Teaching Beginning Ice Skating – Forward Crossovers (Nick Perna)

Nick Perna shares his thoughts and insights on crossovers (also called crosscuts). This is an in-depth video covering details which are generally glossed over by many coaches. As Nick says, “To me, forward crossovers and back crossovers, really to do them correctly, it involved a lot of skill and a lot of skating basics that have to be mastered to do crossovers at a high level with a lot of power and proper technique. And I think it’s often something that’s overlooked.”

Nick picks it up right from basic skills where a crossover is typically taught as picking the outside foot up and lifting it over the skating foot and setting it back down. But as Nick notes, “Now this is not really what happens with advanced crossovers.”

Nick starts with his slalom drills and then proceeds to pumping on a circle. Then he moves on to crossovers on two feet where both feet remain in contact with the ice at all times. Nick makes this drill look easy, but it can be very challenging for skaters who need to work on their crossovers.

Next, Nick explains what he thinks of as the “ultimate forward crossover.” Prior to the cross, he wants the free foot to touch down on the ice before crossing in front of the skating foot to allow a smooth and powerful weight transfer. Nick thinks of having both legs push outward and slightly backward. He does not teach pulling the free foot forward after the undercut, but as you’ll see in his demonstration, the undercut does tend to push directly out of the circle. Nick also address whether or not the skater should push all the way through the toe pick.

After discussing the end goal, Nick returns to the drills he uses to build the crossover. After doing two foot crossovers, he has the skater pick up only the undercut foot immediately after the undercut. The outside foot remains in contact with the ice throughout. Nick notes that many top skaters use this type of powerful crossover at least somewhere in their programs.

Next, Nick discusses the “power angle” or lean of the body into the circle. He shares a wall drill to develop an understanding and awareness of this lean. He shows that crossovers can be done with the body twisted into the circle, out of the circle, or neutral. An important key with powerful crossovers is the inside hip remains under the skater. The body should remain still. The knee action of a good crossover has a little lilt to it. Nick explains it as a “down down” movement/feeling.

As Nick notes in this video, good crossovers are rare and tend to be overlooked by both skaters and coaches. But good crossovers are one of the most beautiful things in skating. Crossovers deserve the time and effort to “get it right.”