Beginner roller skating
Two Seconds on One Skate Before Any Crossover
Most skaters try forward crossovers far too early, says a certified coach, before they own the skills the move depends on. One is plain: glide on a single skate for at least two seconds. That is what lets you regroup after the cross without hurrying, without clipping the other skate, and without ending up stuck with both feet crossed — the worst place a skater can be. Technique from ICP-certified coach Asha Kirkby.
Forward crossovers are tried far too early, says a certified coach, before the skater owns the skills the move depends on. The crossover itself is not the hard part; what comes right after it is.
One prerequisite is plain: glide on a single skate for at least two seconds. Not a hop, not a flicker of one foot off the ground — a held, rolling glide, two full seconds, on either leg.
That is what lets you regroup after the cross without hurrying. The skate that has just crossed over is now carrying you alone for a moment, and if you cannot stand on it for two seconds you will snatch the other skate back, clip it, or end up stuck with both feet crossed — which she rates as the worst place a skater can be.
So the crossover drill is a one-foot drill. Count to two on one skate, then the other, on a straight line, before you draw a single curve. When the count is easy, the crossover has somewhere to land.
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.
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