How to Do a Forward Crossover on Ice Skates

Video Transcript

Hi, my name is Charlene Dodge and I'm here at the Clearwater Ice Arena in Clearwater, Florida and on behalf of Expert Village this is beginning ice skating. Okay we are going to learn the beginning stages of a forward cross over. When you are ready to start picking up your foot and doing crossovers you want to just practice stepping over your other foot. We are going to do right foot crossovers right over left so we are going to put our right arm in front and our left arm in the back. We are going to just practice walking and stepping. We are going to pick up the right foot cross over the left. Hold the balance then take the back leg out and replace it side by side with the original right foot. You repeat that down a line using one of the hockey lines so that you know you are going straight. You want to make sure that your hips do not turn as you cross and you start walking this way. Sometimes it is very helpful to just practice side stepping and hold the arms in that position. So you can feel the twist between the shoulders and the hips. They are not going to be totally squared they are actually going to be perpendicular. Once you have that you want to start working on what edges you are going to be doing the crossovers on. So when you crossover it is very helpful to put the foot that you are standing on bend over and drop towards the baby toe. That is your outside edge. This allows the leg to cross and also helps avoid toe pushing later down the line. Take the foot out and replace as you pick up your foot you are going to drop your ankle over to that outside edge and then transfer your weight and replace the foot by your side. Once you have control over this you are ready to beginning doing it in a circle. We would start out with the right over the left and we are going to push off with the right foot which would be the foot on the outside of the circle. We are just going to practice pushing off and bring the feet together. Pushing back, feet together. Then you would continue on pushing off and crossing over there is where the ankle drops over and then you try to lift the foot up off the ice with the legs crossed. Then return the feet back to the original position. We can do the same in the opposite direction we push all the technique is the same for both directions. Push and hold using the inside edge for the first push. Outside edge for the second push, bending the knees. Notice how much my knees are bending you would not get flow if you walk it and step you would catch the toe pick. That is something that you really want to avoid is pushing off and hitting the toe pick because then you would trip yourself. That is your forward crossovers.

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