World and Olympic coach Tom Zakrajsek shares an exercise intended to help skaters “understand the hairpin turn moment on a triple loop.” Tom notes that the exercise is also helpful for double loop combos too. The speed and timing of the deepening edge on a triple loop can cause all kinds of core and upper body control issues and this exercise “teaches control of the free side, and it also teaches the rock on the blade.”
Tom teaches the rock on the blade to go “from the ball to the heel to the toe pick.” He continues, “That is a very nuanced feeling that the skater must know.” He claims that not mastering this rocking movement partially explains why some skaters prefer toe jumps to edge jumps.
Next Tom has his skater demonstrate an exercise at the boards for working on this important moment of the loop jump. By holding on to the barrier with the non-axis hand, the skater has balance and also maintains control of the free side. Also notice the head anchoring. Tom says, “At the beginning of the drill his feet are tight and his weight is on the ball of the foot. As he begins to rock and begin to pivot he goes toward the heel (middle back) and then immediately to the toe… So it’s action reaction.” He cautions against rocking too far back or getting stuck with the weight back. He finishes by noting that sometimes this technique creates a “heel spoon” on the ice.
Add to “My Favorites” (Beta testing)