Audrey Weisiger

Audrey Weisiger is a two-time Olympic Team Coach, in 1998 and 2002. She was the PSA and USFSA Coach of the Year in 1999. She has a PSA World Coach Ranking and she’s Master Rated in Figures and Freestyle. She gave the Keynote Address at the PSA World Conference in 2000 and again in 2003. She’s held positions on the Board of Directors of the PSA as well as various US Olympic Committee and USFSA committees.

In 2003, she founded Grassroots to Champions, a teaching company providing seminars for coaches and skaters. The mission of Grassroots to Champions is to raise the technical level of US skaters. The seminars focus on teaching coaches optimal instructional techniques and their skaters how to develop from the first steps onto the ice into championship caliber competitors.

Audrey teaches at the Fairfax Ice Arena in Virginia where she’s coached since 1973. Most of you know her as Michael Weiss’s coach. She’s also worked with Timothy Goebel, Lisa Kwon, Christine Lee, and Parker Pennington. More recently, Audrey founded The MK Young Artists Showcase as a way to develop and broaden the artistic side of figure skating by encouraging and supporting young choreographers.

In 2014, Audrey was the recipient of the F Ritter Shumway Award from the Professional Skaters Association. This award recognizes a person who has been a longtime contributor to the development of skating as voted on by the membership of the PSA.

Be sure to check out the interview Audrey did with iCoachSkating.com founder Trevor Laak.

Most recent videos at the top…

Characteristics of Champions (Audrey Weisiger)

At a camp for aspiring skaters, World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger discusses what it takes to be an Olympian. She begins by sharing a slide that says, “What would you be willing to do if you knew you could not fail?” The subheading on this slide is, “Greatness comes to those who develop a burning […] Continue reading →
Stories, Motivation, and Excuses (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger shares tons of insights about athlete development with aspiring athletes in a classroom setting at a camp a number of years ago. She starts the class by encouraging those not interested in “working hard and furthering themselves” to leave, and obviously nobody does. Instead it gets a laugh. Audrey then […] Continue reading →
More Axel Exercises (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues to work with a class of high level skaters on improving their step into double axel (see the first part of the class here). The drills shared here can help skaters improve single axel (and triple!) as well. The purpose of this exercise is to help skaters learn […] Continue reading →
Axel Exercise (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger works with a class of high level skaters on improving their step into double axel. The drills shared here can help skaters improve single axel (and triple!) as well. The purpose of this exercise is to help skaters learn to control their hips and overall alignment when stepping from […] Continue reading →
Triple Toe Loop in Combination Lesson (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a lesson to a skater who is working on triple triple jump combinations, and in particular, triple toe loop as the second jump. Audrey begins the lesson with a double toe loop “with arms in a frame the whole time” and she asks the skater to increase the […] Continue reading →
Triple Salchow Lesson (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger gives a skater a lesson on triple salchow. The lesson begins with a double salchow Euler (half loop) double salchow sequence, and Audrey explains the purpose is to feel the rhythm of repeatedly springing up and down, using the elasticity of the muscles to help create some of the […] Continue reading →
Fixing Edge Change on Flip (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger works with a skater who is struggling with achieving the correct edge on a double and triple flip jump take-off. The primary solutions that Audrey is using here include a back inside edge skid take-off and a wide pick placement. Much like fixing the edge on a lutz jump, […] Continue reading →
How Does an Elite Skater Train? (Audrey Weisiger)

In this fascinating video from a few years ago we get some insights into how an elite skater trains. World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger leads an off-ice seminar class, but this video is mostly Olympian and World Competitor Danny Samohin explaining how he trains, and how he built up to this training level over […] Continue reading →
Miscellaneous Off-Ice Training Ideas (Audrey Weisiger)

In this very short video, World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger covers a few different off-ice exercise options. Many skaters jump rope as a way to warm up the body for skating, but they rarely focus on anything specific or technical and just jump. Here Audrey encourages the skaters to lock out the legs or […] Continue reading →
Story of Mental Toughness (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger shares an inspirational behind-the-scenes story from the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano. Audrey’s skater Michael Weiss was injured prior to the Games, and the combination of the long flight from the USA to Japan and the long wait in the cold during the opening ceremonies exacerbated the injury. […] Continue reading →
Off-Ice Warm Up Exercises (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger supervises a class of advanced skaters who are running through a number of off-ice warm-up exercises. The class is student-led with one of the skaters in the class are sharing the exercises she uses on a daily basis. Notice how thorough the basic warm-up process is for this advanced […] Continue reading →
Single Axel Development – Part 2 (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger continues her axel lesson with a young male skater. In Part 1 of the lesson, the focus was on the take-off itself and the quickness needed to transfer the weight in the air. In this part of the lesson, Audrey shares a powerful exercise that can help many skaters […] Continue reading →
Single Axel Development (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger is giving a young male skater a lesson on single axel. This skater’s axel is not yet fully rotated, and Audrey shares helpful drills for this stage of development. After watching an axel attempt, Audrey notes that the take-off is “coming around too much” which makes the transition to […] Continue reading →
Triple Lutz Flow Lesson (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger works with skater Ryan Dunk on his triple lutz combination jump at a seminar a number of years ago. (See the previous part of this lesson on triple axel here.) The initial comments in this video are related to the previous lesson, where Audrey wanted Ryan to finish on […] Continue reading →
Triple Axel Lesson (Audrey Weisiger)

