I'm spoiled because I made it onto one of the best roller derby teams in the world.
Maybe I shouldn't beat myself up about it though. No disrespect or discouragement to any ladies who long to skate derby, but I've read multiple accounts online of girls who are working on trying to do crossovers. Working. Trying. What?
Yes, I worked and I tried, but I learned to skate a crossover during my first roller derby workshop in RENTAL SKATES. Yes. And no, I didn't play ice or roller hockey. I roller skated as a kid - that was it.
What's the lesson here? I don't know. I guess I'm just glad that I live in a city with really great and experienced skaters or I'd be so bored with waiting for my fellow teammates to learn how to crossover.
You'll probably also hate me when I tell you that I can crossover while going clockwise too. And nope, I didn't even have to learn how to do that. It came naturally to me as a lefty.
Backwards crossovers? My second try I was able to do them, both directions. Now, I'm still working on being able to use them to pick up more speed...
I'm not just writing all of this to brag. Really, I don't mean to brag. I'm pretty surprised that I can do these things so easily. A lot of credit goes to my coaches, without them I wouldn't know what to practice.
What to practice if you don't have great coaches like mine:
If you want to learn how to crossover first you MUST master being able to skate on just your left leg and on just your right leg. And no, I don't mean just on the straightaways, I mean you should ALSO be able to skate around the turns (as sharply as the lines are) on one leg. Only then can you talk to me about trying to do a crossover. This goes for backwards skating too.
Everything everything everything EVERYTHING in skating is all about balance. Some moves you will perform you're moving your center of gravity 5 different times and directions in a matter of seconds. If you can't skate on one foot - how do you think you can move your center of gravity that much, that fast without falling? Or even if you don't manage to fall, you sure won't be aggressive because you're too busy trying not to lose your balance.
Get over yourself. Everyone falls.
Now get out there and skate! Skate skate skate. And if you are outdoors, go with a buddy. I went by myself once and wiped out. Luckily I had full gear on, but I still scraped all of the skin off of one of my thumbs. Not pretty.
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