Chris Conte

Chris Conte has been coaching and choreographing since 1992. One of the first U.S. coaches to utilize Dartfish video analysis software, he is renowned as one of the foremost specialists in video analysis, feedback, and jump analysis. He holds a PSA Level 5 ranking (International Coach) and is the Director of Technical Development at the new Go4Gold Skating Academy in Bloomington, MN.

Chris has served as team coach and/or consultant to four different World and Olympic coaches. He has worked directly with several World and Olympic medalists as well as multiple ISU medalists from USA, Japan, Russia, Canada, and South Korea. He has head-coached skaters to medals in Intermediate, Novice, and Junior levels at the US National Championships.

Chris is also a well-known choreographer. He has choreographed and created full professional ice shows as well as solos for skaters in Stars On Ice and other NBC telecasts. He was a principle performer with Disney On Ice and Ice Capades, and has performed with Ice Theater of New York and The Next Ice Age. He has also created innovative competitive programs for ISU skaters from USA, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and India.

Chris is a popular seminar presenter for Grassroots to Champions, Champion Development Seminars, and his own “Perfect Practice” seminars. He has also been a regular presenter on iCoachSkating since the site was founded in 2008. One of our most popular presenters, Chris has had the top video 3 times in the iCoachSkating Annual Top Rated Video Countdown. For more info or to connect with Chris directly, please visit his website at www.ChrisConte.com.

Most recent videos at the top…

Running a Remote Off-Ice Program – Part 2 (Lorie Charbonneau)

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 of Lorie’s team also offers insights during this chat. Proactive coaches like Lorie and Chris […] Continue reading →
Running a Remote Off-Ice Program – Part 1 (Lorie Charbonneau)

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 also offers insights during this chat. Proactive coaches like Lorie and Chris are actively engaging […] Continue reading →
Salchow Lesson Part 2 – Magic Circle (Chris Conte)

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 more detail and offers insights regarding free leg movement. In general, coaches typically choose one […] Continue reading →
Rhythm, Tempo, and Control on Double Salchow (Chris Conte)

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 ensure control of the three turn exit. Next Chris addresses the tempo and rhythm of […] Continue reading →
Baby Bear, Mama Bear, Papa Bear (Chris Conte)

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 the video rather than a “clean” Baby Bear.] A Mama Bear is basically a single […] Continue reading →
Where Does Power Come From? (Chris Conte)

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 of the arms, and then with just quick plyometric movements of the wrists. He’s basically […] Continue reading →
Double Axel Off-Ice Training – Part 3 (Chris Conte)

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 axel take-off. In the second video, Chris focused on the dynamic aspects of air position. […] Continue reading →
Double Axel Off-Ice Training – Part 2 (Chris Conte)

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 axel take-off. In this video, Chris focuses on the dynamic aspects of air position. The […] Continue reading →
Double Axel Off-Ice Training – Part 1 (Chris Conte)

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). Chris recorded this himself with just a smartphone, so the audio quality isn’t quite up […] Continue reading →
Skater Development Insights (Chris Conte)

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 – Tips On Forward Crossovers. Chris notes that he thinks this skater has potential in […] Continue reading →
Tips on Forward Crossovers (Chris Conte)

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 and shares tips on how to “build” them. To begin, Chris has the skater drop […] Continue reading →
T-Rex Waltz Jump Analysis (Chris Conte)

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. [This video was published on Oct 31, 2018 as a Happy Holloween gift from Chris […] Continue reading →
Tips on Forward Stroking (Chris Conte)

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 and glide.” To help the skater take more time with the pushes, Chris adds arm […] Continue reading →
Triple Loop Lesson – Part 3, Changing Habits (Chris Conte)

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 video, Chris shared an outstanding drill and modified it to build the take-off movement he […] Continue reading →
Triple Loop Lesson – Part 2, Drills (Chris Conte)

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, Chris shares an outstanding drill and modifies it to build the take-off movement he is […] Continue reading →
Triple Loop Lesson – Part 1, Quickness (Chris Conte)

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 the triple loop attempt. To solve this, Chris wants the skater to “apply the same […] Continue reading →
The Effects of Chronic and Acute Pain on Figure Skating Technique and Training (Chris Conte, Trevor Laak)

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 context of this observation is a lesson Chris is giving a skater with a high […] Continue reading →
Triple Toe Loop Lesson (Chris Conte)

