson, the focus was on the forward upright scratch spin, while this video focuses on the forward sit spin. As discussed… Continue reading
Skating skills and moves in the field specialist Karen Olson demonstrates and discusses the details of the Waltz Eight pattern from the US Figure Skating Pre-Preliminary Moves in the Field test. Karen begins by drawing the figure eight pattern on… 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 details about blade chrome and rust issues. (See Part 1 of the series here and Part 2 of… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau continues a general lesson with a beginner level skater, using program elements as a roadmap for the lesson. Part 1 focused on footwork and spins, while this video focuses on jumps. After observing a waltz jump and… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and inventor Sheila Thelen demonstrates off-ice jump training using an electric spinner and stationary off-ice harness system. She begins by spinning an experienced skater on the spinner, who then jumps into the air into an efficient… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh shares some exercises to help develop ankle flex in jump air positions. Ankle flex in the axis or landing side is valuable since it usually helps skaters lock out the axis knee, connect and… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna begins a lesson with a young skater and works through the single jumps. Every coach in the world who works with skaters at this level regularly sees these errors. Nick starts with a… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen continues a short series of videos where she shares ideas for a well-balanced warm-up intended to be skated to begin the first on-ice session of the day. See Part 1 here. See Part 2 here.… Continue reading
Coach and choreographer Rohene Ward continues his warm-up edge class for advanced skaters. This class is performed to a variety of music and the emphasis is on warming up, mastering skating skills, and improving performance skills. Check out the entire… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte takes some time during a jump lesson to work on the forward pivot jump drill. He begins by simply having the skater do a forward pivot and then spin in a “forward” h-position.… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues her detailed explanation of how she teaches camel spins. In Part 1, Kim discussed details of the setup and initial entry edge, with emphasis on hand positions intended to properly open the shoulders and generate… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Denise Myers shares a number of valuable jump exercises and other insights related to jumping. She begins with one-foot axels as a way to “snap the thighs together” on double axel. Similarly, the one-foot salchow can… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch works with a skater on improving a forward upright scratch spin. Charyl addresses several important points throughout the video, including entrance step direction, head position during the spin, free foot movement, and overall alignment… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger works with 3 skaters on double axel drills. She begins by asking the skaters for a single axel in frame with a landing in alignment. All of the skaters struggle with this exercise and… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen finishes his series of videos discussing in detail all aspects of toe loop combination jumps. In Part 1 he discussed what happens on a good jump landing and how the reset works between… Continue reading
Choreographer Garrett Kling continues off-ice choreography with a higher level class for an on-ice group performance at a camp. The previous 3 videos of the series were the off-ice choreography for one of the lower level groups (see Part 1… Continue reading
Skating skills and moves in the field specialist Karen Olson continues her discussion of forward spirals, both as a solo skill and as part of the US Figure Skating Pre-Preliminary Moves in the Field test. In the previous part of… 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 details about how to properly mount blades on the boot. (See Part 1 of the series here and… Continue reading
Coach Kate Charbonneau begins a general lesson with a beginner level skater, using program elements as a roadmap for the lesson. Kate has the skater do some of the footwork and skating skills from her program, and not surprisingly Kate… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues a lesson with a skater who is working to improve her single jumps. In Part 1 of the lesson, Nick worked on backspin, h-position, d-position, and landing position. In Part 2 the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh discusses how to increase jump air time, which is the same as jumping higher. Sufficient jump height is critical in order to have enough air time to finish the desired rotation prior to landing.… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen continues a short series of videos where she shares ideas for a well-balanced warm-up intended to be skated to begin the first on-ice session of the day. See Part 1 here. In this video, the… Continue reading
Coach and choreographer Rohene Ward continues his warm-up edge class for advanced skaters. This class is performed to a variety of music and the emphasis is on warming up, mastering skating skills, and improving performance skills. Check out the entire… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte works with a skater to improve a single flip jump. (See previous part of this lesson focusing on loop jump here and Part 1 of the flip portion of the lesson here.) A… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues her detailed explanation of how she teaches camel spins. In Part 1, Kim discussed details of the setup and initial entry edge, with emphasis on hand positions intended to properly open the shoulders and generate… Continue reading
International coach Lorie Charbonneau continues an exercise/game she uses for encouraging skaters to efficiently work through all of their combination jumps. In Part 1, the game focused on double toe loop combinations. In this video, the game remains the same… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Denise Myers continues her 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
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch works with a young skater on the beginner backspin. This short video is a continuation of a beginner spin video focused on basic forward upright scratch spin, sit spin, and camel spin (see Part… Continue reading
International coach Lorie Charbonneau shares an exercise/game she uses for encouraging skaters to efficiently work through all of their double toe loop combinations. The game consists of performing a jump such as axel with a double toe loop in combination.… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues a jump lesson at a seminar. As noted in Part 1, the skater in this lesson had a double axel at one time in the past and lost it (after an injury), and… Continue reading
Skating skills and moves in the field specialist Karen Olson discusses and demonstrates important insights related to forward spirals. As she notes, a forward spiral pattern is part of the US Figure Skating Pre-Preliminary Moves in the Field test, although… 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
Choreographer Garrett Kling continues the off-ice choreography class for an on-ice group performance to skaters at a camp. He begins this video with choreography that precedes the movements learned previously in Part 1 and Part 2. Garrett first organizes the… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues a lesson with a skater who is working to improve her single jumps. In Part 1 of the lesson, Nick worked on backspin, h-position, d-position, and landing position. In this short video,… Continue reading
National level coach Debbie Warne-Jacobsen begins a short series of videos where she shares ideas for a well-balanced warm-up intended to be skated to begin the first on-ice session of the day. The purpose of this kind of warm-up is… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh continues a video series discussing the tracings left on the ice by the 6 major jumps. By understanding what the tracings should look like, it helps get a clearer picture of proper technique and… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte works with a skater to improve a single flip jump. (See previous part of this lesson focusing on loop jump here.) Chris begins by noting that a flip is basically a “loop jump… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan shares her method of teaching camel spins. She begins by acknowledging there are many ways to do a camel spin entry, such as leading with the skating side arm or leading the non-skating side arm. Neither… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Denise Myers continues her 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
Fred Bartick, a Minnesota-based (Bloomington, MN) skate technician with over 35 years of experience, continues his discussion of boots and blades with details about how to properly mount blades on the boot. (See Part 1 of the series here and… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch works with a young skater on basic spins, including the basic forward upright scratch spin, sit spin, and camel spin. Charyl notes that, “It took forever to get this one to spin, but… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a jump lesson at a seminar. The skater had a double axel at one time in the past and lost it, and the goal of this lesson is to try to get it… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach and inventor Sheila Thelen demonstrates balance improvements in an adult subject (Trevor Laak from iCoachSkating) using vestibular training. Vestibular training is any training that stimulates the body’s vestibular system which is the sensory system within the… Continue reading
Skating skills and moves in the field specialist Karen Olson discusses and demonstrates important insights related to the Forward Perimeter Stroking pattern of the US Figure Skating Pre-Preliminary Moves in the Field test. This is the very first pattern of… 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
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna gives a lesson to a skater who is working to improve her single jumps. Nick begins the lesson by asking for a backspin, and based on the weakness of the spin he focuses… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh continues a video series discussing the tracings left on the ice by the 6 major jumps. By understanding what the tracings should look like, it helps get a clearer picture of proper technique and… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Chris Conte works with a skater to improve a single loop jump. Once a skater learns the basics of the jump, it is necessary to reduce scratching, increase entry speed and jump flow, and improve… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen continues his series of videos where he discusses in detail all aspects of toe loop combination jumps. In Part 1 he discussed what happens on a good jump landing and how the reset… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan gives a class a lecture and demonstration on centering spins, focusing on the basics of performing an upright front scratch spin. Kim uses a step-by-step process to help skaters learn and center spins, and there are… Continue reading
Coach and choreographer Rohene Ward continues his warm-up edge class for advanced skaters. This class is performed to a variety of music and the emphasis is on warming up, mastering skating skills, and improving performance skills. Check out the entire… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Denise Myers continues her 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
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a spin lesson (see Part 1 here and Part 2 here) and Part 3 here) by introducing a back camel and back sit spin. In the previous parts of the lesson, this skater… 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
