Olympic coach Michelle Leigh continues her discussion of how to teach a toe loop. In this video she addresses various entrances and what to look for as well as proper head position and movement.
Michelle used the forward inside 3-turn for young skaters learning the jump. But she makes a point of making sure the skater can control the turn properly. Stop the video at 14 seconds or slightly after and notice that the free leg is slightly off to the side and Michelle’s zipper is lined up with her skating knee and foot. This is proper alignment!
As we’ve seen in all of Michelle’s videos, head control is a major focus for Michelle and her skaters. And it should be! Poor head control is one of the overlooked errors that ultimately limits what young skaters can become (because head control is almost impossible to fix later after years of bad practice). See how Michelle uses the glass to control the head.
And also notice in Michelle’s walk through at 0:52 how the hips and shoulders turn through the jump together and the head stays still. The non-picking leg comes through straight and the skater takes off forward (or almost forward).
Michelle offers alternative entries to learn the proper movement. The simplest is a push-back from two feet. But she also shows mohawk-step, back-outside-three-turn-mohawk-step, and forward-outside-three-turn-step, all emphasizing head control in the glass.
Michelle talks about the risk associated with the forward inside three-turn entrance when a skater is moving faster. The other options that have a step from one foot to the other prior to the reach back offer the skater a chance to re-establish balance, while the forward inside three-turn entrance does not offer this “reset point.” And that’s why almost all skaters at the National and World level do triple and quad toes from the entrances that include a step.
Awesome information.
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7 responses to “Learn To Ice Skate Video: Toe Loop Entrance (Michelle Leigh)”
SUPER! thank you michelle for every lil’ bit you give that demonstrates precision and ways to ensure precision…the toe loop has never made more sense 😉
I’m just starting some of my skaters on the double toe. I really like the idea of being able to “reset” the control with the mohawk entrance you suggest. I’m going to implement that immediately and see how it goes. Thanks Michelle!
Fantastic explanations of the different entries to the toe loop! thank you so much for the information 🙂
I feel really happy that there are people who are so sincerely and in a very dedicated way explain the basics! Thank you Michelle! Thank you Trevor!
Great info Michelle! Thanks for sharing your tips to help make us better coaches!
I am a very beginning adult skater and I learned so much from this website. I was told I should “toe” take off & “toe” land ALWAYS! I am totally confused which one is right now… When I heel off for toe loop, I was immediately told that I was wrong… Could you please clarify on that…? Thanks.
SeonJoPark, we do in fact take off from the toe pick on every jump and land on the toe pick on every jump. But the idea of coming off the heel in the above video refers to the non-picking skating foot. The non-picking skating foot does indeed come off the heel for the vast majority of elite skaters, but that occurs BEFORE the toe pick of the picking foot leaves the ice. That means the axis foot comes off the heel and the picking foot comes off the toe just a moment later. Let me know if that is not clear.