In this video Audrey Weisiger talks about team teaching.  Many top coaches in the world have achieved their success by teaming with other great coaches.  Audrey explains how it works and what's necessary to have it work well.

Audrey makes the point that each member of the team has to know their role.  In particular, Audrey believes that support coaches need to find out exactly what to work on with the skater from the head coach for each lesson.  She makes it clear that support coaches should work closely with the head coach and not undermine the head coach, even if opinions differ.

Audrey says that the head coach's role is to be all-knowing on all aspects of a skater's training and involvement in the sport.  This includes skates, costumes, training plans, daily plans, and what needs to be addressed in lessons.  The head coach assigns specific tasks to the other coaches on the team.  Audrey mentions Nick Perna, Chris Conte, and Caroline Silby, all of whom work as part of her team in Fairfax, VA. She also talks about choreographers and off-ice trainers as well.

Some coaches find it somewhat difficult to work with a skater in a supporting role.  Others love the support role even better than being in charge.  When putting a team together it's important to understand personalities and egos.  Some coaches you may want on your team may be technical geniuses, but they may be incapable of limiting their involvement to their supporting role.  In the long run, this doesn't work.  Notice that Audrey, a highly successful World and Olympic coach, works with many skaters for whom she is not the head coach.

Unfortunately, most coaches and skaters do not live and train in a location that allows true team coaching.  But team coaching is one of the huge advantages that coaches and skaters at major training centers have enjoyed for years.  There is simply no way for a single coach to become and remain an expert in all aspects of figure skating.  It's much easier for a coach to become an expert at jumps, or spins, or moves in the field, or choreography than to become an expert at all of them.  And some coaches have a particular talent for motivation or organization and planning which makes them ideal for head coaching roles in the team coaching environment.

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.