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues a lesson with a skater who is starting to work on double axel. In Part 1 of this lesson, Nick focused on determining the readiness for this skater to try double axels… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh begins a video series discussing the tracings left on the ice by the 6 major jumps. By understanding what the tracings should look like, it helps get a clearer picture of proper technique and… 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 begins a series of videos where he discusses in detail all aspects of toe loop combination jumps. This series is an update to a good introductory video by Jeremy on combination jumps in… Continue reading
Coach and choreographer Rohene Ward continues his warm-up edge class for advanced skaters. This class is performed to very slow, bluesy music and the emphasis is on warming up, mastering skating skills, and improving performance skills. Check out the entire… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Denise Myers continues her 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
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
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen shares many insights related to the salchow jump and how to teach it effectively. He notes right from the beginning that there are several ways to do a salchow, and coaches will naturally… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh discusses the importance and need for setting aside time in a skater’s schedule for a proper off-ice warm-up prior to practice sessions and proper cool downs after practice sessions. Warming up the body and… Continue reading
Figure skating coach and certified strength and conditioning expert Kristina Anderson discusses the concept of “butt wink” as it relates to figure skating. Butt wink is the term for when the tailbone tucks underneath the body on a squat. This… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch shares some helpful upright spin tips during a spin lesson. The lesson starts with a forward upright spin, and the skater is not waiting long enough on the entrance edge so the spin is traveling. Charyl… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues her series of videos on the topic of competition preparation. In the first video of the series, Audrey addressed the competition planning process. In the second video, she focused on determining “the purpose… Continue reading
Moves in the field and skating skills expert Karen Olson discusses and demonstrates specific details of the Straight Line Step Sequence from the USFS Junior Moves in the Field test. Karen walks through much of the pattern and discusses what… Continue reading
Fred Bartick, a Minnesota-based (Bloomington, MN) skate technician with over 35 years of experience, talks about some basics regarding blades and blade sharpening. After a brief introduction, Fred begins by talking about the hollow he uses for most sharpenings. The… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen explains “The Treat Box” and how she uses it. Because the box is filled with interesting and constantly changing goodies, skaters will often work extra hard for a chance to pick something from the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade continues her advanced salchow concepts class for high level skaters during a seminar/workshop. In Part 1, Kori focused almost entirely on the idea of using a “guiding foot” for salchow. In Part 2, the… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau continues 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
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues his series of videos discussing and explaining the prints left on the ice for various jumps. In this video he discusses the double and triple lutz print. Other videos in this series:… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte discusses and demonstrates lutz technique and lutz development drills to create proper timing and edge usage. Chris encourages skaters to keep the arms narrow on lutz, or as he says, “think soldiery thoughts.” He does a… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh talks about the various aspects of off-ice training, sharing her insights and preferences. Michelle begins by noting, “First of all, I think it’s very, very important that you start off-ice training at a very… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen works briefly with a 4 year old skater in the off-ice stationary harness. For skaters this age, the harness is mostly about “fun” which can translate into more enthusiasm for skating in general. … Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan teaches a spin class at a recent seminar. In Part 1, Kim summarized the basics of her teaching methods. The focus in that video was the basic forward upright spin, and she continues with… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen continues his multi-part discussion of the axel jump. In Part 1 he discussed some important basics as well as how he teaches a waltz jump. In this video he goes into more detail… Continue reading
Figure skating coach and certified strength and conditioning expert Kristina Anderson continues where she left off with her previous discussion of strengthening the feet. In this video, she focuses on foot and ankle mobility. Improving this mobility is important for… Continue reading
International figure skating coach Page Lipe discusses some foundational concepts for the axel jump. To start, Page notes that the take-off foot does not simply point in the direction of the jump, but rather creates additional edge pressure just prior… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a spin lesson with a young skater. In the first video from this lesson, Charyl covered upright spins and sit spins and in the second video she focused on the forward camel spin and a… Continue reading
Coaches Stephanie Bass and Tiffany McNeil of The Strategic Method offer some timely information regarding difficult spin entrances and exits. This video addresses spin entrances and exits as covered in the July 20, 2020 publication/update of the ISU Technical Panel… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues her lesson with a young (about 8 years old) male skater. The first part of this lesson focused mostly on the backspin, and this part focuses on forward and backward crossovers. Skaters at… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade continues her advanced salchow concepts class for high level skaters during a seminar/workshop. In Part 1, Kori focused almost entirely on the idea of using a “guiding foot” for salchow. In this video, the… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau continues 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
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues his series of videos discussing and explaining the prints left on the ice for various jumps. In this video he discusses the double and triple flip jump print. Other videos in this… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte works with a young male skater on exercises meant to improve jump air position and rotational control for improved landings. This video is a continuation of a double salchow lesson. To start, Chris teaches a version… Continue reading
In this short video, World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh discusses the importance of skaters training in a way that gets them out of their comfort zone. This discussion is primarily in the context of competition preparation, but the concepts… Continue reading
Figure skating coach and certified strength and conditioning expert Kristina Anderson offers two methods for strengthening the feet. Many skaters suffer from weak foot muscles, sometimes as a result of the extra support provided by the skating boot itself. Kristina… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan teaches a spin class at a recent seminar. This is a chance for us to learn or review Kim’s main teaching concepts related to spins. The first video focuses on preparing for the forward… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen begins a multi-part discussion of the axel jump, including waltz jump as well as double and triple axel. Jeremy begins by discussing the most common entrance using a back outside edge preparation. From… Continue reading
International figure skating coach Page Lipe offers 3 on-ice drills that are particularly helpful for developing core strength and stability, as well as leg strength. The first exercise is a spiral, shoot-the-duck, spiral sequence down the ice in a straight… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a spin lesson with a young skater. In the previous videos from this lesson, Charyl covered upright spins and sit spins. In this video, the focus is on the basic forward camel spin and a… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his presentation on the fundamentals of creating an off-ice training program for skaters. In Part 1, Matthew shared his background and talked at length about strengthening a skater’s core… Continue reading
Coach Amy Brolsma explains how she teaches split jumps. This includes the standard split jump, the Russian split jump, the stag jump, the double stag jump, and the tuck jump. Amy notes that skaters can begin learning split jumps as… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his presentation on the fundamentals of creating an off-ice training program for skaters. In Part 1, Matthew shared his background and talked at length about strengthening a skater’s core… Continue reading
Moves in the field and skating skills expert Karen Olson begins a discussion of rockers, and especially how she teaches rockers leading up to and including the USFS Junior Rocker moves in the field tests (Forward and Backward Outside Rockers,… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his presentation on the fundamentals of creating an off-ice training program for skaters. In Part 1, Matthew shared his background and talked at length about strengthening a skater’s core… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a young (about 8 years old) male skater a lesson, and this part of the lesson focuses mostly on the backspin. The lesson begins with introductions and the skater running his program. Audrey… Continue reading
International figure skating coach Page Lipe shares a trick for getting beginner skaters to create more “reach” on backward crossovers. The concept is simple, and involves the coach gliding along inside the skater’s circle, and asking the skater to reach… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his presentation on the fundamentals of creating an off-ice training program for skaters. In Part 1, Matthew shared his background and talked at length about strengthening a skater’s core… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis begins a presentation on the fundamentals of creating an off-ice training program for skaters. Much of the strength training done by skaters lacks skating-specific training concepts. Matthew has not only… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen offers insights about training with a stationary off-ice harness. Sheila has the skater demonstrate rotation in d-position, starfish position, and some “fast axels.” Notice the level of mastery this skater demonstrates regarding axis and… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade teaches advanced salchow concepts to a class of high level skaters during a seminar/workshop. Kori begins by discussing the concept of using a “guiding foot into salchow.” This is when the skater sets the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a jump lesson. To start the lesson, Audrey wants a backspin and she follows this with a backspin in multiple free foot positions: h-position, d-position, and “2-toes.” The 2-toes position has the skater… Continue reading
Coaches Stephanie Bass and Tiffany McNeil of The Strategic Method continue their discussion of the IJS protocol sheet. In Part 1 of this series, they offered an overview of the IJS protocol sheet. In Part 2, they talked at length… Continue reading
This is the final of three videos from Kate Charbonneau on her personal experience with off-ice spinning during the worldwide pandemic. In the first video in this series Kate focused on some general concepts an then on upright off-ice spins.… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna shares an off-ice drill whose purpose is to improve balance and control of the 4 main skating positions. The demonstrating skater has a large asterisk on the floor to help with visualizing… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby finishes his discussion and demonstration of off-ice lutz training exercises. In Part 1 he noted the importance of mastering the “left” outside edge (lutz and axel take-offs) and shared 2 foundational off-ice jump exercises.… Continue reading
