Cross-Country Skiing: Forward Lean "Blizzard" Cue for Better Glide

Mark Dewan

Skiers learning the diagonal stride usually make the mistake of standing erect on their skis, almost as if they were walking.

While they may feel balanced in this position, an erect posture makes it difficult for them to transfer their weight to the forward ski for a good glide phase. The correct posture is a forward lean over the skis.

Coaching Cue
You can use the following coaching cue to teach your students the correct forward leaning position.

Tell them to pretend they are skiing into a blizzard and they have to lean forward to make any headway against the wind. If they imagine this strong wind, they should automatically assume the correct diagonal stride position over their skis.

References
1. Steve Hindman (PSIA Demo Team), “Walk like a gorilla, run on the beach, jump the creek.” Cross Country Skier, November 1993.
2. Janice Sibilia, Rob Bradlee, Sverry Caldwell + 6 more, Coaching and Training Continued: A guide to coaching and certification in cross country skiing, