Beginner roller skating
A Crossover Lands With a Bent Knee, Not a Straight One
The clumpy, unstable crossover has one cause: the crossing leg arrives straight and only bends afterwards. There is a pause inside it that you can feel. The knee has to already be bent the instant the wheels touch down, front of the kneecap over the toes. Drill it on a circle — a few pushes, then cross straight into a short toe roll, back knee brushing just behind the front one. Inline technique, from ICP-certified coach Asha Kirkby.
Forward crossovers that feel clumpy and unstable usually have one cause, and it is not where people look for it.
The crossing leg arrives straight. It comes over the top, the wheels touch down on a more or less locked knee, and only then does the knee bend. There is a small dead moment inside the step, and you can feel it as a thud rather than a roll.
What you want instead is the knee already bent at the instant the wheels touch the ground — front of the kneecap over your toes, the same shape you should be holding everywhere else in your skating. Land in the position rather than falling into it afterwards.
The drill. On a circle, take a few gentle pushes to the outside to get some speed. Then cross over and go straight into a short toe roll: the back skate lifts onto its front wheel, and the back knee comes forward until it is brushing just behind the front knee. That target — knee touching knee — forces the bend, because you cannot reach it on a straight leg.
Hold it briefly, then push again. Push, cross, roll. Push, cross, roll. Once the shape is familiar you can drop the toe roll entirely, and it becomes cross over and lift.
Two things to keep in mind while you drill it. A crossover is an accelerating move — if you are slowing down through them, something else is wrong. And the timing should be even on both legs: one-and-two, one-and-two, not a long side and a short one. Inline technique, from Asha Kirkby of Skatefresh, an instructor certified by the Inline Certification Program. She teaches inline skating, and that is the discipline this page is about.
Keep going: this is one section of the full Roller Skating for Beginners guide — sizing, gear, stopping, and where to skate, in one page.