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Creating Power In Turns (Douglas Webster)
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). This is the missing ingredient when it comes to lower level skaters simply lacking power […] Continue reading →
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Partner Exercise for Gaining Speed and Momentum (Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue)
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 fun way. To do this exercise well, skaters have to master partner connection (feeling a […] Continue reading →
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Power Generation Exercises and Skating With a Partner (Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue)
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 secret to generating power with this exercise is the timing of the knee action. This […] Continue reading →
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More Details About Cross Strokes (Douglas Webster)
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 Doug notes, “The push is the key to pretty much everything in skating.” He offers […] Continue reading →
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Some Fundamentals of Cross Strokes or Cross Rolls (Douglas Webster)
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 this kind of detail, and Doug does a nice job of correcting the skater so […] Continue reading →
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Shadow Skating With a Partner (Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue)
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 form of partner skating is supposed to be easy, but it never is. For some […] Continue reading →
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Footwork Illusion (Douglas Webster)
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 the edge quality of the rest of the sequence. To improve the illusion, Doug wants […] Continue reading →
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Some Basics With Young Skaters (Kori Ade)
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 backward-to-forward-to-backward 2 foot turns down the blue line. By hanging on to the skaters, Kori […] Continue reading →
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Footwork Sequence Fine Tuning (Douglas Webster)
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 of issues in this video, including head position, knee bend and rhythm, pattern and edge […] Continue reading →
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Improving the Execution of a Footwork Sequence – Part 2 (Douglas Webster)
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster continues working with a skater on her footwork sequence. See Part 1 here. In this part of the lesson, Doug focuses again on edge quality and power generation. He gives very specific feedback to the skater to improve the knee and ankle bend, including detailed instruction on exactly when to bend. […] Continue reading →
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Developmental Jump Drill for Timing and Power (Laurent Depouilly)
World and Olympic coach Laurent Depouilly shares one of his drills for developing jumping power and rhythm. The concept of the drill is simple, but skaters tend to struggle with the necessary power generation and edge quality prior to the jump. Notice the take-off from the back inside edge, much like a walley. So this […] Continue reading →
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Improving the Execution of a Footwork Sequence (Douglas Webster)
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster works with a skater on her footwork sequence. This is not an advanced skater, but she is also not a beginner. Skaters at this skill level usually struggle with power generation, knee and ankle bend depth and timing, overall edge quality, as well as slowing the tempo of movements to properly […] Continue reading →
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The Stomping Drill (Nick Perna)
International coach Nick Perna talks about “stomping” and how and why to use it in figure skating. He calls these exercises “The Stomping Drill.” Nick says, “If you can hit any edge at any time in a gliding position, whether it’s an active edge or a passive edge, you should be able to stomp.” Nick […] Continue reading →
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Deepening Edges for Skating (Douglas Webster)
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster gives a skater a lesson on the concept of deepening edges. The concept is explained in the context of a three-turn and also in the context of back inside edges (salchow). When performing three turns, most skaters simply glide above the ice and initiate the turn and check the turn with […] Continue reading →
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Forward Cross Strokes and How They Relate to Axel (Douglas Webster)
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster works with a skater on cross strokes, particularly in terms of edge pressure and power generation. Doug begins the lessons by explaining and demonstrating what he wants for the forward cross strokes (gather, push, reach). He wants the skater to “bend and extend” on the the first half of the lobe, and then […] Continue reading →