This is the second of three videos from Kate Charbonneau on her personal experience with off-ice spinning during the worldwide pandemic. In the first video in this series Kate focuses on some general concepts an then on upright off-ice spins.… Continue reading
In this 2-part series, World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby shares some excellent off-ice lutz exercises. He begins by noting that the two most valuable jumps take off from the left outside edge (for CCW jumpers), the axel (forward, edge)… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte continues his discussion of his “infamous golf swing video” and describes how the golf swing is similar to figure skating jumps. In Part 1, Chris gave the history of the video and concept, and compared a… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte walks us through the history of the “infamous golf swing video” and describes how the golf swing is similar to figure skating jumps. Obviously both sports rely on rotational energy and power, and Chris discovered some… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis finishes his presentation specifically for iCoachSkating subscribers highlighting issues that skaters and coaches may face after this long period of time off the ice, particularly for those skaters who have… Continue reading
This is the first of three videos from Kate Charbonneau on her personal experience with off-ice spinning during the worldwide pandemic. Kate is using a Spinergy Spinboard and she emphasizes proper foot placement on the spinboard as critical to success,… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis gives a presentation specifically for iCoachSkating subscribers highlighting issues that skaters and coaches may face after this long period of time off the ice, particularly for those skaters who have… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh talks about a very common problem for both skaters and coaches in figure skating. Some skaters really struggle with effective practice and self-analysis, and this typically causes slow progress due to wasted efforts and… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan shares a process for developing and mastering the off-ice forward camel spin on a spinboard. You can learn more about spinboards here and purchase a spinboard directly from Kim. Kim recommends a standard spinboard… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna walks us through a remote off-ice video jump lesson. We can’t hear what Nick is saying to his skater, but he talks over the entire lesson with detailed information about what is going… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan shares a process to developing and mastering the off-ice forward sit spin on a spinboard. You can learn more about spinboards here and purchase a spinboard directly from Kim. Kim recommends a standard spinboard… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby tells a short story about Steven Cousins, a British figure skater in the 1990’s who trained at Mariposa in Barrie, ON (Canada). Steven was an 8-time British national champion, and a 3-time Olympian, earning… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan goes through a thorough spinboard warm-up that she recommends to all skaters at the beginning of each spinboard practice session. You can learn more about spinboards here and purchase a spinboard directly from Kim.… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte continues a comprehensive discussion and demonstration of his approach to remote off-ice teaching during the coronavirus lockdown. This series is a continuation of the previous 3 part discussion with Chris and International head coach Lorie Charbonneau… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna walks us through a remote off-ice video jump lesson. We can’t hear what Nick is saying to his skater, but he talks over the entire lesson with detailed information about what is going… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan shares a tutorial on how to use her off-ice spinboards. You can learn more about spinboards here and purchase a spinboard directly from Kim. This presentation is taken from a Zoom call between Kim… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte continues a comprehensive discussion and demonstration of his approach to remote off-ice teaching during the coronavirus lockdown. This series is a continuation of the previous 3 part discussion with Chris and International head coach Lorie Charbonneau… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan shares a tutorial on how to use her off-ice spinboards. You can learn more about spinboards here and purchase a spinboard directly from Kim. This presentation is taken from a Zoom call between Kim… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna walks us through a remote off-ice video jump lesson. We can’t hear what Nick is saying to his skater, but he talks over the entire lesson with detailed information about what is going… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan shares a tutorial on how to use her off-ice spinboards. You can learn more about spinboards here and purchase a spinboard directly from Kim. This presentation is taken from a Zoom call between Kim… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte continues a comprehensive discussion and demonstration of his approach to remote off-ice teaching during the coronavirus lockdown. This series is a continuation of the previous 3 part discussion with Chris and International head coach Lorie Charbonneau… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna walks us through a remote off-ice video jump lesson. We can’t hear what Nick is saying to his skater, but he talks over the entire lesson with detailed information about what is going… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis shares an at-home off-ice mobility and flexibility workout that everyone can do in their homes during the coronavirus lockdown. He is joined in the video by his daughter who demonstrates… Continue reading
This is the second in a series of videos by coach Kate Charbonneau that are intended to provide a way for skaters to develop or maintain musicality and musical movements during this period without ice. The focus for this series… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte continues a comprehensive discussion of his approach to remote off-ice teaching during the coronavirus lockdown. This series is a continuation of the previous 3 part discussion with Chris and International head coach Lorie Charbonneau regarding ramping… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna walks us through a remote off-ice video jump lesson. We can’t hear what Nick is saying to his skater, but he talks over the entire lesson with detailed information about what is going… Continue reading
Guest International coach Tugba Karademir shares a great rope jumping routine to be used as part of a warm-up or cardio workout. Tugba coaches at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, ON Canada and is a former International medalist… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis shares an at-home off-ice mobility and flexibility workout that everyone can do in their homes during the coronavirus lockdown. He is joined in the video by his daughter who demonstrates… Continue reading
This is the second in a series of videos by coach Kate Charbonneau that are intended to provide a way for skaters to develop or maintain musicality and musical movements during this period without ice. The focus for this series… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte begins a comprehensive discussion of his approach to remote off-ice teaching during the coronavirus lockdown. This is a continuation of the previous 3 part discussion with Chris and International head coach Lorie Charbonneau regarding ramping up… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna walks us through a remote off-ice video jump lesson. We can’t hear what Nick is saying to his skater, but he talks over the entire lesson with detailed information about what is going… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis shares an at-home off-ice mobility and flexibility workout that everyone can do in their homes during the coronavirus lockdown. He is joined in the video by his daughter who demonstrates… Continue reading
In this video series, iCoachSkating founder Trevor Laak interviews World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh regarding her thoughts and recommendations during the coronavirus lockdown. Michelle works with competitive skaters at many levels, and her ideas and approaches to a variety… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby explains how to correctly perform off-ice axels and off-ice double axels. This video was provided by Robert during the coronavirus pandemic, and it offers lots of examples and insights about this important skill. The… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna walks us through a remote off-ice video jump lesson. We can’t hear what Nick is saying to his skater, but he talks over the entire lesson with detailed information about what is going… Continue reading
In this video series, iCoachSkating founder Trevor Laak interviews World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh regarding her thoughts and recommendations during the coronavirus lockdown. Michelle works with competitive skaters at many levels, and her ideas and approaches to a variety… Continue reading
This is the first in a series of videos by coach Kate Charbonneau that are intended to provide a way for skaters to develop or maintain musicality and musical movements during this period without ice. The focus for this series… Continue reading
In this video series, iCoachSkating founder Trevor Laak interviews World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh regarding her thoughts and recommendations during the coronavirus lockdown. Michelle works with competitive skaters at many levels, and her ideas and approaches to a variety… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis shares an at-home off-ice mobility and flexibility workout that everyone can do in their homes during the coronavirus lockdown. He is joined in the video by his daughter who demonstrates… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna walks us through a remote off-ice video jump lesson. We can’t hear what Nick is saying to his skater, but he talks over the entire lesson with detailed information about what is going… Continue reading
This is Part 3 of iCoachSkating founder Trevor Laak’s interview with International coach Lorie Charbonneau about the remote off-ice program she has set up for her skaters and coaches during the coronavirus lockdown. International coach Chris Conte who is part… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau provides an off-ice warmup intended to move different parts of the body through a range of motion. The idea is to get the skater ready for more intense off-ice exercises, or it can be used… Continue reading
This is Part 2 of iCoachSkating founder Trevor Laak’s interview with International coach Lorie Charbonneau about the remote off-ice program she has set up for her skaters and coaches during the coronavirus lockdown. International coach Chris Conte who is part… Continue reading
iCoachSkating founder Trevor Laak encourages all skaters to buy a spinboard from spin specialist Kim Ryan. Kim has pioneered the use of spinboards for off-ice spin training, and she has been using these tools regularly with skaters from all over… Continue reading
In this video, iCoachSkating founder Trevor Laak interviews International coach Lorie Charbonneau about the remote off-ice program she has set up for her skaters and coaches during the coronavirus lockdown. International coach Chris Conte who is part of Lorie’s team… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna walks us through a remote off-ice video jump lesson. We can’t hear what Nick is saying to his skater, but he talks over the entire lesson with detailed information about what is going… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen reminds us that Champion Cords are a great addition to an off-ice workout. A large number of coaches and skaters have Champion Cords (or you can order then here) so it makes sense to… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna walks us through a remote off-ice video jump lesson. We can’t hear what Nick is saying to his skater, but he talks over the entire lesson with detailed information about what is going… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis shares an at-home off-ice balance and core workout that everyone can do in their homes during the coronavirus lockdown. He is joined in the video by his daughter who demonstrates… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis shares an at-home off-ice strength workout that everyone can do in their homes during the coronavirus lockdown. He is joined in the video by his daughter who demonstrates the exercises.… Continue reading
