Darn Crossovers

wordsthatrhyme

Hey, all.

So, I've been taking lessons for a total of about 6 months. I started November 2013, but there was an 8 month period where I couldn't skate because the rink was closed for renovations.

Anyway. I've been in USFS Adult Basic 3 for a few months and can't get past it.
I can't even attempt one crossover because I'm afraid of catching a toepick and falling.

The embarrassment of falling is worse than actually falling for me.
I weigh so much and don't have enough muscle strength that I literally cannot pick myself back up off the ice. My friend has to get on the ice on all fours so that I can use her to pull myself up.

I'm afraid to skate without her because I don't want to be stuck in the middle of the rink and make eye contact with everyone skating me by while I'm just sitting on the ice.

I'm not brave enough to try new moves because I'm afraid of falling and not being able to get back up.

Ugh.
- Melissa

PS2CR

I admire you as an adult for taking on this beautiful sport. I learned as an adult 38 years ago, and progressed to the point of instructor after 25 years of (positive) 'addiction' to it. I've taught ages 3 to 60-something, and it's a lot riskier for adults to learn, IMO. Not so much physically, but ego-wise. But it's a great release to be able to learn to laugh at yourself along with exercising those new, active skills. I no longer teach, and know that life brings cycles...you can skate every day for years, and then due to injury or other circumstances, miss months or years. But you can always get back into it; it's a great lifetime sport for health--mental as well as physical, IMO.

As an adult learner myself, I'm acutely familiar with the fear that crossovers can bring. I actually learned smooth backward crossovers before smooth forward ones, due to that toepick hang-up. Try this: when doing forward crossovers, don't think of it as crossing your feet on the circle curve. Think about making X's, where your (left) skating foot is skating on the blade's outside edge on the circle (like the 'leaning to the left' part of the capital letter X) but your crossing foot looks like the 'leaning to the rt' part of the capital letter "X". In other words, point that crossing right foot's toe straight ahead or even slightly to the right as you cross, coming down on the middle to middle-back inside edge of the right blade. The crossing-over foot's toe should be pointing 'outside' the circle or curve, in other words. You can practice this without actually skating by doing stepping drills across the ice, where you simply cross your right foot leftward over your right. Once you get the change-of-weight pattern in your head, it becomes simpler to transfer that to skating on the curve. Hope this helps.

PS2CR

PS. There should be a rink person on the ice that could assist you in getting up if/when you fall. My way of looking at it is, if you're not falling, you're probably not stretching yourself to learn anything new.

Alisontheice

Even the best skaters fall so don't worry about falling. i learned as a child and I've now been skating for 36 years. I competed in our nationals (and fell at nationals) in my teens, I taught, last year I competed at the adult "worlds" and my partner and I fell there's no shame at all in falling. No one will look and laugh and if they do it's their own insecurities at least you are trying hard enough to fall.

Have you tried the cross over action holding onto the boards? Just walk along the boards, hands on them doing the cross overs? Then try taking one hand away and then take both. Maybe then try turning sideways and holding onto the boards with one hand as you cross over and around a corner. Do that a few times in the corner and then take the hand away. then maybe try taking a step out from the boards, then another and another. Baby steps.

Don't worry about catching a pick. I have a tip. Try to think of pulling your toes up inside your skate. This ail lift the toe up a bit making it tough to catch a pick. This is a trick that once you learn and get used to it you will use over and over and over again.

Good luck!

HappyAnna2014

PS2CR wrote: »

PS. There should be a rink person on the ice that could assist you in getting up if/when you fall. My way of looking at it is, if you're not falling, you're probably not stretching yourself to learn anything new.

I like this!! I fall a lot, although I'm getting better, so I got some extreme skateboarder kneepads...they help a LOT. I now need to get some extreme skateboarder elbow pads, then I think I'll be good to go. I don't mind falling, I've ridden horses a lot in the past so it doesn't bother or embarrass me too much. LOL, I've finally trained the uber-friendly rink people on the ice that I'm OK when I fall. They are "johnny on the spot" here when someone falls. A 14-year-old girl broke her wrist in my class. I feel bad for her, I think she's stopped trying. I am so encouraged, though, by your way of looking at it!!