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Edge Class – Part 7 Power Pulls With Hockey Puck (Chris Conte)
Choreographer Chris Conte continues with his class on edges and power generation. As noted in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 this class was in Korea on one of Chris’s visits and you’ll notice Eun Hee Lee translating for her Korean skaters. Please excuse the audio on this […] Continue reading →
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Edge Class – Part 6 (Chris Conte)
Choreographer Chris Conte continues with his class on edges and power generation. As noted in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 this class was in Korea on one of Chris’s visits and you’ll notice Eun Hee Lee translating for her Korean skaters. Please excuse the audio on this video as […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Tip: Where To Skate On The Blade (Frank Carroll)
Olympic Coach Frank Carroll offers insights about proper blade usage. As Frank explains, skaters often don’t think much about what part of their blade they should be skating on. So he offers an easy to remember “speedboat analogy” that will help both skaters and coaches alike. (This presentation is similar in many ways to the […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Footwork – The Choctaw Part 2 (Amy Brolsma)
In this short video, Amy Brolsma continues her explanation of choctaws. In Part 1, she introduced an exercise at the wall and then showed how she works with a skater to develop the step away from the wall. In this video, she starts with a simple standstill drill for engaging the shoulders and body for […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Footwork – Choctaws Part 1 (Amy Brolsma)
Amy Brolsma explains how she teaches choctaws. Choctaws are a relatively advanced skating step. Amy starts with a relatively simple drill at the wall and she explains that the skater must fully shift weight or the drill is worthless. Next, Amy moves away from the wall and she encourages coaches to have their skaters start […] Continue reading →
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Compulsory Figures – Threes to Center (Page Lipe)
Page Lipe continues her discussion of compulsory figures (also called school figures). In the previous videos in this series, Page laid out a set of circles without using a scribe , discussed the forward outside 8, briefly demonstrated the forward inside 8, explained the backward outside 8, and showed the backward inside 8. In this […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Moves In The Field – Inside Slide Chasse (Amy Brolsma)
Amy Brolsma shares some tips for teaching and properly executing an inside slide chasse or slip. This element shows up as a major part of the US Figure Skating Intermediate Moves In The Field Test. Although this element is not difficult, many skaters do not do it correctly. The most common error is many skaters […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Power Pulls – More Details (Karen Olson)
Karen Olson continues her discussion of power pulls. In two recent videos she covered forward power pulls and backward power pulls as independent elements and as they relate to the US Figure Skating Pre-Juvenile Moves in the Field test. In this video, Karen addresses one of the most common errors and offers ideas on how to […] Continue reading →
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Compulsory Figures – Backward Inside 8 (Page Lipe)
Page Lipe continues her discussion of compulsory figures (also called school figures). In the previous videos in this series, Page laid out a set of circles without using a scribe , discussed the forward outside 8, briefly demonstrated the forward inside 8, and explained the backward outside 8. In this video, Page explains the details […] Continue reading →
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Edge Class – Part 5 (Chris Conte)
Choreographer Chris Conte continues with his class on edges and power generation. As noted in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 this class was in Korea on one of Chris’s visits and you’ll notice Eun Hee Lee translating for her Korean skaters. Please excuse the audio on this video as it was […] Continue reading →
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Edge Class – Part 4 (Chris Conte)
Choreographer Chris Conte continues with his class on edges and power generation. As noted in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 this class was in Korea on one of Chris’s visits and you’ll notice Eun Hee Lee translating for her Korean skaters. Please excuse the audio on this video as it was taken during […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Skills – Backward Power Pulls (Karen Olson)
Karen Olson explains and demonstrates how she teaches backward power pulls for skaters just learning power pulls and those working to pass the US Figure Skating Pre-Juvenile Moves in the Field test. This is a continuation of a recent video Karen did on forward power pulls. Karen also did a video a while back on […] Continue reading →
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How to Ice Skate – Backward Crossovers (Nick Perna)
Nick Perna shares his thoughts and insights about learning and teaching backward crossovers (also called crosscuts). This is a follow-up to his earlier video on forward crossovers. Much like the earlier video, this is an in-depth video covering details which are generally glossed over by many coaches. Nick begins the presentation by noting that most skaters […] Continue reading →