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Hydroblade Exit Tips (Kim Ryan)
In this very short video, spin specialist Kim Ryan offers tips for exiting a hydroblade position. As she notes, if you can glide in a position, you should be able to get into that position and spin in it (because it’s balanced). One of the most common errors for exiting a hydroblade is collapsing the […] Continue reading →
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Figure Skating Tips: Spread Eagles and Ina Bauers (Page Lipe)
International figure skating coach Page Lipe shares some great tips for developing and improving spread eagles and Ina Bauers. These elements can be very challenging to learn and require good drills and lots of persistence and patience. For the spread eagle, Page shows a drill where the skater leans with their back against the boards (where […] Continue reading →
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Choreography – Polishing a Footwork Sequence (Douglas Webster)
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster works with a skater to improve a circular step sequence in her program. In this video we see Doug teaching and offering insights about a program put together by a different choreographer. The value in this video is mostly a result of how Doug teaches the skater to improve the execution of […] Continue reading →
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Basic Partner Skating – Part 2 (Barrett, Hubbell, Donohue)
This video is a continuation of a class on partner skating (see Part 1 here) by US National Pair Champion Jeremy Barrett and US World ice dancers Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue. In this video, they cover a lot of ground including tracking on offset circles, basic side by side waltz jumps, and a variety […] Continue reading →
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Basic Partner Skating – Part 1 (Barrett, Hubbell, Donohue)
The vast majority of the information at iCoachSkating is focused on singles skating and particularly, on how to figure skate singles or how to teach figure skating to a singles skater. This video represents a slight deviation from this as this is about basic partner skating. This video was recorded at a Grassroots to Champions […] Continue reading →
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Fun Skids and Letting Skaters Play (Audrey Weisiger)
This is a short video follow-up to World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger‘s previous video on pivots and skids. Here Audrey recommends teaching a backward snowplow stop and skids in spirals. She highlights the need for figure skaters to play and she encourages coaches to let them play occasionally. Continue reading →
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Pivots and Motivation for Pivots and Skids (Audrey Weisiger)
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger talks about pivots and she provides motivation for learning pivots and skids/stops. She begins by showing the 4 backward pivots (right backward inside pivot, left backward inside pivot, right backward outside pivot, left backward outside pivot) and then she shows how to teach them. She explains the value of teaching […] Continue reading →
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Teaching Turns Using “Hitchy Coo” – Part 2 (Nick Perna)
International and World figure skating coach Nick Perna continues his explanation of how he teaches turns for complete mastery. In the first part of this video, Nick showed how he teaches a forward outside three-turn on a straight line using what he calls a “hitchy coo.” In this video, he shows how the other 3-turns look […] Continue reading →
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Serpentine Step Sequence – USFS Senior Moves Pt 1 (Karen Olson)
Moves in the field expert Karen Olson begins a discussion of the Serpentine Step Sequence from the USFS Senior Moves in the Field test. As with all complex moves, Karen breaks down the move into its component skills. She builds the skills up and then integrates them into the full pattern. To begin the serpentine step, […] Continue reading →
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Teaching Turns on a Straight Line Using “Hitchy Coo” (Nick Perna)
International and World figure skating coach Nick Perna shares a method for teaching complete mastery of all one foot turns in figure skating. He does not introduce this at the Learn-to-Skate level, but after a skater has developed some level of control of the entrance and exit edges. He usually begins with the forward outside three […] Continue reading →
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Toe Hops, Blade Work, Toe Loops (Audrey Weisiger)
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger covers a variety of topics related to blade control and usage, with an emphasis on toe hops and some discussion of the toe loop jump. This video is a continuation of Audrey’s discussion of split jumps, mazurkas, and ballet jumps. Audrey begins here with a discussion of toe hops, and […] Continue reading →
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Sustained Edge Step – USFS Senior Moves Pt. 2 (Karen Olson)