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 movement. She tells him his best attempts have more “gas” which is her way of […] Continue reading →
Double Axel Lesson Continued (Audrey Weisiger)

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 axel attempts. On some of the early attempts, the skater isn’t lifting fully through the […] Continue reading →
Double Axel Lesson (Audrey Weisiger)

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 air position. The exercise is a forward inside edge hop to the back outside edge […] Continue reading →
Two Challenging Jump Exercises (Audrey Weisiger)

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 on challenges, and skating provides plenty. She then has the class do the drill explained […] Continue reading →
Life Advice and Toe Loop Exercise (Audrey Weisiger)

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 double toe loop, which takes a while for these skaters to become comfortable with. Audrey […] Continue reading →
Small Group Double Axel Lesson – Part 2 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 do next. Her phrase “go figure it out” is a classic way to have skaters […] Continue reading →
Small Group Double Axel Lesson (Audrey Weisiger)

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 Audrey immediately recognizes that these skaters are having axis and alignment issues. She says, “I’d […] Continue reading →
Jump Drills in Lesson – Part 2 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 the goal of this lesson is to try to get it back. And although this […] Continue reading →
Jump Drills in Lesson – Part 1 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 back. However, most of the lesson is spent finding weaknesses and performing drills and most […] Continue reading →
Double Loop Drills (Audrey Weisiger)

World and Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger teaches a class some challenging but valuable double loop drills. The skaters in this class can already do double loops, so the purpose of the drills is to develop complete mastery as well as learn skills necessary for triple loop as well as double axel and all triple jumps. […] Continue reading →
Performance Lecture and Toe Loop Exercises (Audrey Weisiger)

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 of the process of improving and mastering the skills of figure skating. Audrey notes, “You […] Continue reading →
Two Classic Jump Drills (Audrey Weisiger)

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 upright spin with the free leg bent and to the side to simulate the moment […] Continue reading →
Kick The Snowball Drill – Toe Loop Fix (Audrey Weisiger)

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 it looks like the skater is balancing and turning on the toe pick and doing […] Continue reading →
Bigger Single Axel, Solve Over-Rotation Problem (Audrey Weisiger)

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 skater immediately begins over-rotating the jump and struggles with landings. This video provides a roadmap […] Continue reading →
Loop Jump in Combination (Audrey Weisiger)

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 of the combination. This is a continuation of a previous video on double toe loop […] Continue reading →
Toe Loop in Combination (Audrey Weisiger)

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 third jump of the combination. In classic Audrey style, she starts the class with a […] Continue reading →
Motivational Games – Part 3 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 than “process-oriented.” By including games in the learning process, it keeps it fun and provides […] Continue reading →
Motivational Games – Part 2 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 than “process-oriented.” By including games in the learning process, it keeps it fun and provides […] Continue reading →
Motivational Games – Part 1 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 “results-oriented” rather than “process-oriented.” By including games in the learning process, it keeps it fun […] Continue reading →
Competition Preparation – Part 4 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 of the event.” In the third video, Audrey discusses many different aspects of motivation and […] Continue reading →
Improving Beginner Crossovers (Audrey Weisiger)

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 this level typically struggle with keeping the head up and looking where they are going, […] Continue reading →
Backspin Teaching Tips (Audrey Weisiger)

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 comments on this skater’s potential. Audrey then begins working on the backspin. She offers a […] Continue reading →
Important Jump Basics (Audrey Weisiger)

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 spinning with the legs side by side and the free toe pointed inward toward the […] Continue reading →
Building an Axel – lesson (Audrey Weisiger)

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 axel preparations). Audrey begins this lesson with single loop jumps and her focus is primarily […] Continue reading →
Straight Leg For Jump Air Position – Initial Exercises (Audrey Weisiger)

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 address the value of completely straightening the legs. Having a straight and locked axis leg […] Continue reading →
Fixing Upper Body Drop on Jump Landings (Audrey Weisiger)

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 very common problem, especially for skaters who lack confidence or awareness. For this skater, however, […] Continue reading →
Double Flip Lesson (Audrey Weisiger)

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, arm timing and movement, head anchoring, and reaching for the ice. One of the drills […] Continue reading →
Competition Preparation – Part 3 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 of the event.” In this video, Audrey discusses many different aspects of motivation and preparation. […] Continue reading →
Competition Preparation – Part 2 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 purpose of the event.” Audrey likes to think of competitions as something she refers to […] Continue reading →
Competition Preparation – Part 1 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 the end” of the process and working backwards. She thinks of the end as a […] Continue reading →
Importance of Walleys (Audrey Weisiger)

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 here: Part 1, Part 2) Audrey’s goal in this video is to get the class […] Continue reading →
The Lutz Class – Part 2 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 a lot of information including theory, print/tracing on the ice, exercises, and demonstrations. In this […] Continue reading →
The Lutz Class – Part 1 (Audrey Weisiger)

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 you’ll see, Audrey covers a lot of ground including theory, print/tracing on the ice, exercises, […] Continue reading →
Coaching Advice: When Is a Skater Ready? (Audrey Weisiger)

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 single jump lacks enough air time to do the double, it may not make much […] Continue reading →
Simple Motivation Technique (Audrey Weisiger)

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 slow and frustrating, and having a fun way to be reminded of progress or the […] Continue reading →
Motivating Skaters at Home (Audrey Weisiger)

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. Continue reading →