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In this video
Audrey Weisiger
talks about quad jumps and what it takes to accomplish this amazing feat.
Audrey has worked with two skaters with successful quads, Michael Weiss and
Timothy Goebel.
Notice that Audrey really focuses on preparation and making sure
the skater is ready to safely attempt the quad. This can be done by using
computer video analysis software such as Dartfish to determine if they jump high
enough and have the potential to rotate fast enough. Audrey thinks 0.61
seconds of airtime is required before a skater can safely start to work on the
quad and 0.667 seconds is really the "magic number" for good rotators.
Audrey is also a big believer in skaters wearing padding and
protective equipment for quad attempts. Audrey also strongly recommends
using the pole harness for quad development. For those that don't have
access to a pole harness, an overhead harness can also work although it's much
more restrictive. Traveling to a quality pole harness coach may be a good
investment.
Audrey tells the story of how she worked with Michael Weiss to
develop the quad. She mentions "Nick" several times and she's referring to
pole harness specialist Nick Perna who also coaches in Fairfax, VA.
Audrey emphasizes that the skater must be mentally prepared for
the level of responsibility that goes along with attempting a quad. She
says the skater needs to be ready and committed to the process so that the
initial experience is positive. Audrey also talks about the nature of
working on things that nobody has ever done before (Michael's quad lutz).
It takes a lot of courage to attempt something you've never seen done.
Audrey encourages skaters and coaches working on these kinds of
elements to travel to rinks where other people are working on them and landing
them. This raises the "believability" and helps with the mental side of
the jump.
For any jump that is at or very near the skater's physical
ability and has the potential for serious injury (the quad), it is important
that the skater is mentally prepared each and every day they work on it.
Near the end of this video, Audrey talks about working with
skaters that have the ability to step up on competition day and land the jumps
they need. She mentions working with skater Kiri Baga. This video
was shot during the time that Kiri was in Turkey at an International
competition.
Audrey is an Olympic coach and we are very lucky to have her contributions to
iCoachSkating.com. Please rate this content and leave a comment
for Audrey or other members below.
| Editor's Note: I've spoken to many coaches about quads
and they've said similar things as Audrey. Frank Carroll told
me that in a typical practice, a skater that is capable of the quad
may not land any or may land half a dozen. He said that on
average over weeks or months, a skater that has a quad typically
only hits it about a third of the time in practice but more in
competition. And Page Lipe told me that when working with
Rohene Ward on quads, they would only attempt a few each day because
of the intensity of the quad. Rohene said he would try one and
if he landed it, he might stop or do one more. If he missed
but was close on the first attempt, he'd almost always try another.
-Trevor |
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