Moves in the field expert Karen Olson continues her discussion and demonstration of how she teaches the Sustained Edge Step pattern of the USFS Senior Moves test. In the first part of this discussion, she broke the move down into a series of exercises and drills to build the fundamental skills needed for the pattern. […] Continue reading →
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Skids and Stops, Part 5 – Progression (Chris Conte)
In this very short video, Chris Conte explains at what point in a skater’s development he focuses on the various skids and stops. This video is part of a series of videos on skids and stops. In Part 1 he covered T-stops. In Part 2 he introduced the slideboard drill. In Part 3 he shared […] Continue reading →
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Edge Control With Turns (Nick Perna)
International and World figure skating coach Nick Perna explains and demonstrates a simple drill he uses to build edge control and complete mastery of turns. This video is a follow-up to his video on the Shut Up Drill. The concept of this drill is straightforward, but it can be incredibly challenging for all but the […] Continue reading →
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Skids and Stops, Part 4 – Skidded Turns (Chris Conte)
Chris Conte continues his multi-part series on skids and stops. In Part 1 he covered T-stops. In Part 2 he introduced the slideboard drill. In Part 3 he shared some drills for building skidding mastery and discussed the ”one foot hockey stop” and the “tango stop” in detail. In this video, Chris talks about and […] Continue reading →
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Edge Control With the “Shut Up Drill” (Nick Perna)
International and World figure skating coach Nick Perna explains a very simple drill he uses to build edge control. This is a drill every figure skating coach has used at one point or another, but probably not with all the variations and detail that Nick does. The drill consists of simply gliding around a full […] Continue reading →
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Edge Pulls to Generate Power (Doug Webster)
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster works with a class on power generation from edges. He notes that almost everything in figure skating relates to these kinds of edge pushes. He says, “You’re always in a push, unless you’re in a spiral or a one foot glide or a hydroblade or something.” He begins with alternating forward […] Continue reading →
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Backward Crossovers (Amy Brolsma)
Figure skating coach Amy Brolsma explains and demonstrates how she teaches backward crossovers which are also known as backward crosscuts depending on where you live in the world. This video is a continuation of Amy’s presentation on forward crossovers. Amy begins by explaining that backward crossovers are a backward pump followed by a cross under […] Continue reading →
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Forward Crossovers (Amy Brolsma)
Figure skating coach Amy Brolsma explains and demonstrates how she teaches forward crossovers which are also known as crosscuts depending on where you live in the world. Amy begins by noting that a good goal for proper crossovers is to have an even amount of power generated from each push. She starts by having a […] Continue reading →
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Ballet Jump (Audrey Weisiger)
World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger talks about the ballet jump. The ballet jump is sometimes mistaken for the mazurka, but the non-picking leg remains behind on the ballet jump. To start, Audrey does not focus on getting the back leg up very high for safety reasons. But she likes the ballet jump as a […] Continue reading →
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Skids and Stops, Part 3 – One Foot Hockey Stops and Tango Stops (Chris Conte)
Chris Conte continues his multi-part series on skids and stops. In Part 1 he covered T-stops. In Part 2 he introduced the slideboard drill. In this video, Chris discusses drills for building skidding mastery. He also discusses the”one foot hockey step” and the “tango stop” in detail. To start, Chris shows how the one foot […] Continue reading →
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Circular Drill for Power and Flow (Pasquale Camerlengo)
World and Olympic figure skating coach and choreographer Pasquale Camerlengo talks about creating power and flow and he shares a “simple” circular drill. In the beginning of the video, he emphasizes the importance of working on edges and generating power from the edges (not just pushes). Next he has International ice dancer Zach Donohue demonstrate […] Continue reading →
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Alignment Drill, Part 2 – Edges and Turns (Nick Perna)
Figure skating coach Nick Perna shares a drill related to the alignment drill on 2 feet with the feet crossed. This version of the drill is simple in concept, but it can be very challenging. It develops great awareness of the outside edges and helps many skaters with proper alignment for turns and edges. Nick […] Continue reading →
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Alignment Drill – Mastering Feet Underneath (Nick Perna)
