Doug Leigh is a World and Olympic coach who teaches at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ontario (Canada). He has more than 40 years of coaching experience at all levels, from beginners through elite World and Olympic skaters.
Doug is one of the most accomplished figure skating coaches in history. He’s coached at 26 World Championships and 6 Winter Olympic Games, as well as more than 35 consecutive Canadian Championships. He coached World Champions and Olympic Medalists Brian Orser and Elvis Stojko, as well as World Medalist Takeshi Honda. He has coached over 50 Canadian National Medalists, including 6 time Canadian Ladies Champion Jennifer Robinson and 8 time Canadian Men’s Champion Brian Orser. Under his leadership and guidance, Mariposa has 20 World and Olympic Medals.
Doug is incredibly passionate about figure skating and coaching, and he teaches at numerous seminars and camps throughout the world. His attention to detail, his focus on fundamentals, and his infectious enthusiasm are driving factors in his success. Doug is a master motivator who gets results by building and sharing a vision for success. He is also a frequent motivational speaker at schools, clubs and charities for a variety of important causes.
Most recent videos at the top…
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Mental Toughness is Learned (Doug Leigh)
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh shares his 9 Rules of Mental Toughness. He calls it the “Inner Strength that makes the ultimate difference, because for me everything starts and ends with me.” Here are Doug’s 9 Rules: Self-Motivated and Self-Directed – You don’t need to be pushed, shoved, or forced from the outside. Your […] Continue reading →
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Building Skater Understanding and Confidence (Doug Leigh)
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh discusses how coaches can help build skater confidence and create the desired changes in their skating. He begins by showing a technique that can be used on nearly any edge. By placing the skater’s hands on their own hips (especially left hand on left hip) they can feel alignment […] Continue reading →
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Coaching Philosophy – Bubble Edges to Quads (Doug Leigh)
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh offers insights into his philosophy of coaching. He discusses quite a few things in this video, but it all boils down to starting with solid fundamentals and being a good person and mentor. To start the video, Doug notes that he does not like the idea of “errors” or […] Continue reading →
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Popping Jumps, Positive Coaching (Doug Leigh)
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh briefly discusses the concept of popping jumps and how he prefers to interact with his skaters to create positive changes. He begins, “I talk about something I never like talking about… popping jumps. I really dislike that word, because I want to know what caused it. If I fix […] Continue reading →
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Loop Jump Insights (Doug Leigh)
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh shares thoughts and exercises about the loop jump. He begins by discussing jump landings in general, showing an exercise at the wall that simulates air position and checking the rotation at landing. He begins this by facing the wall and standing on the toe pick of the non-axis skate […] Continue reading →
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Foundations of Great Skating (Doug Leigh)
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh talks about a variety of concepts that combine to create great skating (and coaching). He begins by saying, “The foundation of skating period is how well can you skate – edge quality, the power, the balance.” This simple idea is often lost in discussions of details of specific elements […] Continue reading →
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Relating Jump Take-Off, Air Position, and Landing Movements (Doug Leigh)
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh continues his discussion from the previous video covering insights of the seatbelt air position. He begins this video by analyzing a video of the take-off movements of a double axel of one of his skaters, showing how the hands and arms create repeatable and consistent movements and positions that […] Continue reading →
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Insights Regarding Seatbelt Air Position (Doug Leigh)
World and Olympic coach Doug Leigh shares insights and benefits of using the “seatbelt” air position for jumping. He begins with a short discussion of philosophy on continuing education, with passion, details, finesse, and purpose. As an introduction to air position, Doug initially talks about how the air position flows into the landing, so the […] Continue reading →