For more information about iCoachSkating’s plan to address the lack of ice and issues associated with social distancing and community-wide and nation-wide lockdowns resulting from the coronavirus, please click on the appropriate link below. COACHES: Coaches, Please Click Here… Continue reading
Figure skating coach and certified strength and conditioning expert Kristina Anderson explains the importance of massaging the feet. Skaters (and coaches!) spend a significant amount of time in their skates, which are very restrictive in terms of foot movement. Normal… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen continues his discussion of head anchoring for jump take-offs (see Part 1 here). In particular, he offers more insights about the head with respect to the jump direction, or the momentum of the… Continue reading
Moves in the field and skating skills expert Karen Olson continues her presentation on choctaws and in particular, the Junior USFS Moves in the Field Choctaw Sequence. Some of the information in this video is independent of the moves pattern… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau continues 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
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna continues his series of videos discussing and explaining the prints left on the ice for various jumps. In this video he discusses the double and triple loop jump print. Other videos in this… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen continues her series on using a stationary off-ice harness for air position and rotation training for figure skating jumps. In Part 1, Sheila discussed basic setup and safety issues. In Part 2, Sheila explained… Continue reading
Coach Amy Brolsma shares a valuable tip for skaters working on advanced turns and twizzles. Many skaters struggle with core stability when learning advanced turns like rockers and counters as well as twizzles. Having objects or toys to hold with… Continue reading
Coaches Stephanie Bass and Tiffany McNeil of The Strategic Method continue their discussion of the IJS protocol sheet. In Part 1 of this series, they offered an overview of the IJS protocol sheet. In this video, they talk at length… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a spin lesson with a young skater. In the previous part of the lesson, Charyl focused on the upright forward and back spins. In this part of the lesson, Charyl starts with the sit spin.… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh offers insights and suggestions for how coaches can help skaters more quickly process bad skating experiences, from bad practices (or even parts of a practice) to poor competition performances. She notes right at the… Continue reading
Coaches Stephanie Bass and Tiffany McNeil of The Strategic Method offer an overview of the IJS protocol sheet that is generated for every performance in an International Judging System (IJS) event. NOTE: IJS information is always changing. This information… Continue reading
International figure skating coach Page Lipe offers insights about what to say and do with a skater in the final moments before they take the ice to compete. This is a follow up to the presentation Page made on choreographing… Continue reading
Figure skating coach and certified strength and conditioning expert Kristina Anderson continues her discussion of self-massage techniques and tools for addressing muscle tightness and soreness. In Part 1, she shared a short routine or flow pattern for using a foam… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade shares some coaching tips that can really help skaters who continue to make the same mistakes or are unwilling for whatever reason to “take a chance” on creating new physical movement patterns. This information… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan continues a flying sit spin lesson with a skater who is familiar with the element but not proficient. In Part 1, Kim covered the entrance and initial fly, including arms and the leg tuck.… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte continues a double salchow lesson. In Part 1 of this lesson, Chris focused on control of the entry and then the timing and rhythm of the take-off movements. In this video, Chris discusses the arms in… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen offers detailed insights about head position and movement during the final moments of a jump take-off. Like most elite coaches, Jeremy advocates head anchoring where the head remains still with respect to the… Continue reading
Moves in the field and skating skills expert Karen Olson continues her presentation on choctaws and in particular, the Junior USFS Moves in the Field Choctaw Sequence. The information in this video is independent of the moves pattern and is… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau shares a helpful exercise to develop stopping skills (on both feet), knee action and rhythm, and upper body control. As Kate notes, this exercise is fun and skaters will enjoy learning it and performing it… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a beginning axel lesson to a young skater. This video is a continuation of a previous video where Audrey and this skater worked on air position issues and back spins (which are also… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna continues his series of videos discussing and explaining the prints left on the ice for various jumps. In this video he discusses the double and triple toe loop from a forward inside three turn entrance. Nick… Continue reading
Coach Amy Brolsma shares a valuable tip for helping skaters at every level improve their skating skills and their turns. By using objects or toys that the skater can hold with both hands, the coach can reduce the uncontrolled arm… Continue reading
Two-time World Ice Dance Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue teach a backward crossover drill in high Kilian. The purpose of this drill is to develop the correct up and down timing of the knees and match partner movements, as… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen continues her series on using a stationary off-ice harness for air position and rotation training for figure skating jumps. In Part 1, Sheila discussed basic setup and safety issues. In Part 2, Sheila explained… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch gives one of her skaters a lesson on improving a forward upright scratch spin as well as a backspin. This kind of lesson is important because once a skater develops some competence with these spins, the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh discusses 3 distinct issues that coaches face when working on jumps with their skaters. The first issue is when skaters simply don’t seem willing to set aside any time off the ice to watch… Continue reading
Figure skating coach and certified strength and conditioning expert Kristina Anderson talks about foam rolling as a way for skaters to speed recovery and avoid injuries or chronic tightness. This is the first video in a series on myofascial release… Continue reading
In this short video, World and Olympic coach Kori Ade reviews her skater’s program spins and offers insights and suggestions. This is a continuation of a previous video on program improvement. The first spin is a spin in one position.… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte gives a double salchow lesson. To start the lesson, he focuses on the forward outside three turn entry, and in particular, getting the free foot either on or even outside the tracing (but not inside) to… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan gives a flying sit spin lesson to a skater who is familiar with the element but not proficient. After having the skater attempt one as a baseline for the lesson, Kim has the skater… Continue reading
Moves in the field and skating skills expert Karen Olson begins a presentation on choctaws and in particular, the Junior USFS Moves in the Field Choctaw Sequence. As we’ve come to expect from Karen, she begins by breaking down more… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen continues his description and demonstration of what actually happens on a jump landing. In Part 1 he provided a detailed analysis of double, triple, and quad jump landings. In Part 2 he provided… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau begins 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 Amy Brolsma continues her presentation on a sequence of warm-up drills that she uses as an on-ice warmup with her skaters. The primary goal is to get the skaters moving and fully warmed up, but coaches can also monitor… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna continues a presentation on the print left on the ice by a good double or triple salchow. In Part 1 of this presentation, Nick talked at length about the print and the salchow technique needed to… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger is giving a lesson to a young skater who is struggling with straightening the legs. We spend so much time in figure skating telling skaters to bend the knees that we sometimes forget to… Continue reading
International figure skating coach Page Lipe explains how she typically choreographs the “skating” between when a skater’s name is called and when the skater takes the starting pose prior to a competition program. As Page notes, there is a maximum… Continue reading
Two-time World Ice Dance Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue teach the very common ice show partner spin which is sometimes referred to as the eagle spin or spread eagle spin. And although this is not a serious figure skating… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen continues her series on using a stationary off-ice harness for air position and rotation training for figure skating jumps. In Part 1, Sheila discussed basic setup and safety issues. In Part 2, Sheila explained… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues her thorough discussion of the sit spin. In Part 1 she talked at length about important fundamentals of the sit spin. In this video she shares tons of tips and insights and problem solutions. Charyl… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh talks about the challenges and decision process she uses when skaters need to make a major technique change for their jumps. As she notes, sometimes major changes are necessary when coaches get a new… Continue reading
Figure skating coach and certified strength and conditioning expert Kristina Anderson continues her discussion of hip mobility. In the previous videos (Part 1 and Part 2) she covered warm up, testing, and activation exercises for the hips. Many skaters, however,… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade is working with one of her skaters. She begins the lesson by analyzing the skater’s daily skating diary to identify problems with the program that might need to be fixed. For this kind of… Continue reading
During a camel spin lesson with spin specialist Kim Ryan, the skater complained of a tight or painful low back. As Kim demonstrates, this is often a result of tight hamstring muscles. Kim shares several stretches that can improve back… Continue reading
International coach Chris Conte shares a system he uses when developing a new double jump. He begins with a Baby Bear which is a walk-through of the double jump. [Editor’s note: Chris demonstrates a Mama Bear at the beginning of… Continue reading
Moves in the field and skating skills expert Karen Olson offers insights and tips for the Backward Rocker Choctaw Sequence pattern from the USFS Novice Moves in the Field test. She begins acknowledging that many skaters struggle on this move… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen continues his description and demonstration of what actually happens on a jump landing. In Part 1 he provided a detailed analysis of double, triple, and quad jump landings. In this video, he provides… Continue reading
