A crossover is how figure skaters carry speed around a curve: the outside foot crosses over in front of the inside foot. Skating forward counterclockwise, you glide on your left foot's outside edge, step your right foot over onto its inside edge, and push out underneath you with your left foot. Backward crossovers work the same way while you skate backward, and clockwise crossovers are the mirror image.
Key takeaways
- The outside foot crosses over the inside foot. Skating forward counterclockwise, that's your right foot crossing over your left.
- Every crossover has two pushes: the outside foot pushes on its inside edge before it crosses, and the inside foot pushes out underneath on its outside edge after the cross.
- Your inside foot stays on its outside edge the whole way around, so a steady forward outside edge is the thing to work on first.
- Learn both directions. Clockwise crossovers are the mirror image, and most skaters have one side that feels clumsier.
Crossovers are the skill that makes skating start to feel like skating. Once you have them, you can carry your speed around the ends of the rink instead of slowing down for every curve, and you'll use them in warm-ups, footwork and jump setups for as long as you skate. They also feel very odd at first. Crossing one leg over the other on a moving blade goes against every instinct you have, so be patient with yourself.
This page describes crossovers going counterclockwise, which is where most skaters start, since most of us rotate counterclockwise in jumps and spins. If you're a clockwise skater, or your coach has you working the other way first, swap every left and right below. You'll learn both directions in the end, so none of it is wasted.
What a crossover is
Picture yourself skating around a circle. The foot nearer the center is your inside foot, and the one farther out is your outside foot. In a crossover, the outside foot lifts, crosses over in front of the inside foot and lands on the inside of the curve. Going counterclockwise, the center of the circle is on your left, so your left foot is the inside foot and your right foot is the one that crosses.
Each foot also has its own edge. The inside foot glides on its outside edge, the little-toe side of the blade, and that edge is what carries you around the curve. The crossing foot lands on its inside edge, the big-toe side. If edges are still new to you, our guide to inside and outside edges explains which way each one curves, and crossovers make a lot more sense after it.
How a forward crossover works
Start on a circle, skating forward counterclockwise. The hockey circles painted on most rinks are a good size to learn on. Bend your knees, turn your shoulders and chest a little toward the center of the circle, and hold your right arm in front and your left arm behind you. Look ahead along the circle rather than down at your feet.
Glide on your left foot and let its outside edge carry you around the curve. Push off with your right foot, using its inside edge, out to the side the way you would in a normal forward stroke. Then bring the right foot forward and cross it over in front of your left, setting it down just inside your left toe, on its inside edge.
As your weight moves onto your right foot, your left foot pushes out underneath you, toward the outside of the circle, on its outside edge. Coaches call this the underpush. Finish the push with a straight left leg, then lift the left foot, bring it forward beside your right and set it down on its outside edge again, ready for the next one.
Keep your upper body quiet while your legs do the work. Your shoulders stay turned toward the center the whole time, and your head stays up. If your shoulders swing every time your feet cross, your weight swings with them and you'll wobble off the edge. Said as a rhythm, a crossover goes push, cross, push under, step, and it takes a while for those pieces to blend into one movement.
Where the speed comes from
It's easy to think the crossing foot does all the work, because that's the part you can see. In fact the speed comes from two pushes. The right foot pushes on its inside edge before it crosses, and the left foot pushes under on its outside edge after the cross. In a good crossover, both pushes are long and smooth and finish with a straight leg.
The underpush is the one that's easiest to skip. Pushing sideways under your own body feels awkward, so the left foot tends to lift off early and just step across. Try keeping the left foot on the ice a beat longer after the cross, pressing out toward the outside of the circle until your leg is straight. You'll feel your speed pick up as soon as it starts working.
Push with the whole blade, not the front of it. If you hear a scratch at the end of a push, your toe pick is catching, which usually means you're pushing backward instead of out to the side. Bending your knees more gives you room to push out further.
Ways to practice
Off the ice
You can learn the leg pattern on land. Walk slowly around a small circle counterclockwise, crossing your right foot over your left with each step and keeping your shoulders turned toward the center. It won't teach you the edges, but it gets the crossing motion into your body so your attention is free for other things on the ice.
One at a time
On the ice, start on a circle near the boards. Do one crossover, glide on two feet, and reset before the next. Once single crossovers feel steady, link two, then three, then try a whole circle. Counting how many crossovers it takes to get around is a nice way to see progress, because the number drops as your pushes get stronger.
Feeling the underpush
To feel the underpush, try slow crossovers where your left foot never leaves the ice. Lift and cross only your right foot, and let the left blade slide out under you and back in again. It feels strange, but it teaches the left foot to keep pushing instead of stepping.
The other direction
Give your other direction real practice time too. Going clockwise, your right foot glides on its outside edge and your left foot crosses over onto its inside edge. Most skaters have a side that feels clumsy, and the fix is simply more time on it, a little every session.
Backward crossovers
Backward crossovers come once you're comfortable skating backward and can glide backward on one foot. The idea is the same as forward: the outside foot crosses in front of the inside foot, and the inside foot stays on its outside edge. Skating backward counterclockwise, the center of the circle is on your right, so your right foot is the inside foot, gliding on its back outside edge, and your left foot crosses in front of it.
The pushes mirror the forward version. Your left foot pushes on its inside edge, then crosses in front and lands on its back inside edge. As it lands, your right foot pushes out underneath on its outside edge, then comes back and is set down on its back outside edge again. Because you can't see where you're going, check behind you before you start and keep glancing back as you go.
Expect backward crossovers to feel harder than forward ones for a while, and don't rush into them. They're also where a lot of jump and spin entries start, so the time you put in pays off later. Our guide to skating backward covers the groundwork, and it's worth being steady there first.
When crossovers feel stuck
Most skaters hit the same few snags with crossovers. Here are the common ones and what usually helps, though a coach watching you for a few minutes will spot your particular one faster than any list.
| What happens | What's usually going on | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| The crossing foot steps wide around the other foot | The right foot swings out instead of crossing close | Bring it over close and set it down just inside your left toe. |
| You slow down with each crossover | No underpush, or a very short one | Keep the left foot on the ice longer and push out until the leg is straight. |
| A scratchy sound at the end of a push | The toe pick is catching | Push out to the side with the whole blade, with more knee bend. |
| You tip toward the outside of the circle | The left foot is on a flat, or your shoulders are turning out | Lean into the circle from your ankle and keep your shoulders facing the center. |
| You keep looking at your feet | Habit, and nerves | Pick a point ahead on the circle and keep your eyes on it. |
Crossovers feel awkward for a while and then, one day, they don't. Practicing near the boards is fine, and so is the occasional fall; if you're nervous about that, our page on falling safely helps. Once forward crossovers feel smooth, backward crossovers come next, and a little later your first waltz jump.
This is general advice from adult skaters, not coaching. A coach can see things you can't feel, so if something here doesn't match what yours teaches, go with your coach.
