Learn To Ice Skate Video: Wally Jump (Michelle Leigh)

In this video, Olympic coach Michelle Leigh explains how she teaches the walley.   Notice that Michelle starts with consecutive edges down a line (power pulls).  She mentions she wants good control, edge quality, and proper shoulder movement before proceeding to jumping.

After the skater has good edges and shoulder movement, Michelle starts with a half rotation but continues to focus on leaving the ice off the inside edge.  Many skaters switch the edge just prior to take-off, making it a loop jump and not a walley.

Near the end of this video, Michelle explains the importance of learning a walley as the shoulder movement relates to the other jumps as well.

In particular, this movement is particularly similar to that of the lutz jump, especially comparing it to the jump technique used by most top male skaters.  On the walley, the skater is jumping off a back inside edge and rotating counter to the natural rotation of the take-off edge.  On the lutz, the skater is entering the jump from a back outside edge and rotating counter to the natural rotation of the edge.  Of course, the lutz also has a toe assist, but the shoulder movement between lutz and walley is very similar for many skaters.

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