Crossovers, a necessary weapon in every skater's arsenal, were instrumental in helping me to victory in two races this year. In a race in New York, crossover steps on the straightaway allowed me to simultaneously navigate around my opponent and accelerate past him. In a race in New York, Maine, crossing over in the right-hand turns - not coasting through them - allowed me to gain speed and put time on my opponents.

Crossing over has always been a weakness of mine. Compared with the big boys, who have experience skating tight indoor tracks, my crossovers are slothful. Over the years, though, there is a way I've noticeably improved my crossover technique. It's called practice. Practicing crossovers has helped cut my losses and turned me into a more complete skater.

Dianne Holum, dedicated speed-skating coach and a harvester of many Olympic medals, taught me most of what I know about crossing over. In all her crossover drills, both on and off skates, she emphasizes correct body position and a direct, lateral push.

The best and often most neglected form of crossover practice is done without skates. If you have sneakers and a good imagination, you can do dry land training, which is nothing more than practicing skating motions on land, preferably on a grassy field or astroturf. Find a line and emphasize the straight-out-to-the-side pushing component of the crossover stroke. Take crossover steps to one side or the other without deviating from the line or bobbing up and down.

This is a much more difficult proposition than it sounds, especially if you're not used to balancing your weight completely on one leg at a time. It requires that you really reach over with one leg while fully extending the other. By sitting deeper, you can exaggerate this step-over. That guarantees a good long sideward push with the leg that's going under. To get us to stay on that line without drifting forward of it, Dianne tells us to think about having to pop a balloon behind us with the heel of the skate that's crossing over.

A turncable, or stretchcord, is a training device which adds resistance to this exercise (you can get one from NZ Manufacturing, 206/872-9779). It consists of two waist belts connected by a length of extra-heavy-duty rubber tubing. Hooked up to two people, one restraining the other, the tubing offers sufficient resistance so that you can get a much harder push and simulate leaning into the turn. Don't overdo it. The stretchcord can be a cruel training tool.

When you finally get your skates on, the best practice for crossover technique may be the turn cycle. You can take some string and chalk with you to a parking lot and draw a circle on the ground, then skate around it as long as your legs are willing. Experiment with the size of the circle and the speed at which you go around it.

Happy crossing over!