Hockey Crossovers - In Depth

The hockey crossover is an essential part of any hockey player's skating arsenal. In this video, we break down the crossover into easy teaching points and give ideas on how to coach your players into using better technique.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• youth hockey coaching
• hockey coaching
• power skating
• hockey crossovers

[croppd]

M2 - How much does flexibility play into developing a cross over? I ask bc as I watch you cross over and hold that position around the circle (to force the skater to get comfortable in that position) I struggle with that even on dry land, yet alone ice. I don't know if it is flexibility or just practice. I don't have super long legs and they are stocky in build. I am very much "stopping" at the mid point when on the ice, and just bringing my feet in line with each other, not crossed.

[m2hockey]

@croppd Flexibility and leg strength both play a significant role in performing a cross over correctly. Many adult players lack the necessary flexibility in their hips and gluets to perform the "full" cross over. I often find working on the technique off ice and stretching properly can help increase range of motion with players struggling with this mobility.

[BERTUZZZZi]

why does my outside edge on my inside skate always slide out when i'm doing crossovers... it's also doing that when i test out my outside edges on one skate. i think i'm leaning over quite a bit too

[m2hockey]

@BERTUZZZZi Often times a sliding outside edge is caused by the weight being too far forward on the blade (ie - in the middle of toward the ball of your foot) as opposed to being more toward the heel of the skate. It's also possible you have a "bad" edge on your skate either from stepping on something inadvertently or from a poor sharpening job. Hope this helps!

[mas3ydds]

Wow! I never noticed that thing about kids putting their heel into the ice first on their crossover, but indeed, my son definitely does it.

[michiganfan725]

you look like a combination between nick lidstrom and sidney crosby

[mas3ydds]

That exercise at 4:18 looks exceptionally useful. I noticed my own kid getting into the bad habit of not crossing his leg over completely.

[mas3ydds]

@m2hockey

I can vouch for that. I’m new to skating, so my legs/hips are quite inflexible and it shows. My crossovers look really labored, like I’m forcing my leg over.

[croppd]

you make it look so dang easy! tx fyi, i did go to a 7/16 cut and found it helpful this past weekend. lots and lots and lots of practice ahead tho, and probably a few wipe outs. also tried getting the weight in the back of my boot to get the feel of the tight turns, per your look, lead and leverage video. keep em coming. us in the south need the wisdom, for all we have is football down here

[shaolin95]

great video..thanks!

[torturedklown]

Great vid, I'm 33 and just trying again to learn to skate well enough to play pond hockey after 12 years of not skating... learned a ton from your vids. :)