Back crossovers to back outside edges

Back crossovers, then a held back outside edge on a half circle, then the same the other way, down the long axis.

Down the long axis

Not checked yet. The drill details on this page are a first draft by a non-expert, and no coach has seen them yet. Read them as a starting point and check them with a coach. Corrections are very welcome.

The run Back crossovers anticlockwise · RBO edge held · back crossovers clockwise · LBO edge held · repeat

The pattern on the ice, one line for the blade on the ice, coloured by edge.

shoulder to hip —on the —

Back crossovers anticlockwise · RBO held · back stroke · back crossovers clockwise · LBO held · back stroke. Negative twist means the shoulders are held back against the hips, which stores rotation before a takeoff and checks it on a landing.

Two or three back crossovers, then a back outside edge held to finish the half circle, then crossovers the other way and the other edge. Four or five lobes take you the length of the rink.

The held edge is the landing edge of every jump, and this drill puts it at the end of the speed that crossovers give, which is where a landing puts it too. Coaches look for the free leg extended behind, the arms held steady and the edge carried right to the end of the lobe rather than abandoned for the next crossover.

Looking over the shoulder into the circle while going backwards is part of the drill, not a distraction from it.

This drill trains

Right backward outside edgeRBO: the right foot travelling backwards on an outside edge, tracing an anticlockwise lobe.
Left backward outside edgeLBO: the left foot travelling backwards on an outside edge, tracing a clockwise lobe.
Right backward outside crossoverRBO to LBI: the free foot crosses in front of the skating foot onto the same lobe, still travelling backwards.
Left backward outside crossoverLBO to RBI: the free foot crosses in front of the skating foot onto the same lobe, still travelling backwards.

Found in 3 independent sources: coaches' public teaching and published skating-skills tests, taken as base guidance and written for the guide.