Nick Perna

Nick Perna is a National, International, and World coach and has been coaching for over 30 years. He’s been on the faculty of several Team USA Training Camps and has been instrumental in the development of many skating champions worldwide. His students have included Michael Weiss, Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes and all have benefited from his innovative coaching ideas and knowledge of the hand-held jump harness. Nick is a US Figure Skating Gold Medalist and a PSA Master Rated Instructor in Freestyle and Pairs. He’s also been a presenter at several PSA Conferences. Nick was a World Coach at the 2001 World Championships with Christine Lee.

Nick is perhaps most well known for his pioneering and promotional work with the hand-held jump harness. The hand-held harness, also called a pole harness, allows skaters to use their normal jump entries while providing safety, a sense of security, and added flight time when attempting difficult jumps. Nick has used the hand-held harness since it was created. In fact, because he’s been using the pole harness so often and for so long, almost everyone in the skating industry thinks he invented it.

Although Nick did not invent the hard-held harness, he has invented a number of other skating-related tools and equipment. He holds Patents on several different inventions, including his latest, the “Freedom Blade.” To learn more about his inventions, please see this article at About.com.

Nick has been teaching with Olympic coach Audrey Weisiger for over thirty years at the Fairfax Ice Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. Nick is also a faculty member of Audrey Weisiger’s Grassroots to Champions seminar series. Nick regularly works with skaters from around the country and around the world.

Most recent videos at the top…

Figure Skating Jumps: On-Ice Air Turns – Part 1 (Nick Perna)

In the figure skating video below, Nick Perna teaches a class about “on-ice air turns.” This is the first of a three part series. (Recommended: See Nick’s presentation of off-ice air turns. This was part of a 7 part series on off-ice jumping drills: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5,and Part 6) The first concept […] Continue reading →
Loop Jump Drill – Ace of Spades Drill (Nick Perna)

In the video below, figure skating coach Nick Perna demonstrates and explains a drill to improve the backward outside edge essential for proper loop jump technique. He calls the drill the Ace of Spades drill as he draws a picture on the ice that resembles a “spade” from a deck of cards. The picture helps […] Continue reading →
The Flip Jump – Part 4 (Nick Perna)

In the figure skating video below, Nick Perna finishes his discussion of the flip jump. This is the fourth part of a four-part series. In the first video, Nick introduced the flip jump and discussed the active edge as well as edge change issues. In the second flip jump video in this series, Nick discussed […] Continue reading →
The Flip Jump – Part 3 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his discussion of the flip jump. This is the third part of a multi-part video series. In the first video, Nick introduced the flip jump and discussed the active edge as well as edge change issues. In the second flip jump video in this series, Nick discussed the three turn entrance and […] Continue reading →
The Flip Jump – Part 2 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his discussion of the flip jump. This is the second part of a multi-part video series. In the first video, Nick introduced the flip jump and discussed the active edge as well as edge change issues. The flip is probably the most overlooked of the 6 primary jumps in figure skating, largely […] Continue reading →
The Flip Jump – Part 1 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna discusses the flip jump. This is the first part of a multi-part video series on the flip jump by Nick. The flip is probably the most overlooked of the 6 primary jumps in figure skating, largely because low level skaters tend to do them correctly off a back inside edge. However, flip jump […] Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Ice Skating Edge Training: The Bread Drill (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna begins a series of videos covering drills and exercises he uses to help his skaters develop power, agility, coordination, and edge control and awareness. In this video, Nick explains and demonstrates the Bread Drill. The Bread Drill is important because it teaches the skater to “push and pump off one edge and just […] Continue reading →
Figure Skating Blades: Crazy Skates (Nick Perna)

