42. Cross Rolls: Backward Crossrolls + Exploring Elfreth's Alley in Philly

We're Xenia and Oleg, three-time U.S. national competitors whose goal is to make Team USA and represent the U.S. at international competitions. We'll share with you what we learned along the way, so let's make this journey together. Alfred's Alley, the oldest residential street in all of Pennsylvania. Dating back to 1702, Alfred's Alley is referred to as our nation's oldest residential street. There are 32 houses on the street, which were built between 1728 and 1836. The alley is a national historic landmark. Located in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, it is between North 2nd Street and North Front Street in the block between Arch and Race Streets. The alley is a tourist attraction and a rare surviving example of 18th century working-class housing stock. Alfred's Alley is named for Jeremiah Alford, an 18th century blacksmith and property owner. Among the alley's residents were tradesmen and their families, including shipwrights, silver and pewter smiths, glassblowers, and furniture builders. In the 1770s, one-third of the households were headed by women. The Georgian and Federal-style houses and cobblestone pavement of the alley were common in Philadelphia during this time. And we're here competing in the Challenge Cup, and today we're going to be showing you a new skating video. What are we showing today, Xenia? We will show you how to do backwards cross rolls. All right, let's do it. When doing backward cross rolls, make sure to set the skate on an edge. Avoid setting the skate down flat. Skate through your heels. A common mistake when skating backwards is to skate on the balls of your foot. When you press into your skating foot, make sure to press into the ankle. A common mistake is to press your knee but not enough bend in the ankle. Set the blade down parallel to the ice. Don't toe push. You should maintain a line from your neck through your hips down to your heels. A common mistake is to reach with your free foot instead of passing it close to the skating foot. Maintain neat feet by bringing your free foot close to the skating foot when doing a cross roll. Maintain a constant pressure through your knees and ankles. Don't pop up or lock your knees. Press when you bring your feet together. Rise up when changing feet, then press again. When doing the cross rolls hand in hand, make sure to skate through your partner. Maintain a constant tension between your hands but don't push or pull. A common mistake is to do the cross roll early. Make sure to finish the lobe first. Your shoulders should be square to the short boards. Avoid sticking your hips out behind you or dropping a hip in. As always keep a strong hold. Skate on deep edges and make deep lobes. Don't tense up your upper body. Turn out your free foot so the toe doesn't point down. Don't toe push. Keep your body weight over your skating foot. This will increase your strength of push. Work on your basics a lot. Crossovers, edges, and turns are the core of your skating ability. Keep your shoulders down and back and extend your neck but don't be stiff. Skate through your hips. Press and bend the knee and ankle of the skating foot before you stroke onto the free foot. And finally don't look down. The ice isn't going anywhere.