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 video, Chris has the skater start with a double toe loop, and he likes the […] Continue reading →
Triple Salchow – Believe (Chris Conte)

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). Although Chris does not offer this skater ANY technical advice, this is still a very […] Continue reading →
Double Axel Lesson – Part 3 (Chris Conte)

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 to make a Mini-Cooper fly” concept. In Part 2 he continued the theory for double […] Continue reading →
Double Axel Lesson – Part 2 (Chris Conte)

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 to make a Mini-Cooper fly” concept. In this video, he continues the theory for double […] Continue reading →
Double Axel Lesson – Part 1 (Chris Conte)

National figure skating coach and choreographer Chris Conte gives a double axel lesson to a skater at a camp. In this first part, Chris shares insights about how he thinks about the jump. Sometimes this simple framework is the difference between good and great coaches. To start the lesson, Chris confirms that the skater is tying […] Continue reading →
Jump Lesson With Chris (Chris Conte)

Figure skating coach and choreographer Chris Conte gives a skater a lesson on a variety of jumps. This video is a continuation of the lesson in which Chris talked about tying skates properly. In the lesson, Chris covers a lot of ground, including waltz jumps, double toe loops, and exercises for loop jump. Notice how he […] Continue reading →
How to Tie Your Skates (Chris Conte)

Figure skating coach and choreographer Chris Conte gives a short presentation on how to tie figure skates for jumping (and hence all singles and pair skating!). Chris covered this on iCoachSkating before, but this updated version is a bit more thorough and he gets to demonstrate the concepts with a skater. He offers a simple test […] Continue reading →
The Lutz Jump – Critical Insights (Chris Conte)

This video by Chris Conte is actually a continuation of his multi-part series on air turns or the Russian Twist where he references this discussion about reach position. However, the bulk of this discussion is focused on the lutz jump and the theory of the lutz jump. Chris begins by explaining he uses a similar reach position for […] Continue reading →
The Russian Twist, Part 5 – Various Jump Take-Offs (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues his multi-part series on air turns or the Russian Twist. In Part 1, he introduced the overall concept. In Part 2 he explained the first turn and discussed how it relates to snizzles and the d-position. In Part 3 he offered more details and some Russian twist demonstrations. In Part 4 he showed a progression […] Continue reading →
The Russian Twist, Part 4 – More Drills, One-Foot Landing (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues his multi-part series on air turns or the Russian Twist. In Part 1, he introduced the overall concept. In Part 2 he explained the first turn and discussed how it relates to snizzles and the d-position. In Part 3 he offered more details and some Russian twist demonstrations. In this video, Chris shows a progression […] Continue reading →
The Russian Twist, Part 3 – Demonstrations (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues his multi-part series on air turns or the Russian Twist. In Part 1, he introduced the overall concept. In Part 2 he explained the first turn and discussed how it relates to snizzles and the d-position. In this video, Chris provides more explanation and some nice demonstrations of the concept. Chris begins this video […] Continue reading →
The Russian Twist, Part 2 – First Turn, Snizzles (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues his multi-part series on air turns or the Russian Twist. In Part 1, he introduced the overall concept. In this part, he explains the first turn and discusses how it relates to snizzles and the d-position. He begins by explaining in detail the first turn. He anchors the head, then turns the whole […] Continue reading →
The Russian Twist, Part 1 – Introduction (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte begins a multi-part series on air turns or what he refers to as the Russian twist. This is a very common jump drill, but oftentimes the details are missing. In this series, Chris provides enough information for everyone to understand and properly implement this fantastic exercise. This information fits perfectly with Chris’s series […] Continue reading →
Teaching a Skidded Axel Take-Off – Part 4 (Chris Conte)

Figure skating coach and choreographer Chris Conte continues his presentation on how he teaches a skidded axel take-off. In the first part, Chris introduced the topic and demonstrated how he begins the process with the hockey glide. In the second part, he presents much more detail on the hockey glide. In the third video he adds […] Continue reading →
Teaching a Skidded Axel Take-Off – Part 3 (Chris Conte)

Figure skating coach and choreographer Chris Conte continues his presentation on how he teaches a skidded axel take-off. In the first part, Chris introduced the topic and demonstrated how he begins the process with the hockey glide. In the second part, he presents much more detail on the hockey glide. In this video he adds […] Continue reading →
Teaching a Skidded Axel Take-Off – Part 2 (Chris Conte)

