As former competitive figure skaters, we’ve witnessed firsthand the toll it can take on our bodies: injuries from over-training, poor technique that led to bad habits, lost flexibility due to weakness. But throughout our career as professional coaches, we realized something important: these issues are all preventable.

The Balanced Skaters Platform was designed to help coaches train their figure skaters off the ice in order to develop the strong foundation they need to challenge themselves on the ice. Our training programs improve mobility, strength, and resistance to common injuries. By training clean body mechanics and breaking down difficult jumps, spins, and movement patterns, we unlock rapid improvements to on-ice form and technique.

Training programs

We developed our signature 12-week training programs with competitive figure skating seasons & levels in mind. Skaters move up a level once proficiency is demonstrated. Although our program is flexible and non-prescriptive, the ideal application looks something like this:

• Group students by level (we split our programs into Pre-Preliminary—Juvenile and Junior—Senior levels)

• Teach 90-minute off-ice classes 2-3x a week, alternating between our strength and mobility-focused lessons

• At the end of each 12-week program, evaluate your skater’s progress using our level-specific assessments

• Adjust their program level, exercise difficulty, or ‘homework’ based on their strengths & weaknesses

With this process, your skaters will be able to see and track their progress in a sustainable way. Alternating between strength and mobility-focused lessons prevents burning out the same muscle groups, consistently practicing drills builds the muscle memory that improves on-ice technique, and regular assessments help identify areas of weakness that could lead to injury down the line.

Program composition

To create well-balanced and structured programs, we examined five key categories of exercises and created progressions that map to all 8 levels of skating.

We believe we achieved the perfect balance between strength and mobility across all five categories: 

• Strength: Integrated movement patterns broken down into their simplest forms

• Mobility: Stretches that require end-range control and help improve flexibility

• Balance: Specific balances directly relating to skills on ice (we call them ‘shaping drills’)

• Plyometrics: Utilizing strength effectively for better jumping form & injury prevention

• Rotations: Current and progressive jumping techniques broken down into smart progressions

All exercises correspond within the 5 categories so nothing is missed. Our core fundamental exercises look at movement qualities joint-by-joint. The sequencing of connected exercises allows you to measure and better understand any areas of deficiencies that could negatively impact your skater’s development.

Our programs add incremental load, taking into consideration the competitive season and actual ice time. As a coach, you know your skaters best: you have the flexibility to customize our programs and periodize as you see fit.

Exercises & Drills

We’ve divided exercises into two classes: resilient drills & performance skills. We look at the long-term athletic development before specialization.

What’s the difference?

Resilient drills create a larger work space in the body, allowing more capacity for complex and dynamic movement. We want to make sure skaters have enough durability to handle repeated jumping loads.

Capacity < Load = Injury

Capacity > Load = Trainable working space

Performance skill training in this context focuses on specific neuromuscular patterning. The goal is to create proficient movement patterns before complexity is added.

Balanced Skaters considers training mindsets off the ice to influence the learning process on the ice. We want to cultivate thoughtful and process-oriented athletes. Examinations with worksheets were created to empower skaters keeping them accountable for their own growth. When you use our system to measure their improvements, the goal is to look for a skater who is “balanced” across all categories.

The Pedagogy

We stress the importance of awareness.

Skaters unfortunately try new skills on-ice without fully understanding the motions, sometimes resulting in dangerous attempts and falls. We find that learning the speed of rotation, takeoff shapes, air position specifics, release of rotation, height, and ultimately jump awareness is all learned off the ice. Furthermore, without coaching, skaters generally neglect the strength & mobility of their body. A strong foundation and sufficient joint mobility is necessary to safely achieve these incredibly challenging skills. By working through our progressions, nothing is left out of the picture. Fly high, rotate fast, know your body, and achieve whatever you set your mind to.