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Backward Cross Strokes (Amy Brolsma)
Amy Brolsma explains and demonstrates how she teaches backward cross strokes. (This video is a follow-up to Amy’s video on forward cross strokes.) Cross strokes appear repeatedly in the US Figure Skating Moves in the Field tests and are an excellent tool for choreographers to use with a skater to generate speed and power while […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Power Pulls – USFS Pre-Juvenile Moves (Karen Olson)
Karen Olson explains and demonstrates how she teaches forward power pulls for skaters just learning power pulls and those working to pass the US Figure Skating Pre-Juvenile Moves in the Field test. Karen did a previous video on power pulls but this video covers forward power pulls in more detail. As in the previous video, […] Continue reading →
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Compulsory Figures – Backward Outside 8 (Page Lipe)
Page Lipe continues her discussion of compulsory figures (also called school figures). In the previous videos in this series, Page laid out a set of circles without using a scribe , discussed the forward outside 8, and briefly demonstrated the forward inside 8. In this video, Page explains the push for the backward outside 8, […] Continue reading →
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Compulsory Figures – Forward Inside 8 (Page Lipe)
In this very short video, Page Lipe demonstrates the forward inside 8 compulsory figures pattern. This is a continuation of Page’s earlier figures videos. The value of this short video is in Page’s description of the starting position and the alignment that Page demonstrates throughout the pattern. (Note that we were sharing the ice with […] Continue reading →
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Edge Class – Part 3 (Chris Conte)
Choreographer Chris Conte continues with his class on edges and power generation. As noted in Part 1 and Part 2 this class was in Korea on one of Chris’s visits and you’ll notice Eun Hee Lee translating for her Korean skaters. Please excuse the audio on this video as it was taken during the class […] Continue reading →
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Edge Class – Part 2 (Chris Conte)
Choreographer Chris Conte continues with his class on edges and power generation. As noted in Part 1, this class was in Korea on one of Chris’s visits and you’ll notice Eun Hee Lee translating for her Korean skaters. Please excuse the audio on this video as it was taken during the class with no wireless […] Continue reading →
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Edge Class – Part 1 (Chris Conte)
Choreographer Chris Conte teaches a class on edges and power generation. This class was in Korea on one of Chris’s visits and you’ll notice Eun Hee Lee translating for her Korean skaters. Please excuse the audio on this video as it was taken during the class with no wireless microphones so it can be difficult […] Continue reading →
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Creating Figure Skating Footwork Using FERTS Game – Part 2 (Nick Perna)
Nick Perna continues his discussion of the figure skating dice game he invented called FERTS for working on figure skating turns and steps and developing a clearer understanding of the definitions of the major turns in skating. As discussed in part 1, The FERTS game is a natural extension of Nick’s previous presentations of orphan […] Continue reading →
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Creating Figure Skating Footwork Using FERTS Game – Part 1 (Nick Perna)
Figure skating coach Nick Perna discusses a dice game he invented called FERTS for working on figure skating turns and steps and developing a clearer understanding of the definitions of the major turns in skating. The FERTS game is a natural extension of Nick’s previous discussions of orphan turns. Nick explains that FERTS stands for […] Continue reading →
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Forward Cross Strokes (Amy Brolsma)
Amy Brolsma explains and demonstrates how she teaches forward cross strokes. Cross strokes appear repeatedly in the US Figure Skating Moves in the Field tests and are an excellent tool for choreographers to use with a skater to generate speed and power while changing lobes or circles. Related Video: Figure Skating Forward Cross Strokes (Karen […] Continue reading →
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Compulsory Figures – Skating the 8 – Push Off, Alignment, Movement (Page Lipe)
Page Lipe continues her discussion of compulsory figures (also called school figures). In the previous video in this series, Page laid out a set of circles without using a scribe. In this video, Page demonstrates how to skate the basic 8. She explains when and how the arms and free leg move and you can […] Continue reading →
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Unrecognized Figure Skating Turns – Orphan Turns Part 2 (Nick Perna)
Figure skating coach Nick Perna continues his discussion of a set of unnamed and unrecognized turns that he calls orphan turns because they don’t below to any family and they have no formal name. In the previous video, Nick demonstrated a forward inside orphan mohawk which he dubbed the “brackhawk.” In this video, Nick discusses […] Continue reading →
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Unrecognized Figure Skating Turns – Orphan Turns Part 1 (Nick Perna)
