Chris Conte gives a double axel lesson in the stationary harness. There are so many gems of wisdom in this video! Chris uses a tremendous amount of imagery with his skaters to get the result he’s looking for. He refers to Cat and Mouse repeatedly and also talks about “boxes,” “podiums,” “jumping out of a well,” “drinking straw,” and “knee in the house.”
He also explains some critical concepts that are not as well understood as they should be. For example, Chris uses a drill where the skater skates directly into the barrier to feel the correct foot and hip positions on the step. He also talks about keeping the the take-off “tight and close.” Perhaps most importantly, he briefly explains that the hips open slightly during the take-off (that’s major!) with the skating foot turning on the ice but the free leg continuing in the direction of the flight path. The demonstrator has a problem in this video with the free leg swinging around to create rotation and you’ll hear how Chris deals with it.
These kind of “sitting in on lessons” have a different feel than the more traditional “here’s how to teach this element” approach to sharing information. But if you watch and listen carefully, it can be more effective because the coach has to react to what the skater is doing and will cover more material faster.
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18 responses to “Figure Skating Harness: Double Axel (Chris Conte)”
I like the “sitting in on a lesson” format. Would like to see more harness work. Including with a “fishing pole” harness.
Phew – There was soooo much to think about there Chris. What I didnt see in this girl was the correct lean onto the circle going into the jump and also no stillness before takeoff which is essential for consistant jumping. I teach double and triple axel with emphasis on correct lean and stillness and as little movement as possible in order to achieve the best take off for the jump. Kind Regards Stewart – Coach UK
Thanks for sharing! Lesson is great!
Thank you very much for this site. I’m a junior coach from Hong Kong n we lack of the knowledge of these jumping skills. This site can really help us. Thank you for sharing!!!
I like the cat and mouse idea! Thanks!
This was very helpful! I really liked the “sitting in a on lesson” format since it simulates reality and it was good to see Chris go through several ideas to get his point across. Thanks!
Thank you so much Chris, my daughter is just starting to do her double axel and she really enjoyed watching this video.
Thank Chris for this session. I believe this should be extremely beneficial to a lot of skaters learning their Axels or Double Axels.
A fresh perspective on the double axel, especially the box, straw, and willy wonka examples – thank you!
I’ve personally never been in a harness like that, but it looks great for practicing jump take-offs. I will definately take your advise and examples on the ice next time i work on mine 🙂 thank you!!
love the cat and mouse idea! very good analysis in your coaching, your students are lucky to have you!
This was great, the box and target areas were very helpful. 2 things I, that our harness had that sort of attachment on the skater and 2 that Chris would move to Canada and coach all my kids!
Nice! i always hearing other people explain things and I think Chris has some very interesting ways of getting the skater to understand..
I am not a big harness fan, but seeing video makes me think we should invest in a stationary harness.
Like the sitting in format—picking up on the corrections is as valuable as hearing how to do the initial instruction.
Fantastic! It feels like I was right there in the lesson! Great tips – muchly appreciated!
AWESOME! I love the idea of watching in on a lesson. This will help my axel students!! Thanks Chris! I want Chris to be my coach too…
I LOVED THIS VIDEO! I want Chris to by MY COACH!