This YouTube video shows Nick Perna skating on figure skates with the skate blades modified. This video proves that we primarily use the center part of the blade for the vast majority of skating on the ice. To demonstrate this, Nick cut off the front of the blade just in front of the middle stanchion […] Continue reading →
Axel Jump Tips: How To Fix A Swingy Axel – Part 3 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna finishes his lesson with Annalise to improve her axel, particularly the jump’s distance. Part 1 focused on control of the step position and the hip and leg movement, all on a straight line, and Part 2 focused on modified two-foot-landing waltz jumps and straight line forward take-offs into a forward landing. In this […] Continue reading →
Axel Jump Tips: How To Fix A Swingy Axel – Part 2 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his lesson with Annalise to improve her axel, particularly the jump’s distance. Part 1 focused on control of the step position and the hip and leg movement, all on a straight line. In this video, Nick proceeds to the waltz jump. Again, he’s trying to keep the entire jump on a straight […] Continue reading →
Axel Jump Tips: How To Fix A Swingy Axel – Part 1 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna gives a lesson to help a skater (Annalise) straighten out a “swingy” axel. This is the first part of a three part series. Axels that tend to “go around” rather than going through tend to spin too much through the take-off and are often referred to as “swingy” or “spinny.” This is a […] Continue reading →
Lutz In Ice Skating: Correcting A Flutz – Part 4 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna finishes his lutz lesson with Emily. In Part 1 of the lutz lesson, Nick did some preliminary analysis of Emily’s other jumps and her backspin and then started to address the flutz with backward power pulls. In Part 2 of the lutz lesson Nick focused mainly on an important wall drill to develop […] Continue reading →
Lutz In Ice Skating: Correcting A Flutz – Part 3 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues with Part 3 of his lutz lesson with Emily. In Part 1 of the lutz lesson, Nick did some preliminary analysis of Emily’s other jumps and her backspin and then started to address the flutz with backward power pulls. In Part 2 of the lutz lesson Nick focused mainly on an important […] Continue reading →
Lutz In Ice Skating: Correcting A Flutz – Part 2 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his lutz lesson with Emily to fix her take-off edge. This video is the second of a multipart series covering the entire half hour lesson. In the first part of the lutz lesson, Nick did some preliminary analysis of Emily’s other jumps and her backspin and then started to address the flutz […] Continue reading →
Lutz In Ice Skating: Correcting A Flutz – Part 1 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna fixes an incorrect lutz take-off edge or flutz. This video is the first of a multipart series covering the entire half hour lesson. We get to sit in on a practical lutz lesson as Nick works with 9 year old Emily. The flutz is a mistake that is extremely common at low levels […] Continue reading →
Figure Skating Jumps: Axel Class – Part 5 (Audrey Weisiger & Nick Perna)

This is the final part of the on-ice axel class taught by Nick Perna and Audrey Weisiger at the 2010 G2C Extreme Supercamp. Continue reading →
Figure Skating Jumps: Axel Class – Part 4 (Audrey Weisiger & Nick Perna)

Nick Perna and Audrey Weisiger continue their on-ice axel class at the 2010 G2C Extreme Supercamp. In the first part of the class, they covered the proper setup and in the second part they covered the step forward. Continue reading →
Figure Skating Jumps: Axel Class – Part 3 (Audrey Weisiger & Nick Perna)

Nick Perna and Audrey Weisiger continue their on-ice axel class at the 2010 G2C Extreme Supercamp. In the first part of the class, they covered the proper setup and in the second part they covered the step forward. In this part, they discuss the climb up into the axel. Nick covers the details of stepping up into the jump with the […] Continue reading →
Figure Skating Jumps: Axel Class – Part 2 (Audrey Weisiger & Nick Perna)

Nick Perna and Audrey Weisiger continue their on-ice axel class at the 2010 G2C Extreme Supercamp. In the first part of the class, Nick Perna covered the proper setup. Continue reading →
Figure Skating Jumps: Axel Class – Part 1 (Audrey Weisiger & Nick Perna)

Nick Perna and Audrey Weisiger teach an on-ice axel class at the 2010 G2C Extreme Supercamp. In this first part, Nick explains the desired setup for axel. Continue reading →
Axel Jump Lesson Part 6 – Axel From Back Crossovers (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna finishes his axel lesson with Kayla. This is part 6 of this half-hour lesson. Continue reading →
Axel Jump Lesson Part 5 – Axel on Pole Harness (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his axel lesson with Kayla. Continue reading →
Axel Jump Lesson Part 4 – Waltz Jump Back Spin (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his axel lesson with Kayla. This is part 4 of this half-hour lesson. In the first part Nick focused on Kayla’s backspin. Continue reading →
Axel Jump Lesson Part 3 – Entry Continued (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his axel lesson with Kayla. This is part 3 of this half-hour lesson. In the first part Nick focused on Kayla’s backspin. Continue reading →
Axel Jump Lesson Part 2 – Four Step Backwards Entry (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his axel lesson with Kayla. Continue reading →
Axel Jump Lesson Part 1 – Back Spin And Landing (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna gives an axel lesson to Kayla. Kayla is a low level skater currently learning an axel. This video is the first in a series of videos covering the entire half-hour lesson. Continue reading →
Off Ice Figure Skating Jumps – Axel Training – Part 7 (Nick Perna)

This is the final installment of Nick Perna’s off-ice jump class. Continue reading →
Off Ice Figure Skating Jumps – Part 6 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his off-ice jump class. Continue reading →
Off Ice Figure Skating Jumps – Part 5 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his off-ice jump class. Continue reading →
Off Ice Figure Skating Jumps – Part 4 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his off-ice jump class. Continue reading →
Off Ice Figure Skating Jumps – Part 3 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his off-ice jump class. Continue reading →
Off Ice Figure Skating Jumps – Part 2 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his off-ice jump class. Continue reading →
Off Ice Figure Skating Jumps – Part 1 (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna teaches an off-ice jump class. This is the first part of a multi-part video series. Most top skaters implement an off-ice jumping routine in their training. Continue reading →
Figure Skating Tips for Advanced Skater Part 5 – Pole Harness Triple Loop (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna finishes his lesson with Isabelle. Continue reading →
Figure Skating Tips for Advanced Skater Part 4 – Triple Loop (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna continues his lesson with Isabelle. Continue reading →