RachelSk8er
01-20-2009, 07:07 AM
I came up with this yesterday, I'm sure it's nothing original but thought I'd share.
My issue with axels is some combination of not driving the knee through enough and snapping into the right side.
My coach has me do (on and off-ice) the drill where you jump up as for an axel take-off, driving the knee through and turning into the R side (for a R handed jumper), and land backward with the legs crossed (only doing 1/2 rotation). On the ice I do this from a RFO lobe and off-ice from 1 or 2 side hops.
Yesterday at the gym I took a step aerobics platform with only 1 set of the plastic parts that go under it (for now). Did the same drill off-ice with two side hops, axel takeoff and turn into the R side, but landing on the platform, then hopping off the back in landing position.
I figure that the step aerobics platform can easily be made higher as the drill gets easier (thought of using a plyometric box but quite frankly I'm just too darn clumsy and the step platform has a lot more surface area to land on).
After doing this a number of times, I went to full axels on the floor (sans platform) and was actually getting better height.
My issue with axels is some combination of not driving the knee through enough and snapping into the right side.
My coach has me do (on and off-ice) the drill where you jump up as for an axel take-off, driving the knee through and turning into the R side (for a R handed jumper), and land backward with the legs crossed (only doing 1/2 rotation). On the ice I do this from a RFO lobe and off-ice from 1 or 2 side hops.
Yesterday at the gym I took a step aerobics platform with only 1 set of the plastic parts that go under it (for now). Did the same drill off-ice with two side hops, axel takeoff and turn into the R side, but landing on the platform, then hopping off the back in landing position.
I figure that the step aerobics platform can easily be made higher as the drill gets easier (thought of using a plyometric box but quite frankly I'm just too darn clumsy and the step platform has a lot more surface area to land on).
After doing this a number of times, I went to full axels on the floor (sans platform) and was actually getting better height.