How come I can do back crossovers just fine in one direction, but no matter what I do, my outside foot won't cross over my inside foot in the other direction? I have been trying for weeks now, and my foot just won't cooperate!

All it takes is practice, Ill tell you that, if you were to practice going round in your opposite direction for at least 15 minutes, you'll almost definately see improvement..( that was the case with me anyway ) and as much practice I gave it, I brought it up to equivalent standards as the other side too!

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-figurebabe-
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I agree with figurebabe.

We all have a "favorite" side to do moves on. What "favorite" really means is that your body more readily gets into the position required.

Have a coach check you out and adjust your alignment, then practice, practice, practice.

We've all been there.

Perhaps to help, you can break down exactly what you do on your 'good' side---every little thing---and try to translate it to your not-so-good side. Try a little bit at a time, and see if you see some improvement.

Oh yeah...and practice. 8) Really, no matter what else you do, that's what will help the most.

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Be patient and practice, practice,practice! We all have a natural side that just comes more easily, but you'll get it. My back cross overs are equally strong on both sides, but to this day I have a "weak" side forward crossover that I have to force myself to concentrate on.

When I'm trying to learn something new on my weak side, I practice this way: first, I do the bad side. Then I do the good side. Then I do the bad side again. Sometimes if I'm having trouble getting started I do the good side first just to kind of get my brain going with the muscle memory, but the main theory is that you practice the weak side twice as much as the strong one.

For successful back crossovers, you need to turn your upper body from the waist, to face into the circle, so that your shoulders are turned so that they almost lie along the line of travel. Look towards your leading shoulder so that you can see where you are going. Stretch your arms out so that they continue the shoulder line. Then the crossovers will work.

I get a picture of you turning the upper body in the same direction for both CW and CCW crossovers, whereas it needs to be a mirror image. Your heels and butt point backwards along the line of travel, but your chest faces into the circle.

Try it and let us know if this works!

My CCW crossovers were better at first, then CW got better once I got new skates. Just today my CCW crossovers felt finally "equal" to the CW side, and I've been practicing them for [i:b680394402]months[/i:b680394402]! They just [i:b680394402]flowed[/i:b680394402]! Whee!

I was thinking the same thing as Jasmine here...when something is going wring with the lower part of me, it's usually the upper body that is the culprit!

Don't feel bad. I have been skating for about 9 years (i'm an adult skater) and I still have a stronger side for xovers. If I take time off from skating, I really notice the favoritism when I come back. I also picskate and the difference is really pronounced b/c I am less comfortable on inline skates.

Practice does make "better".

Kay

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well, wheni did my backwards crossovers i am better at doing them CCW. the only reason why i am better at doing them that way is because that is the way they get us to skate in our ice rink. then one day, when i went to my club, someone saw me trying to do them the other way and then said to pull the inside leg right into the the circle so that you are streching the inside leg right in. also my forward crossovers are stronger in the CCW direction.

i also have to agree with jasmine. that is the way that my coach gets me to do them.

The others have all given good advice - get someone (like a coach) to check your upper body position and line etc. Also, maybe it is something to do with your backward edges? Maybe your outside edge isn't very strong in the direction you're having trouble with. If you don't feel confident on these edges, maybe because you haven't practiced them much, then the crossovers won't feel very easy or very natural because you have to feel strong on your edges to lean on them. Practice them, just gliding backwards on each foot in the direction you're having problems with. Maybe this will help too.

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[quote:5c1a1e3176="skatin' mom"]How come I can do back crossovers just fine in one direction, but no matter what I do, my outside foot won't cross over my inside foot in the other direction? I have been trying for weeks now, and my foot just won't cooperate![/quote:5c1a1e3176] After my lesson this morning, it occurs to me that you may be sticking that hip out. You have to have your weight totally over your inside hip. I never do, which is why mine are terrible.....

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Let me now confuse you even further: :wink: Don't turn into the circle too much--it may cause you to lean forward, and your crossovers will be really scratchy. My coach got me to straighten up a bit (forward arm more straight, less curved into the circle) and sit back, and it did wonders for my speed, posture and form.

And yes, one side is much better than the other!! But the other side is much better than it used to be thanks to tips from her and practice.

Good luck,

Beth

And in skating, there is NO such thing as a dumb question!!!

May I add to Yazmeen's advice......Don't stick your rear end out too far, or your coach will threaten to use it as a table! (Yes, that's what she's told me......) More knee bend is the way to go

Thanks for all the helpful advice! I will experiment today at my practice session with all the various techniques, and hope that something clicks!

[quote:370090c84a="skatin' mom"]Thanks for all the helpful advice! I will experiment today at my practice session with all the various techniques, and hope that something clicks![/quote:370090c84a]
Well, do let us know! Incidentally, you may feel that some of us have given you contradictory information - that's because all of us have different faults, and these need to be corrected. What is a correction for one person is what another person already exaggerates, and needs to have corrected - so one person will tell you to lean into the circle more, because that's what their coach tells them they need to do, while another will say not to lean in quite so far, as their problem is they lean in too much.....

Which is why, as helpful as the tips you get on here can be (and yes, they can be [i:370090c84a]extremely[/i:370090c84a] helpful, I should know!), you really do need to ask your coach what has gone wrong, and what you can do as a first step towards improvement.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

After what seems like years, I still have an unnatural sensation when I do CCW back crosses. Just keep at it!. Be loose and bend the knees. Take your time.

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MEL
Absolute Skating

Yahoo! I finally did the back crossovers in the opposite direction! They are still quite rough, but I feel like I made a major breakthru. Thanks to all of you for your advice and encouragement!

That's great! Maybe you'll end up like me, with your awkward direction becoming your preferred direction!

Well done! Now mind you practice them that way round, or you'll end up like me and have horribly clunky ones just when you want them nice and smooth.....

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!