Coach Amy Brolsma continues her presentation on a sequence of warm-up drills that she uses as an on-ice warmup with her skaters. The primary goal is to get the skaters moving and fully warmed up, but coaches can also monitor… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a lesson where she focuses primarily on fixing one bad jump habit. The bad habit for this skater is dropping the body or wiggling with the upper body on landing. This is a… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna discusses the print left on the ice by a good double or triple salchow. This video is related to Nick’s other presentations on jump prints such as axel prints and landing prints. In this video, he… Continue reading
Two-time World Ice Dance Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue share a fun and helpful partner exercise intended to build partner connection and control while also demonstrating how speed and power can be achieved with and without push with a… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau begins 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
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen continues her series on using a stationary off-ice harness for air position and rotation training for figure skating jumps. In Part 1, Sheila discussed basic setup and safety issues. In Part 2, Sheila explains… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch shares important details and tips for the sit spin. This is a great summary of common teaching errors, and how Charyl thinks about this spin. The sit spin is still often taught to skaters with the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh discusses the challenges of helping skaters work through fear issues associated with certain aspects of skating. She mentions the common fears of skating fast, jumping high, falling, and the fear of not succeeding. As… Continue reading
Figure skating coach and certified strength and conditioning expert Kristina Anderson continues her discussion of hip mobility. In the previous video, she explained the importance of hip mobility and offered a series of exercises to warm up and engage the… Continue reading
International figure skating coach Page Lipe continues her discussion of the salchow. In the previous video, she discussed free leg and skating leg movements, as well as where the skater’s center of mass needs to be relative to the skating… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade continues a double axel lesson. The first part of this lesson is here. In this video, Kori uses a wide variety of coaching techniques and teaching methods to help this skater. She begins… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues a camel spin lesson with a young male skater. In the previous videos of this lesson, Kim worked on a forward upright scratch spin and the basics of the camel spin. There is not a… Continue reading
In this video, International coach Chris Conte gives a power lesson to a skater at a seminar. Chris begins this lesson having the skater press away from the barrier with just the hands and arms, first with lots of bending… Continue reading
Moves in the field and skating skills expert Karen Olson talks at length about blade usage in turns, and she demonstrates drills to help skaters master the necessary rocking on the blade. Few skaters have complete mastery of their blades,… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen describes in detail what happens during a jump landing and shares drills to help skaters land correctly. He starts by explaining that skaters need to have forward body lean when landing their jumps… Continue reading
Coach Amy Brolsma shares a sequence of warm-up drills that she uses as an on-ice warmup with her skaters. The primary goal is to get the skaters moving and fully warmed up, but coaches can also monitor the warm-up to… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a fast-paced double flip lesson to a skater who can land the jump but is having problems with consistency and air position. Audrey covers a lot of ground and touches on jump direction,… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna talks about jump landing prints and what they mean. This video is related to Nick’s other presentations on jump prints such as axel prints. Nick begins this discussion with typical landing prints for under-rotated and down-graded… Continue reading
Two-time World Ice Dance Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue share a valuable exercise for improving power and stability. This exercise is simple and well-known, but Zach and Madison offer insights on how to do it well. The idea is… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau continues her discussion of an on-ice warm-up routine and additional warm-up exercises that she covered in Part 1. In this video, she discusses the importance of pressing the shoulders against the hips (twisting). Skaters that… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen continues her series on using a stationary off-ice harness for air position and rotation training for figure skating jumps. In Part 1, Sheila discussed basic setup and safety issues. [NOTE: Sheila is the President… Continue reading
In this short video, spin specialist Charyl Brusch talks about a variety of toe concepts for spins. She begins the video by addressing where to step into a backspin from a forward spin and noting that she does not typically… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh talks about the very common problem of skaters who avoid working on certain skills that they really need to work on for overall success in their skating. Michelle notes that coaches can really help… Continue reading
Figure skating coach and certified strength and conditioning expert Kristina Anderson offers exercises and insights regarding hip mobility for figure skaters. She begins by explaining why hip mobility (strength and range of motion) is so important. It helps prevent injury… Continue reading
International figure skating coach Page Lipe offers some tips and insights for salchow jump development. One very common problem with the salchow is when skaters balance on the backward entry/take-off edge with their head outside the circle or tracing the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade gives a skater a double axel lesson and begins by having the skater draw the entry and take-off pattern on the ice. Here Kori is using a forward edge where the skater steps directly… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan gives a camel spin lesson to a young male skater. In a previous video, Kim worked with this same skater on upright forward scratch spin. We begin this video with a camel spin attempt… Continue reading
Moves in the field and skating skills expert Karen Olson discusses the backward outside three turn. This is a continuation of Karen’s series of videos focused on issues faced by adult skaters, but the information in this video is applicable… Continue reading
Coach Amy Brolsma continues her discussion of the butterfly. In the first part of this discussion, Amy shared a detailed step by step approach to learning/teaching the butterfly. In this video, she offers more insights, covering a wide range of… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen offers more insights about jump air position as used by elite skaters. In two previous videos Jeremy talked about jumping with arms above the head and core positioning and head anchoring. In… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues her series of videos on the topic of competition preparation. In the first video of the series, Audrey addressed the competition planning process. In the second video, she focused on determining “the purpose… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Kate Charbonneau shares an on-ice warm-up routine and additional warm-up exercises. Skaters can use this to warm-up the body and joints and build edge control, deeper knee bend, and range of motion prior to jumping and spinning.… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna continues his discussion of the axel jump. In a related video, Nick described in detail an axel setup he uses and the print left on the ice from a good axel take-off. In this video,… Continue reading
Two-time World Ice Dance Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue teach a class on the foundational details of partner skating, and in particular, basic stroking with a partner. For those interested in partner skating (pairs or ice dance), there is… Continue reading
Figure skating specialist coach Sheila Thelen begins a series of videos on using a stationary off-ice harness for air position and rotation training for figure skating jumps. Sheila is the President of Champion Skating Harness which offers some of the… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch offers a short discussion on dizziness and spinning. As Charyl notes, basically EVERYONE gets dizzy while spinning. So the goal isn’t to try not to get dizzy, but figure out ways to deal with it after… Continue reading
This follow-up video on the walley jump is presented by International figure skating coach Page Lipe. In Part 1 she explained how she introduces and teaches the walley, with important insights and demonstrations. In this video, she continues with additional… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh offers valuable insights for coaches on how to handle the last moments before a skater takes their starting pose at a competition. She explains that this is one of her favorite coaching moments in… Continue reading
During a triple toe loop lesson, World and Olympic coach Kori Ade offers insights that will help coaches and skaters with some of the mental aspects of landing difficult jumps. The skater in the video is not yet consistent with… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby gives a young skater a lesson on the single lutz jump. This is a continuation of the lesson where Robert worked with this same skater on the single flip jump. Go back and watch… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan gives a lesson on the upright forward scratch spin. The young male skater is just learning to control the basics of this spin, and it gives Kim a chance to explain in some detail… Continue reading
Moves in the field and skating skills expert Karen Olson continues her explanation of some important details about learning the backward inside three turn, with special emphasis on the challenges faced by adult skaters with this skill. As Karen notes,… Continue reading
International coach and choreographer Chris Conte continues his series of videos where he shares a process of off-ice training techniques for developing the double axel. In the first video of this series, he shared drills and concepts to develop the… Continue reading
International coach and choreographer Chris Conte begins a series of videos where he shares a process of off-ice training techniques for developing the double axel. Obviously these methods also work for single axel development (as well as the triple axel).… Continue reading
Coach Amy Brolsma shares a process for teaching and learning the butterfly flying spin entrance. This step-by-step guide starts assuming the skater has no knowledge or experience with the butterfly, and by the end a skater should be able to… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Jeremy Allen talks about important jumping principles. He begins by addressing the concept of anchoring the head during a jump take-off. As Jeremy notes, a high percentage of elite skaters anchor the head (to the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues her series of videos on the topic of competition preparation. In the first video of the series, Audrey addressed the competition planning process. In this video, she turns her attention to determining “the… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna explains in detail what the print or tracing looks like for an axel based on how he teaches the jump. A good axel needs to have flow on the jump entry and flow on the landing… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his series on off-ice jump power training. (All of Matthew’s videos on this topic can be found on his biography page here.) In this video, Matthew shares a lunge… Continue reading
