Crossovers

[batonstar]

I can skate confidantly both forwards and backwards and I was trying to do crossovers earlier at the rink.

My forwards crossovers are great - just how they should be.

My backwards crossovers I can't get the hang of.
I know how to do them and I have watched other people and videos of how to do them but when I try my feet just feel like a complete muddle.

Can anyone give me any tips or ideas on how to learn these better, and if anyone knows of any video I can watch on the inernet which specifically shows you step by step to larning bacwards crossovers I would be grateful if you could post it for me.

Thanks!

[Rusty Blades]

Same problem I have been struggling with all through "summer school" - forward cross-overs others would die for but nonexistent back cross-overs.

I know, in my case, it is because I don't have nearly the confidence in my Back Outside edges and that's what I am working on now, BO edges.

[CanadianAdult]

It is very easy to learn crossovers badly, and then it takes years to unlearn and relearn them correctly. I would hope that you could find someone to give you a lesson.

There are several progressions in a back crosscut. outside push, lift, cross and underpush is as simple as I can describe it.

A good exercise to start for the back outside push is to go backwards around a circle, keep the inside foot on the ice and push out to the side with the outside foot. (one foot backward sculling). It will make a nice litle "C" on the complete stroke. The more you push the faster you will go around the circle. Push with the other foot, go around in a figure eight.

That will be $8.00 please :twisted: See you next week.

[jskater49]

My forwards crossovers are great - just how they should be.



Um, no offense but unless you just passed your senior moves, I doubt the above is true. Not saying that to discourage you but to prepare you for when you have a lesson and your coach tells you that they need work.

j

[airyfairy76]

I completely agree with CanadianAdult about needing a lesson for these.

I started skating last September with the SkateUK. Before Christmas, a figure-skating friend showed me how to do forward crossovers.

On my first lesson back after Christmas (first lesson in Level 5), the coach saw I could do them and moved me straight up to Level 6. Therefore, I have been doing them for seven months, with absolutely no coaching on them at all. They felt good when I was doing them as well.

Luckily, the original figure skater who taught me them, did a reasonably good job. Even then, I started private lessons last week and asked my coach to go over basics, and the amount of things she gave me to think about on the forward crossovers was unbelievable - alighment of feet, knee bend, where your weight should be, knee bend, lifting toes then heels, where your head / arms should be, knee bend, knee bend, knee bend . . . . :lol:

And as for backward crossovers - even more bad habits can creep in!

However, this site has some video's on basics, including backward crossovers.
http://sports.expertvillage.com/videos/backward-crossovers-advanced-ice-skating.htm

[sue123]

I'm afraid i'm not good at giving tips, because often times, I can't describe exactly how it's supposed to work, but I just wanted to say I am the complete opposite. My back crossovers are miles above my foward crossoverse. For some reason, they feel much more secure and go so much faster. Ah well. I know when I was first learning them, I startd off with sculling around the circle, then one scull followed by one crossover, until I was able to do them in succession.

[dbny]

Um, no offense but unless you just passed your senior moves, I doubt the above is true. Not saying that to discourage you but to prepare you for when you have a lesson and your coach tells you that they need work.

j

ITA. Even the elite skaters still work on basics like stroking and crossovers. Learning figure skating is like peeling an onion. Layer after layer after layer...

[littlerain]

I'm afraid i'm not good at giving tips, because often times, I can't describe exactly how it's supposed to work, but I just wanted to say I am the complete opposite. My back crossovers are miles above my foward crossoverse. For some reason, they feel much more secure and go so much faster. Ah well. I know when I was first learning them, I startd off with sculling around the circle, then one scull followed by one crossover, until I was able to do them in succession.

I'm that way too! Though I think for me they're better because I always did them more lol (Not really sure how it turned out that way...)

[Mrs Redboots]

Um, no offense but unless you just passed your senior moves, I doubt the above is true. Not saying that to discourage you but to prepare you for when you have a lesson and your coach tells you that they need work.

jPerhaps they are "just how they should be" for a skater at batonstar's level? Nobody is going to expect him or her to do them perfectly, but perhaps they are now at a level where a coach would start requiring them to go up to the next level?

ITA that we are always working on our basic elements, and the more we do, the better. And it is a Law of Skating that as soon as you can do something, the coach makes it harder so you can't do it any more!

[jskater49]

Perhaps they are "just how they should be" for a skater at batonstar's level? Nobody is going to expect him or her to do them perfectly, but perhaps they are now at a level where a coach would start requiring them to go up to the next level?

ITA that we are always working on our basic elements, and the more we do, the better. And it is a Law of Skating that as soon as you can do something, the coach makes it harder so you can't do it any more!

Hehhehe that is like this summer when coach told me "Your crossovers are fine for a beginner. But you are not a beginner so let's work on those"

No I didn't mean to discourage or critique just to make the point that crossovers are decwptive. Particularly since I ice skated before I took up figure skating and thought I could do crossovers just fine because I did them all the time, skating round and round. Then I had to relearn them and it was sooo frustrating. And such a shock to find out I was doing them wrong.

j

[Skate@Delaware]

oh man......just thinking about when my coach says, "How's your back crossovers?????" at the BEGINNING OF THE FRICKIN' SEASON when she KNOWS i have no ice....

8O

yeah, they SUCK!!!!

so it's like this: push, cross, click, AAAAHHHH!!!! i'm ok....:giveup: :frus:

[techskater]

I am working on Novice moves (and Gold FS) and yet, I work on crossovers all the time still! I work on the perimeter power stroking to improve the edges to get good run into the end patterns. I work on getting deeper in the knees so that I can use less crossovers to get from A to B in my program better. I know once I pass Novice MIF, I will be working on crossovers yet again on the Junior power circles...

[vesperholly]

Crossovers is a misnomer for backwards - you're really crossing under. The front foot (L for CW, R for CCW) should remain on the ice, and you swoop the free foot out and under. Make sure you are keeping your weight on the forward foot. Think of crossing your feet sideways instead of going backwards.

Here's an exercise: Sit in a chair with your feet on the ground, shoulder-width apart and knees/ankles at right angles. Place your left foot forward (it won' and in the middle of your body, parallel to your spine. Extend your right foot directly to the right side, then trace a straight line on the ground with your foot from the extended position to underneath the left foot, like you're crossing an upside-down capital T, so your feet are crossed. That's the foot motion of a back CW crossover. Reverse it for a CCW crossover.

[Mrs Redboots]

I agree, one works them all the time. I'm desperately trying to get more power out of mine for the Russian stroking exercise in our Level 3 Skating Moves, where you have to hold the inside edge for about half the length of the rink. My coach, and at least one of his pupils, are able to get enough power that the held edge isn't really held any longer than any other edge, whereas when I do it, although I'm pretty much able to hold the edge, it feels and looks as though I'm holding it for about half an hour!

As for my back crossovers - well, dancers don't have to do them very much is my story and I'm sticking to it!!!!!

[chowskates]

Crossovers is a misnomer for backwards - you're really crossing under. The front foot (L for CW, R for CCW) should remain on the ice, and you swoop the free foot out and under. Make sure you are keeping your weight on the forward foot. Think of crossing your feet sideways instead of going backwards.


Hmm... I usually think of it as "pushing" under, not just crossing ;)

[liz_on_ice]

Hmm... I usually think of it as "pushing" under, not just crossing ;)

When I'm really going on them I feel like I'm walking sideways up a steep hill, pushing hard on each foot as I step onto the other.