Nick Perna begins a discussion of what he calls “orphan turns” in figure skating. He calls them orphan turns because these “forgotten” turns don’t belong to any family and they have no formal names. These turns are generally ignored and certainly not taught formally. In this video, Nick explains the basics of turns and the […] Continue reading →
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Compulsory Figures – Drawing the Circles Without a Scribe (Page Lipe)
Page Lipe demonstrates how to draw figures circles without using a scribe. Although figures were dropped from international competition back in the early 1990’s, school figures are seeing a resurgence in popularity as coaches recognize the value of these exercises. Page has been a strong figures proponent and shares information about her Compulsory Figures Project […] Continue reading →
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Advanced Figure Skating Stops and Skids – Part 2 (Nick Perna)
In the video below, Nick Perna continues his discussion of figure skating stops and skids and covers a whole range of advanced stops and skids. He demonstrates a back two foot stop and again recommends that all skaters learn this stop on both feet. He does not allow his skaters to stop using the toe […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Stops and Skids – Part 1 (Nick Perna)
In the video below, Nick Perna begins a discussion of stops and skids. Nick starts by noting the importance of learning a variety of stops and skids. But he also acknowledges that beyond the very basic stops taught at the lowest levels of figure skating, stops and skids get very little formal attention. Many high […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Moves In The Field – Forward Inside Loops (Karen Heng Olson)
Karen Heng Olson teaches forward inside loops. See Karen’s presentation on forward outside loopsbefore watching this video. As with the forward outside loops, the shoulders start twisted into the circle. Karen emphasized the need to go slow when learning this skill as many skaters will use too much speed initially. Just like the video on forward outside […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Moves In The Field – Forward Outside Loops (Karen Heng Olson)
Karen Heng Olson teaches forward outside loops. As Karen notes in her introductory comments in this video, “as freestyle coaches, without taking as much time as they did for figures, it’s still a process to teach loops. It’s going to take a while. You have to be patient.” She explains how she only teaches one aspect […] Continue reading →
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Forward Three Turn Pattern – Preliminary Moves (Karen Olson)
Karen Olson teaches the forward outside three turns and the forward inside three turns from the US Figure Skating Preliminary Moves in the Field test. At the beginning of this video, Karen shares an insight that is important for all skaters and skating parents to recognize. Coaches that teach higher level skills often have an […] Continue reading →
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Teaching Beginning Ice Skating – Forward Crossovers (Nick Perna)
Nick Perna shares his thoughts and insights on crossovers (also called crosscuts). This is an in-depth video covering details which are generally glossed over by many coaches. As Nick says, “To me, forward crossovers and back crossovers, really to do them correctly, it involved a lot of skill and a lot of skating basics that have […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Backward Cross Strokes (Karen Olson)
Karen Olson explains and demonstrates how she teaches backward cross strokes. This video is a continuation of her video on forward cross strokes. Backward cross strokes are an important skating skill but they’re often performed incorrectly, especially at the lower skating levels. These are part of the US Figure Skating Juvenile Moves in the Field […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Forward Cross Strokes (Karen Olson)
Karen Olson explains and demonstrates how she teaches forward cross strokes. This is an important skating skill, and it first appears in the US Figure Skating Juvenile Moves in the Field Test. Karen starts these with an exercise to work on shoulder positioning and hip-against-shoulder movement. The drill is simple, but very helpful in developing […] Continue reading →
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Learn Better Figure Skating Edges – Passive Edges and Active Edges (Nick Perna)
Nick Perna discusses the theoretical and practical aspects of passive edges and active edges. He initially defines what each is and offers a demonstration of each type. As Nick notes, a passive edge “is just coasting on a curve” and is balanced. Nick continues, “An active edge is an edge producing power.” An important insight that […] Continue reading →
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US FS Moves In The Field: Backward Inside Loops – (Karen Heng Olson)
Karen Heng Olson teaches backward inside loops. At the beginning of the video, Karen references the back outside loops, but she generally teaches the back inside loops first because they are easier to learn for most skaters. Karen shows how she uses a hands-on approach for getting a skater to build initial awareness of the movements […] Continue reading →
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Skating Edge Power Tip: The Blurb Drill (Nick Perna)
Nick Perna gets back to first principles and provides more detail about what he calls the “blurb.” Nick uses the term “blurb” in many of his videos here at iCoachSkating.com. (He also calls it the “dip.”) In this video, Nick explains: “Essentially what we’re doing is we’re going to be bringing ourselves from a state of […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Edges: Backward Circle Eights Pattern – Pre-Juvenile Moves (Karen Heng Olson)