Two-time World Ice Dance Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue work with a class of skaters on a single exercise for learning to generate power. In this video, Madison and Zach explore this exercise in detail, and explain the concepts… Continue reading
Spin specialist Sheila Thelen offers some feedback to a young skater who is working on a combination spin on one foot. The combination spin starts with a bounce spin (technically not an illusion), then transitions into a shotgun sit position,… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a short series of videos discussing adult skaters and their specific issues in terms of spinning. This is a continuation of the previous video in the series on the camel spin (Part 4). In the… Continue reading
International figure skating coach Page Lipe explains how she teaches a walley. She starts by drawing a tracing on the ice and describing what a walley is. Then she explains the first step of the learning process as simply… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh shares her thoughts on how to help skaters excel under pressure. First and foremost, Michelle recommends having specific, realistic, and achievable goals that are within the skater’s control (winning a competition is almost never… Continue reading
Strength and conditioning specialist and figure skating coach Kristina Anderson shares a complete off-ice warm-up sequence that anyone can do, even with little space and no equipment. Kristina uses “painters tape” to create an “agility ladder” as well as a… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby gives a young skater a lesson on the single flip jump. For most of the lesson, Robert is focused on helping the skater avoid the toe pick scratching she is doing as she picks… Continue reading
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster teaches a class of skaters a warm-up sequence. He begins with some breathing exercises, followed by a simple relaxation exercise that includes an exhale and bending of the ankles, knees, and hips. Next he does a… Continue reading
Moves in the field and skating skills expert Karen Olson explains important details about learning the backward inside three turn, with special emphasis on the challenges faced by adult skaters with this skill. As Karen notes, this is a challenging… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Amy Brolsma shares a process for teaching and learning the walley jump. A walley is a jump from a backward inside edge, with rotation in the non-natural direction, to a standard landing position on the outside edge… Continue reading
International coach Jeremy Allen discusses the benefits of jumping with one arm up and both arms up, and he also provides details on how to do it effectively. Jeremy states that jumping with one or both arms over the head… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger begins a series of videos on the topic of competition preparation. This series covers a lot of ideas and a wide time frame leading up to the competition under consideration. Audrey recommends starting “at… Continue reading
Trevor Laak analyzes an excellent single axel, sharing insights about what makes this jump so good. This axel was performed by Madison Xaphakdy and was entered in the iCoachSkating Axel Contest held in November of 2018. Madison’s axel won the… Continue reading
2018 World Ice Dance Silver Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue work on acceleration with a class of skaters at a seminar. Zach initially shows an exercise intended to allow skaters to feel acceleration and deceleration while on a flat… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna talks about speed and power and offers some tips for developing more speed and power. To begin the video, he stresses the need to encourage skaters to “crunch” the ice on every push. He says, “If… Continue reading
In this video, International coach Chris Conte continues a lesson with a male skater who he had worked with earlier on skating skills. You can watch those videos here Part 1 – Tips on Forward Stroking and here Part 2… Continue reading
Spin specialist Sheila Thelen continues a layback lesson with a skater. In the first part of the lesson, Sheila worked on improving this skater’s standard haircutter (forward spin). In this video, Sheila helps the skater learn a haircutter from a… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a short series of videos discussing adult skaters and their specific issues in terms of spinning. In the previous 3 videos of the series (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) Charyl covered general helpful tips… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade gives a double axel lesson to one of her skaters. Kori begins by noting that for skaters who have roughly the same technical skills in their programs, details are what separate the competitors in… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh offers insights and advice to skating parents. Many coaches wish that skating parents would have minimal involvement in the development of a skater, but as you’ll learn in this video, Michelle wants knowledgeable parents… Continue reading
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster works with a class on ways to generate more power from basic pushes. Many of these concepts are similar to those Doug has already shared here at iCoachSkating. To begin this class, Doug explains that skaters… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan gives a young skater a lesson on some sit spin variations. The first variation is a sit forward which is known as the pancake. After the skater attempts one, Kim takes the skater to sit in… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby gives a young skater a lesson on the single loop jump and the loop-loop combination. After having the skater perform a single, Robert suggests getting more h-position (knee up) and more arm drive to… Continue reading
In this video from a few years ago, World and Olympic figure skating coach Audrey Weisiger talks about walleys during an on-ice lutz class at one of her acclaimed Grassroots to Champions seminars. (The earlier parts of this class are… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his series on off-ice jump power training. (All of Matthew’s videos on this topic can be found on his biography page here.) This video is a follow up to… Continue reading
2018 World Ice Dance Silver Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue teach a class of skaters a couple more partner skating drills. This video builds on the earlier videos in the series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.… Continue reading
International coach and jump specialist Nick Perna shares a simple drill or jump concept for properly “turning over” the axel jump. The drill is done at the wall to provide something for the skater to hang on to. Nick explains… Continue reading
National coach Chris Conte continues a lesson with a male skater that is focused on skating skills. In the previous video, Chris helped him develop long and powerful forward strokes or pushes. In this video, Chris focuses on forward crossovers… Continue reading
In this video, coach Sheila Thelen is working with a skater on the haircutter layback variation position. The skater has a good start on the position, but Sheila offers some helpful tips regarding where to position the arms and head,… Continue reading
This video is the final installment in this series of an off-ice training class for figure skaters at an indoor trampoline park. The skaters shown are at varying levels, and they were training at the time with World and Olympic… Continue reading
This video is a continuation of an off-ice training class for figure skaters at an indoor trampoline park. The skaters shown are at varying levels, and they were training at the time with World and Olympic coach Kori Ade. Some… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a short series of videos discussing adult skaters and their specific issues in terms of spinning. She offers many tips for working with adult skaters to help them improve their spins. See Part 1 here… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh talks about the process of determining whether a skater is ready to move on and learn a new jump. This discussion is similar to that of Audrey Weisiger here, and coaches who struggle with… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan gives a young skater a lesson on her broken leg sit spin. Kim starts the lesson by analyzing and improving the skater’s forward sit spin before working on the broken leg transition and position. To improve… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby offers sage advice regarding learning to skate and perform under pressure. In the video, Robert is teaching a class on the double toe loop at a local seminar. One of the skaters was asked… Continue reading
In this video from a few years ago, World and Olympic figure skating coach Audrey Weisiger continues with an on-ice lutz class at one of her acclaimed Grassroots to Champions seminars. In part 1 of the lutz class, Audrey shared… Continue reading
In this video from a few years ago, World and Olympic figure skating coach Audrey Weisiger teaches an on-ice class at one of her acclaimed Grassroots to Champions seminars. The topic in the class is the lutz jump, and as… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his series on off-ice jump power training. In the first video of the series, he demonstrated a fancy setup for gathering detailed data for monitoring a skater’s progress and… Continue reading
2018 World Ice Dance Silver Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue teach a class of skaters backward crossovers with a partner. The video builds on a repeating series of back inside edges in the previous video and another video discussing… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna shares a drill he calls the “knuckle drill” to help skaters work on their jump air position for multi-rotation jumps. The drill can also be effective as a training tool for the backspin. To do the… Continue reading
National coach (and entertainment expert) Chris Conte does a nice analysis of a waltz jump performed by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. This is fun stuff, but the information in the video is actually technically outstanding, so please take this video seriously.… Continue reading
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster teaches a class of young skaters some basic skills concepts and drills. He starts by stating “always bend before you push” and he makes it clear that skaters need to bend from their ankles, knees and… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues a short series of videos discussing adult skaters and their specific issues in terms of spinning. She offers many tips for working with adult skaters to help them improve their spins. See Part 1 here.… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh shows a simple but very effective off-ice drill for helping with weak air positions. Many skaters suffer from a “pike” air position where the body is forward and the hips are pressed back in… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Kim Ryan gives a young skater a lesson on the beginner backspin. The real value in this video is not only the process that Kim uses, but the coaching along the way. This skater is struggling… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby talks about the triple salchow and offers helpful tips that apply to all skaters, as well as individual feedback for each of the skaters in the class he’s teaching. This video is a continuation… Continue reading
World and Olympic figure skating coach Audrey Weisiger discusses at length the issues associated with determining when a skater is ready to try new elements, particularly new jumps. One factor to take into account is jump air time. If a… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his series on jump power training. In the first video of the series, he demonstrated a fancy setup for gathering detailed data for monitoring a skater’s progress and providing… Continue reading
Spin specialist Sheila Thelen works with a skater on the upright forward I-spin. In particular, Sheila offers some tips for the foot grab and second arm assist. Also, the discussion about rising up to straighten the skating knee is very… Continue reading