Figure skating coach and choreographer Chris Conte continues his presentation on how he begins teaching a skidded axel take-off. In the first part, Chris introduced the topic and demonstrated how he begins the process with the hockey glide. In this video, he presents much more detail on the hockey glide. Chris explains how he uses […] Continue reading →
Teaching a Skidded Axel Take-Off – Part 1 (Chris Conte)

Figure skating coach and choreographer Chris Conte explains and demonstrates how he begins teaching a skidded axel take-off. This video follows naturally from the earlier series Chris did on skids and stops (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5). As Chris explains, teaching an axel with a skid has benefits, primarily for […] Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Jump Development Exercises Pt 11 – Prepping for Triples (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues with Part 11 of a multi-part series on jump development exercises. In this series, Chris provides a set of warm-up exercises with a variety of drills embedded in them to develop important jumping skills associated with axis, air position, head control, and strong powerful landings. The drills are general and apply to […] Continue reading →
Jump Development Exercises Pt 10 – Lutz, Double Lutz (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues with Part 10 of a multi-part series on jump development exercises. In this series, Chris provides a set of warm-up exercises with a variety of drills embedded in them to develop important jumping skills associated with axis, air position, head control, and strong powerful landings. The drills are general and apply to […] Continue reading →
Jump Development Exercises Pt 9 – Axel, Double Toe, Double Salchow (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues with Part 9 of a multi-part series on jump development exercises. In this series, Chris provides a set of warm-up exercises with a variety of drills embedded in them to develop important jumping skills associated with axis, air position, head control, and strong powerful landings. The drills are general and apply to […] Continue reading →
Jump Development Exercises Pt 8 – Salchow and Ball Drill (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues with Part 8 of a multi-part series on jump development exercises. In this series, Chris provides a set of warm-up exercises with a variety of drills embedded in them to develop important jumping skills associated with axis, air position, head control, and strong powerful landings. The drills are general and apply to […] Continue reading →
Jump Development Exercises Pt 7 – Building the Axel (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues with Part 6 of a multi-part series on jump development exercises. In this series, Chris provides a set of warm-up exercises with a variety of drills embedded in them to develop important jumping skills associated with axis, air position, head control, and strong powerful landings. The drills are general and apply to […] Continue reading →
Jump Development Exercises Pt 6 – Inside Axels (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues with Part 6 of a multi-part series on jump development exercises. In this series, Chris provides a set of warm-up exercises with a variety of drills embedded in them to develop important jumping skills associated with axis, air position, head control, and strong powerful landings. The drills are general and apply to […] Continue reading →
Jump Development Exercises Pt 5 – Hop Arounds (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues with Part 5 of a multi-part series on jump development exercises. In this series, Chris provides a set of warm-up exercises with a variety of drills embedded in them to develop important jumping skills associated with axis, air position, head control, and strong powerful landings. The drills are general and apply to […] Continue reading →
Jump Development Exercises Pt 4 – Single Snizzle (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues with Part 4 of a multi-part series on jump development exercises. In this series, Chris provides a set of warm-up exercises with a variety of drills embedded in them to develop important jumping skills associated with axis, air position, head control, and strong powerful landings. The drills are general and apply to […] Continue reading →
Jump Development Exercises Pt 3 – Flow and Landing Drill (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues with Part 3 of a multi-part series on jump development exercises. The series focuses on a set of warm-up exercises with important drills embedded in them. The purpose of each drill is to improve the skills needed for double and triple jumps. Most of these drills are general and apply to all […] Continue reading →
Jump Development Exercises Pt 2 – Warm-Up (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte continues with Part 2 of a multi-part series on jump development exercises. The series focuses on a set of warm-up exercises with important drills embedded in them. The purpose of each drill is to improve the skills needed for double and triple jumps. Most of these drills are general and apply to all […] Continue reading →
Figure Skating Jump Development Exercises – The Snizzle (Chris Conte)

Chris Conte begins a multi-part series on jump development exercises. As Chris explains, the series focuses on a series of warm-up exercises with important drills embedded in them. The purpose of each drill is to improve the skills needed for double and triple jumps. Most of these drills are general and apply to all multi-rotation […] Continue reading →