Figure skating coach Nick Perna offers a set of drills intended to improve a skater’s alignment and get them comfortable with their feet under them. These drills fall under the category of “skating skills.” Alignment issues plaque skaters of every age and level so mastering these drills is important for all skaters. A large percentage […] Continue reading →
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Skids and Stops, Part 2 – Slideboard Drill for Power (Chris Conte)
Chris Conte continues his multi-part series on skids and stops. In Part 1 he covered T-stops. In this video, Chris introduces the slideboard drill for helping develop the inside edge skid as well as power generation in stroking, particularly in back crossovers. Chris explains how the power is generated in the push and how it […] Continue reading →
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Skids and Stops, Part 1 – T-Stops (Chris Conte)
Chris Conte begins a multi-part series on skids and stops. Skids are a form of edge control that needs to be developed from the beginning stages of skating. Most skaters are introduced to skids when they learn a snowplow stop. Chris discusses this very briefly. When introducing a T-stop, Chris starts at the wall, get’s […] Continue reading →
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Outside Edges – Forward Outside Cross Strokes (Pasquale Camerlengo)
World and Olympic figure skating coach and choreographer Pasquale Camerlengo explains how he develops stronger outside edges, primarily through the use of cross strokes or cross rolls (dance). Bending before the push is critical for proper power generation. The cross rolls demonstrated in the video are a great model to study. Pasquale uses both slow […] Continue reading →
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Back Outside Pivot – Basic Skills (Nick Perna)
Figure skating coach Nick Perna continues his explanation of pivots. Check out Part 1 and Part 2. In this video, Nick discusses the back outside pivot. This pivot is typically learned in basic skills classes and it helps develop many important skating skills. As Nick notes, it’s helpful for building the body positioning and pivoting […] Continue reading →
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Inside Edge Drills – Developing Inside Edges (Pasquale Camerlengo)
World and Olympic figure skating coach and choreographer Pasquale Camerlengo explains how he develops stronger inside edges. (See the introduction to this video here.) The demonstrators in this video are World ice dance competitors Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue. The video begins with Zach doing a series of quick forward inside edges down the ice. […] Continue reading →
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Importance of Edges and Skating Skills (Pasquale Camerlengo)
World and Olympic figure skating coach and choreographer Pasquale Camerlengo discusses the importance of edge work and skating skills as it relates to skating development and IJS points. Pasquale is an elite choreographer, and notice the focus and awareness on finding “different ways to make turns happen, just to make it look different and original.” […] Continue reading →
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Pivots – Part 2 (Nick Perna)
Figure skating coach Nick Perna continues his explanation of pivots. You can see Part 1 of his presentation here. In this video, Nick begins by noting there are 8 different pivots in total. These are forward inside, back inside, forward outside, and back outside, on each foot making 8 total. Nick says, “I make sure […] Continue reading →
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Pivots – Part 1 (Nick Perna)
Figure skating coach Nick Perna explains how he teaches pivots. Nick thinks pivots are often overlooked because skaters usually learn them so early in the skating development process and coaches aren’t demanding about improving the positions. Also, even relatively advanced skaters typically do not work on pivots and some high level skaters have never even […] Continue reading →
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Look Where You’re Going (Douglas Webster)
Professional choreographer Douglas Webster continues his class on warming up properly after stepping onto the ice. In the first video, Doug focused on exercises intended to warm up the knees and ankles. In the second video, he focuses on the cross stroke as a warm-up exercise. In this video, he discusses visual focus and looking […] Continue reading →
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Spread Eagle – Figure Skating Spread Eagle (Amy Brolsma)
Figure skating coach Amy Brolsma explains and demonstrates how she teaches the outside spread eagle. The spread eagle can be a beautiful figure skating move but it usually requires a significant commitment from a skater in terms of stretching time and on-ice practice time to create a spread eagle that is truly beautiful. Amy begins […] Continue reading →
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More Edge and Blade Usage Drills Including Secret Double Axel Drill (Nick Perna)
Figure skating coach Nick Perna provides a more advanced version of his Banana Drill on one foot. The inside edge version of this drill is easier, but skaters should master stopping on both inside and outside edges, and both when skating forward and backward. This drill is advanced because it requires not only excellent edge […] Continue reading →