This video is a continuation of an off-ice training class for figure skaters at an indoor trampoline park. The skaters shown are at varying levels, and they were training at the time with World and Olympic coach Kori Ade. Some… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna continues his explanation of the “3 Statues Drill” that he uses to help skaters develop the proper timing necessary for stepping up strongly into a waltz jump or axel. One of the most common errors with… Continue reading
National coach Chris Conte begins a lesson with a skater that is focused on skating skills. In this video, Chris is helping a skater develop long and powerful forward strokes or pushes. He describes what he wants as a “push… Continue reading
2018 World Ice Dance Silver Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue teach a class of skaters backward crossovers, and particularly, how to do them with power. The video builds on a repeating series of back inside edges in the previous… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch begins a short series of videos discussing adult skaters and their specific issues in terms of spinning. She offers many tips for working with adult skaters to help them improve their spins. Charyl notes that in… Continue reading
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster continues his step sequence lesson with a skater. In the first part of the lesson, Doug focused on the mechanics of the step sequence itself, and in this part, he shares insights about performing and improving… Continue reading
In this short video, World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh talks about one of the most important but commonly-ignored topics for good jumping. Good jumps simply cannot happen if the skater has excessive body tension during the execution of the… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues her lesson with a skater just learning a layback spin (see part 1 here). In this part of the lesson, Kim challenges the skater to learn the haircutter variation. As you’ll see, Kim uses a… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby shares some ideas regarding position and timing for the salchow jump. He begins on two feet with the axis arm up and to the side and the non-axis arm in front. The movement begins… Continue reading
In this very short video, World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger shares a very simple but powerful method for motivating skaters and for addressing one of the most common issues facing skaters who train regularly. Day-to-day progress can be brutally… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his series on jump power training. In the first video of the series, he demonstrated a fancy setup for gathering detailed data for monitoring a skater’s progress and providing… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna explains the “3 Statues Drill” he uses to help skaters develop the proper timing necessary for stepping up strongly into a waltz jump or axel. One of the most common errors with the waltz jump or… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Bobbe Shire shares insights about how to fix a flying sit spin that spins too much at take-off so the skater cannot get proper lift. It is very common for skaters to either create too much… Continue reading
Figure skating jump specialist Sheila Thelen works with a skater on her axel take-off. In this short video, Sheila uses Champion Cords in what she calls “handcuffs” to constrain the potential movement of the arms and hands. By using the… Continue reading
National coach Chris Conte continues his triple loop lesson with a skater who is building a triple loop from the double. In the first part, he observed that this skater’s jump lacks quickness, particularly in the hook. In the second… Continue reading
This video is a continuation of an off-ice training class for figure skaters at an indoor trampoline park. The skaters shown are at varying levels, and they were training at the time with World and Olympic coach Kori Ade. Some… Continue reading
2018 World Ice Dance Silver Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue teach a class of skaters a repeating series of back inside edges. This exercise is performed on two feet, although the skater’s weight is nearly 100% on the inside… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch discusses the strategy and processes she uses to help her skaters develop spins to maximize IJS points in competition. This process focuses on quality over quantity, and Charyl builds upon the inherent strengths the skater already… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna talks about the importance of learning to balance at a standstill on one foot. To help skaters master the control of the exit edges of turns, Nick uses a drill he calls the hitchy coo which… Continue reading
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster works with a skater to improve the step sequence in her program. The focus is on deepening her edges, generating more power, moving smoothly from one movement to the next, improving the look of turns, and… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh explains how to fix a 2-foot toe loop take-off. First, she draws a tracing for the toe loop on the ice and explains what’s supposed to happen on a correct toe loop. As she… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan works with a skater on the basics of the layback spin. She says, “The number one most important thing about a layback spin is you have to find your balance, and you have to find the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby offers a skating or footwork drill intended to help improve the setup for axel. When you watch the video, you’ll notice that the exercise is not a rigid set of turns and steps, but… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Bobbe Shire continues her discussion of the layback spin. During the first part of this video, Bobbe talks at length about how to make a layback spin faster or spin longer. She talks about arm and… Continue reading
National coach Chris Conte continues his triple loop lesson with a skater who is building a triple loop from the double. In the first part, he observed that this skater’s jump lacks quickness, particularly in the hook. In this video,… Continue reading
Figure skating jump specialist Nick Perna compares the 2 different types of take-offs we see for the lutz jump. In the video he is comparing a triple lutz take-off by 1998 Olympic Champion Ilia Kulik and a triple lutz take-off… Continue reading
This video is a continuation of an off-ice training class for figure skaters at an indoor trampoline park. The skaters shown are at varying levels, and they were training at the time with World and Olympic coach Kori Ade. Coach… Continue reading
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster gives a lesson where he explains exactly how to generate power during a turn in skating. In this case, the turn is a 3-turn, but the concept applies to any turn (3-turns, brackets, rockers, and counters).… Continue reading
Figure skating jump specialist Sheila Thelen works with a skater having a solid single axel on building a double axel. To begin the session, she tries to understand the skater’s level of confidence with the double. Early in the lesson,… Continue reading
2018 World Ice Dance Silver Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue teach a fun exercise for generating momentum with a partner. This exercise is a simplification of the always-fun “slingshot” pass-by and it teaches important partnering skills in a very… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch explains how she teaches the upright spin variation called the Y-spin (sometimes also called the “heel stretch spin”). This video contains tons of important observations and insights to help anyone working on this upright… Continue reading
Jump specialist Trevor Laak continues his lesson with a skater who is working on the triple salchow. The skater has a solid double but lacks consistently high enough air times to land the triple. In the first part of this… Continue reading
Jump specialist Trevor Laak gives a lesson to a skater who is working on the triple salchow. The skater has a solid double but lacks consistently high enough air times to land the triple. This video is closely related to… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh explains one of the most important concepts related to doing good salchows. To create the rotational energy and jump height necessary to do triples and quads, skaters must generate large rotational and vertical forces… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan continues with a layback spin lesson. You can view part 1 of this lesson here. In this part, Kim works with the skater to integrate a haircutter position into the spin and a stronger exit.… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger shares some of her tried and true motivational methods she uses to constantly push her skaters to train harder and to break through training plateaus.
2011 US Men’s Champion Ryan Bradley gives a skater a lesson on axel and double salchow. The value in sharing this video is in seeing how a coach like Ryan patiently demands more control from the skater. There are many… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his series on jump power training. In the first video of the series, he demonstrated a fancy setup for gathering detailed data for monitoring a skater’s progress and providing… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby explains how he teaches a lutz jump. This presentation is very similar to Robert’s previous presentation on the lutz, but those who use this technique will find even more helpful information in this video.… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna offers important insights regarding jump walk-throughs. Nick begins by explaining the importance of doing walkthroughs, and cites examples of elite skaters repeatedly doing walkthroughs just before competing. But just doing walkthroughs is not enough. They need… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Bobbe Shire shares some thoughts about spin training. To start the video, she finishes up a discussion of the backspin layback she covered here. She suggests using a running 3-turn sequence to get into the spin.… Continue reading
This video is a continuation of a lesson Sheila Thelen is giving a skater on the double loop. In Part 1 Sheila focused on proper air position and quick landings. In this part of the lesson, she focuses on head… Continue reading
National coach Chris Conte works on the triple loop with a skater who has a solid and consistent double loop. To begin the lesson, Chris immediately observes that the “hook” and rotation is slow on both the double loop and… Continue reading
In the very short video below, National coach Chris Conte explains that skaters in pain almost always lack the ability to train through the pain successfully when they are attempting skills they have never mastered or had success with. The… Continue reading
In this video, we get to see some off-ice training exercises for figure skaters at an indoor trampoline park. This video shows skaters of varying levels who were training at the time with World and Olympic coach Kori Ade. Coach… Continue reading
2018 World Ice Dance Silver Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue offer two exercises for generating power and flow in the context of skating with a partner. The first exercise is just a repeating series of dance swing rolls. The… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch explains and demonstrates how she would teach a front layover camel to a proficient spinner. Obviously, skaters need a consistent front camel spin before they can really work on this. Charyl describes an initial… Continue reading
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster continues his lesson on cross strokes. In the earlier part of the lesson, Doug focused on leg and hip position. In this video, he focuses more on the actual push and movements to create power. As… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh shares some important insights regarding how to properly create edge pressure for a loop jump. As Michelle notes, elite skaters typically do not bend their axis (take-off) leg very much when performing a triple… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan works with a skater to improve a layback spin. Kim starts the lesson by discussing the details of centering the upright spin before entering the layback position. This provides a great summary of Kim’s basic spin… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger offers insights and discussion regarding distractions during competition, and how to train and prepare for them. The simple fact is, most distractions at competition are impossible to predict in advance, so coaches and skaters… Continue reading
