axel/doubles landings

[cazzie]

My daughter is working on axel and some doubles (salchow, toe-loop and loop). Apparantly (according to coaches) gets full rotation but often struggles to get her feet uncrossed (so lands in a spin with legs still crossed) or something similar. (She looks like she gets quite high off the ice).

Has been told if she could just swing her free leg free (maybe not coach terminology but its how I understood it) she'd be landing them and although she is told over and over its "all" she needs to get right she doesn't know what it is she is doing wrong. She is very frustrated and says she needs to build up some image in her mind of how she gets it right.

She's not the most co-ordinated child (heavens knows how she skates and why she somehow manages dance) and I suspect her awareness of hwere her body is in space isn't great. It took her a while to get her legs crossed in the air (thanks to the ankle buzzer) and to get the pulling her arms in at the right time and apparantly this is qute good now. Its the getting the leg uncrossed and behind her now which is defeating her.

Does anybody have any good suggestions? She thinks quite well in pictures so if she has something she could turn (in her mind) into pictures of what she is doing and what she needs to do she thinks it would help.

Also - is this a normal sort of problem to have? Her basic skating is considered very good and its felt jumps are the weakest aspect to her skating and holding her back.

[momof3chicks]

My 8 yo dd does that at times as well. She has started to land them sporadically. It is a lot to think about.

I video taped her and let her SEE it, and it seems to be helping. She landed 3 yesterday and even with a glide.

[renatele]

When I skated in childhood, coach had us do off-ice work on jump check-outs with long rubber bands, like therabands: get a really long one, loop it around something that won't move easily, put the free ankle in, stand far enough that the band isn't slacking. Get into the in-air position - feet crossed, arms pulled-in - and then powerfully get into the landing position. Resistance of the band will help with faster and more powerful jump check-outs.

[rsk8d]

Completely agree with the last post. I have a lot of my off-ice students do the same. Start with a set of 10, with a 5 second hold of the checkout position. Progress to 2 sets, then a higher level resistance band. Also keep up her strength training program! :)

[cazzie]

Great suggestions (thanks - you all know so much!) and will be getting a longer theraband so she can do this.

Today the coach made her do just a jump up in the air (legs crossed) and go into the landing on one leg other let behind about 10 times on the ice and she landed her axel properly about 10 times (proper glide back) afterwards. It made such a big difference and I think the off-ice practice will hopefully keep it that way.

Its been so near (yet so far) for such a long time.