Crossover Skating: Use Both Legs to Power the Turn

For better forward crossovers, focus on pushing with both legs, not crossing your feet faster. The outside skate pushes before it crosses over; the inside skate then pushes outward beneath your body on its outside edge. The crossing step lets you transfer weight and repeat those pushes while following a curve.

That is what separates a powered crossover from simply stepping around a corner. Hockey Canada’s skating guide describes crossover pumping as a way to maintain or increase speed on a curve, with alternating pushes from both legs.

Which skate uses which edge?

Two meanings of “inside” can make crossovers confusing:

• Inside foot: the foot nearer the centre of the turn.
• Inside edge: the blade edge nearer the other foot when you stand normally.

They are not the same thing. In a left turn, the left foot is the inside foot—but its outside edge supplies the under-body push.

For a forward crossover around a left-hand curve:

Part of the movement	Skate and edge	Action
Outside push	Right skate, inside edge	Extend the right leg outward while the edge remains on the ice.
Crossing step	Right skate	Lift it just enough to cross in front of the left skate, then set it down and accept weight.
Under-body push	Left skate, outside edge	Extend the left leg outward beneath the body, toward the right.
Recovery	Left skate	Bring it back beside the right skate, ready to repeat.

Reverse left and right for a right-hand turn. This sequence follows Hockey Canada’s crossover-pumping teaching points, which explicitly identify the inside skate’s outside-edge push.

The useful cue: push, cross, push underneath, recover. Do not hurry the recovery so much that you remove the pushing skate before it has done useful work.

Why the pushes help you turn and gain speed

A curved path requires a net force toward the centre of the curve. That inward force changes the direction of your velocity—even if your speed stays constant. Physicists call it centripetal force; it is a description of the force’s role, not an extra force appearing alongside the skate–ice interaction. OpenStax explains this distinction and the relationship F = mv²/r.

In skating, your loaded edges push against the ice, and the ice pushes back. During a powered turn, that horizontal contact force can have both:

• an inward component, which helps bend your path;
• a forward component along your path, which offsets resistance and can increase your speed.

The airborne skate cannot push against the ice. Crossing it repositions it so you can load it and continue pushing. The under-body push matters because the inside leg is not merely a support to step over—it contributes another driving stroke.

Your body also needs to lean into the turn, with your hips moving inward rather than only your head tipping sideways. Hockey Canada’s cues are to lean inward from the waist down and keep the inside shoulder up. Treat that as a balance cue, not a demand to hold the shoulders rigidly level.

Why speed makes the same circle harder

Consider an illustrative 80 kg player, including equipment, following a 5 m radius curve at 4 m/s—about 14 km/h:

Inward force = 80 × 4² ÷ 5 = 256 N.

At twice the speed, the required inward force becomes 1,024 N: four times as much. These are calculated turning demands, not measured crossover forces or grip limits.

The practical consequence is simple: learn the movement on a wide curve at modest speed before tightening the turn or accelerating hard. A faster lap is not just the same footwork performed more quickly; it places a much larger demand on edge control.

A short practice progression

Use clear ice, wear your protective equipment, and practise only at a speed you can stop from reliably. If controlled glides and stops are still uncertain, start with the beginner skating progression.

1. Glide a wide curve in both directions. Keep your knees and ankles flexed, head up, and hips gently inside the curve. Establish the turn before adding crossing steps.
2. Add the outside-leg push without crossing. On a left curve, push with the right skate and return it beside the left. Look for a smooth push rather than rapid foot movement.
3. Add one complete crossover, then glide. Push with the right skate, cross it over, transfer weight, and let the left outside edge push underneath. Recover the left foot without hopping upright.
4. Link a few repetitions. Keep the rhythm controlled, then practise the other direction. Add pace only when both pushes remain deliberate.

This suggested progression separates the balance task from the crossing task.

If your feet cross but you do not gain speed, check whether the inside skate is being picked up instead of pushing. If the blades collide, slow down and use a wider curve while you establish clearance and weight transfer. If the edge slips as you accelerate, reduce the turning demand before trying a harder push.

Judge the crossover by the loaded strokes: can you feel one push before the crossing step and another underneath, without standing up between them? That is a more useful target than how dramatic the crossing looks.