2011 US Men’s Champion Ryan Bradley shares a series of drills for developing the toe loop. In the video, Ryan is working with a class that already has double toe, so the emphasis is on technique and quickness for the… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis talks about one of the methods he uses to train his skaters for jump power. In the video, Matthew has his skater standing on a jump mat and she is… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna begins a jump lesson with some h-position and d-position drills. The skater in the lesson is a relatively high level skater, and she makes the drills look easy. But for younger and less advanced skaters, there… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Sheila Thelen works with a skater on the landing details of the double loop. This skater still has a slightly inconsistent take-off with varying air times, and some attempts are clearly a bit short of rotation.… Continue reading
Olympians and 2018 US National Ice Dance Champions Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue share partnering wisdom with a class of non-elite skaters. There is only one skating exercise in this video, but there’s a large volume of teaching by Madison… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Bobbe Shire offers insights about the layback spin and also explains the tricks for learning a layback backspin. One important tip for a forward layback or a backspin layback is to stop the free leg from… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade continues with a lesson for two young skaters. Part 1 of the basic skills lesson focused on blade awareness and usage, and some introduction to jumping. In Part 2, Kori focused on fundamental… Continue reading
Jump specialist Trevor Laak continues his lesson with a skater to fix a change of edge problem on the lutz (or double lutz). In the first part of the lesson, Trevor focused on timing and pick placement, using a series… Continue reading
Jump specialist Trevor Laak works with a skater to fix a change of edge problem on the lutz (or double lutz). In the lesson, Trevor uses back power pulls and specific timing to try to help the skater get the… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch shares how she teaches a change edge camel spin. This is a forward camel spin (blade skating backward, technically on an inside edge) that switches edge and skating direction (blade skating forward, technically on… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby talks about single, double, and triple toe as the second or third jump of a combination. Several concepts Robert explains will be surprising to many coaches and skaters, as there are many misunderstandings about… Continue reading
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster gives a skater a lesson on cross strokes. Doug focuses almost entirely on the free leg and hip position on the preparation of the entry edge of the cross stroke. This information is rarely discussed in… Continue reading
In this figure skating video, World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh is giving a lesson to skater who is just starting to develop the double axel. This short video focuses on one exercise, the “cheated loop.” This exercise is… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan teaches a skater how to do a layover camel spin. Going into this lesson, the skater had never attempted a layover, so we get to see how Kim introduces it and builds it up. We also… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger talks about some of the uncertainties of competition and how coaches can help skaters prepare for it. In particular, the competition warm-up can be very stressful. Audrey says, “Competition is always semi-chaotic if not… Continue reading
2011 US Men’s Champion Ryan Bradley teaches a class on how to improve the quickness of jump landings. In the US this is usually talked about as “checking out” of jumps. The context of this video is: the class is… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his discussion of core strength training for figure skaters. In Part 1 of the series, Matthew described how to properly use a TRX Rip Trainer. In Part 2, he… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna continues a double axel lesson. In Part 1, Nick focused on quickness drills and used the double loop to work on quickness, alignment, and air position. In this video, Nick starts with a double axel attempt… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Sheila Thelen gives a skater a lesson the layback spin. As you’ll see, this skater’s base layback is actually more like a side layback. She has a very hard time going straight back. Sheila addresses this… Continue reading
National figure skating coach and choreographer Chris Conte is giving a triple toe loop lesson as a guest coach. This video is a continuation of the same lesson where Chris worked with this skater on the triple salchow. In this… Continue reading
2018 US National Ice Dance Champions Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue teach a class of skaters some basics of partnering. Maddie and Zach are teaching the skaters basic shadow skating without holding on. This is also called side-by-side skating. This… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade continues with a lesson for two young skaters. Part 1 of the basic skills lesson focused on blade awareness and usage, and some introduction to jumping. In this part of the lesson, Kori… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Bobbe Shire talks about using the layback spin to maximize IJS points and simply to have fun with. At the beginning, Bobbe discusses trying to get a level 4 call for a layback as a spin… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch explains and demonstrates the process of teaching a Hamill camel to a skater who can already spin well. The move was popularized by 1976 Olympic Champion Dorothy Hamill and it’s not so much a… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby continues his presentation on how he teaches a butterfly flying spin entrance. In Part 1, Robert shared a detailed, step-by-step process to learn the butterfly. Here in Part 2, Robert addresses two of the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby shows how he teaches a butterfly flying spin entrance to a group of skaters. This is an excellent presentation that offers a large number of tips that allow a skater to learn this difficult… Continue reading
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster continues his work with a skater on her footwork. The first part of this lesson is here. In this part, the primary focus is on improving the illusion and getting the exit direction correct to improve… Continue reading
In this figure skating video, World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh gives an advanced skater a lesson on the triple flip and triple loop. The skater is clearly an excellent athlete as can be seen from the air time on… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan shares a drill she uses to help skaters with the basics of a “victory spin” which is also known as a Y-spin. This spin is an upright spin with the free leg held up to roughly… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues with a discussion of how to motivate skaters. This video is a continuation of Audrey’s presentation on The LRP Game and you should watch that video prior to this one to fully understand… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his discussion of core strength training for figure skaters. In Part 1 of the series, Matthew described how to properly use a TRX Rip Trainer. In Part 2, he… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna gives a double axel lesson. To begin the lesson, he “learns about” the skater by observing a backspin, several waltz jumps, a single axel, and then some double loops. In this first part of the lesson,… Continue reading
National figure skating coach and choreographer Chris Conte is giving a triple salchow lesson as a guest coach. At the time this video was recorded, Chris had worked very little with this skater, if at all (maybe on double axel).… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade gives a lesson to two young skaters. This basic skills lesson focuses on blade awareness and usage, and some introduction to jumping. To start the lesson, Kori has the skaters do a series of… Continue reading
Figure skating spin specialist Charyl Brusch teaches an illusion. The illusion falls under the “windmill” type spin in IJS language and is performed as part of a backspin. (A similar-looking spin done using the forward spin is called “bounces.”) Charyl… Continue reading
In this short figure skating video, World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby shares an excellent warm-up drill for jumping. The drill is a series of 4 twizzles, performed in a “box” pattern. Each twizzle rotates in the skaters jump rotation… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Sheila Thelen works with a skater to improve the twist of the shoulders to get the core change on a back sit. The skater is not leveraging the arms and skating side elbow to help create… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh is working with a male skater on building a double flip from a solid single. This skater has not yet landed the double at the time this video was recorded, and Michelle covers some… Continue reading
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster works with a skater on a footwork sequence. This process of fine tuning is usually necessary to create a more advanced footwork sequence with better edge quality and overall presentation. Doug focuses on a wide range… Continue reading
Spin specialist Kim Ryan works with a skater on her side layback. In the desired position for this spin, the shoulders should be vertically stacked. But even many skaters who have good flexibility to the side may have problems getting… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Laurent Depouilly offers some helpful coaching ideas related to beginner spins and using a trampoline for jump training. At the beginning of the video, Laurent has the skater do a sit spin and then a camel… Continue reading
National figure skating coach and choreographer Chris Conte continues with a double axel lesson for a skater at a camp. In Part 1, Chris analyzed the skater’s jump and talked about how he thinks about the jump, including the “how… Continue reading
Figure skating strength and conditioning expert Matthew Blair Davis continues his discussion of core strength training for figure skaters. In Part 1 of the series, Matthew described how to properly use a TRX Rip Trainer. In Part 2, he… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Kori Ade uses the split jump as a teaching tool for developing flow and rotation and proper jump/pick timing on flip and lutz jumps. She uses the split flip and split lutz all the time with… Continue reading
Spin specialist Charyl Brusch continues her presentation on the butterfly spin entrance. This video clarifies some of the concepts covered in Part 1. Charyl discusses leg fanning, second leg timing (starts up before second leg drops), a strong back, the… Continue reading
World and Olympic coach Robert Tebby shares his approach to teaching the lutz jump. This is a relatively traditional approach to the lutz, and those that teach this jump from a shallow outside edge setup will find much to use… Continue reading
International coach Nick Perna is giving a skater a lesson on the double toe loop, and trying to get the skater to cross her feet in the air. This is a common problem, so seeing the process that Nick uses… Continue reading
Figure skating coach Sheila Thelen continues her lesson with a skater on an advanced spin that the skater wants to get Level 4, but it’s getting called as Level 3. In Part 1, Sheila focused on the spin entry… Continue reading
In this figure skating video, World and Olympic coach Michelle Leigh is working with a skater to improve a relatively new double salchow. The focus is on control and timing. The skater is using a forward inside three turn entrance… Continue reading