This is the third in a series of videos of Sheila Thelen teaching a young skater in a private lesson. Sheila”s skater is a 6 year old boy named Milan. Make sure you watch the other videos in this series.
Link to Sheila and Milan, Part 1
Link to Sheila and Milan, Part 2
In this video, Sheila is working with Milan on a loop jump exercise. Notice how Sheila tries to get Milan to focus and think for a moment. She”s also trying to get him to associate two different skills, the loop jump and the back spin. This association becomes much easier with older skaters and this understanding can really help a skater learn.
Notice how Sheila wants the free foot across in the “back spin” position during the loop jump drill. One of the most common errors on the loop jump is letting the free foot pull out to the free side during the pivot to forward. We can all learn a lot from this. It”s simply not good enough to let young skaters get used to uncrossing the feet, because this creates a bad habit we”ll have to correct later. Instead, Sheila makes sure the muscle memory development is correct from the beginning.
Also, watch the exercise closely. You”ll notice that Milan is jumping forward into the loop jump. This is also what Nick Perna teaches (jumping forward across the river). Many skaters, coaches, and skating parents are surprised to learn that the loop jump takes off forward from the toe pick. But watch Milan carefully and you”ll see a crude version of a good loop jump.
Sheila also does a great job of introducing terminology which she can use with Milan for many years to come. Concepts like “d-position” mean little to Milan at this point, but it provides a foundation for continuous reinforcement. Sheila also does a great job of using enthusiasm to motivate Milan. So many coaches are subdued and really don”t get excited with their skaters. But by getting excited, Sheila makes Milan excited to continue to focus and try hard.
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6 responses to “Learn To Ice Skate For Kids: Basic Jumping – Part 3 (Sheila Thelen)”
loving the idea to use the alphabet letters with the little ones. your enthusiasm is fab. great ideas to help with young students, doing my coach training at present , this will really help – many thanks
I love the loop jump drill and I will definitely be using it soon, thanks Sheila! and yes getting excited does tire me out but it is worth it for the results.
Hilarious! I loved watching Milan! I am using the loop exercise on the wall, but I only have the students do it once. I am going to use the multiple jumps and the “popcorn” reference! Sheila, I have an almost 6 year old girl who is close to her loop jump too (she actually landed it yesterday and then sat down!). Wish we lived closer, they would be a cute pair team!! Thanks so much for your pearls of wisdom!!
Milan is a great young skater! You can see why I’m tired… after all of his lessons! 🙂
Milan’s a crack up! Love the loop drill along the boards Sheila. The skater can get a ton of repetitions in a short time this way. I will begin implementing this immediately. Thanks!
Great exercise at the boards! I love your enthusiasm. Thanks!