Karen Heng Olson explains the Backward Circle Eights pattern for the U.S. Figure Skating Pre-Juvenile Moves in the Field test. Karen demonstrates the moves and talks about it as she demonstrates it. Notice the technique used and strength of the pushes. Karen discusses the order of movements and how the movements should be narrow and controlled. […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Edge Tips: Mr. Bill Drill (Nick Perna)
Nick Perna continues a series of videos covering drills and exercises he uses to help his skaters develop power, agility, coordination, and edge control and awareness. In the first three videos in this series, Nick taught the Bread Drill, the Banana Drill, the Inside Crab Walk Drill, the Outside Crab Walk Drill, and the Propeller Drill. In this video, Nick teaches […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Figures: Figure Eight Pattern – Preliminary Moves (Karen Heng Olson)
Karen Heng Olson discusses the Figure Eight pattern for the U.S. Figure Skating Preliminary Moves in the Field test. When starting this move, Karen reviews the Pre-Pre moves edges patterns. She also draws the circles for the skater. Karen recommends using a “landmark” on the ice for the skater to return to center. Karen discusses the […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Tips: Jump Class – Part 1 (Michelle Leigh)
This is the first video in a multi-video series from Olympic coach Michelle Leigh as she teaches an on-ice jumps class to some young skaters. It’s pretty rare to see just how an Olympic coach teaches low level skaters, and this class will be eye-opening for many coaches. At the time this video was recorded, the students […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Edge Tips – The Propeller Drill (Nick Perna)
Nick Perna continues a series of videos covering drills and exercises he uses to help his skaters develop power, agility, coordination, and edge control and awareness. In the first three videos in this series, Nick taught the Bread Drill, the Banana Drill, the Inside Crab Walk Drill, and the Outside Crab Walk Drill. In this […] Continue reading →
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USFS Novice Moves In The Field Twizzles – Part 4: Twizzle Pattern (Karen Heng Olson)
Karen Heng Olson discusses the full Backward Twizzle pattern from the US Figure Skating Novice Moves in the Field Test. Karen initially teaches it on the line, even though the pattern is skated on the long axis. Karen demonstrates the pattern and offers details to focus on. Karen notes it is important to finish the […] Continue reading →
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USFS Novice Moves In The Field – Part 3: Backward Inside Twizzles (Karen Heng Olson)
Karen Heng Olson explains how she introduces and refines back inside twizzles. Karen teaches it much like a flip jump take-off. She uses same arm in front (same arm as skating foot). Karen notes that she uses twizzles to help reinforce ideas related to jumping. In this video she explains she likes the arms to […] Continue reading →
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Ice Skating Edge Training: The Crab Walk Drill – Outside (Nick Perna)
Nick Perna continues a series of videos covering drills and exercises he uses to help his skaters develop power, agility, coordination, and edge control and awareness. In the first three videos in this series, Nick taught the Bread Drill, the Banana Drill, and the Crab Walk Drill (inside edge version). In this video, Nick teaches […] Continue reading →
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Ice Skating Edge Training: The Crab Walk Drill – Inside (Nick Perna)
Nick Perna continues a series of videos covering drills and exercises he uses to help his skaters develop power, agility, coordination, and edge control and awareness. In the first two videos in this series, Nick taught the Bread Drill and the Banana Drill. In this video, Nick explains and demonstrates the Crab Walk Drill. Nick […] Continue reading →
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USFS Novice Moves In The Field – Part 2: Backward Outside Twizzles (Karen Heng Olson)
Karen Heng Olson builds on her discussion of backward outside twizzles by offering a valuable exercise to work on properly building rotational energy and timing. In this short video, Karen explains how to apply the circular power three turn pattern from the Juvenile Moves to build speed and rotation for twizzles. Many coaches teach the […] Continue reading →
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USFS Novice Moves In The Field – Part 1: Backward Outside Twizzles (Karen Heng Olson)
Karen Heng Olson explains how she teaches backward outside twizzles from the beginning. In fact, in this video Karen works with a skater that has never done these twizzles before. Karen starts with back pushes with the free foot pressing behind. She wants the skater to open the free side rather than stay stiff and […] Continue reading →
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Ice Skating Edge Training: The Banana Drill (Nick Perna)
Nick Perna continues a series of videos covering drills and exercises he uses to help his skaters develop power, agility, coordination, and edge control and awareness. In the first video in this series, Nick taught the Bread Drill. In this video, Nick explains and demonstrates the Banana Drill. The drill gets it’s name because the […] Continue reading →
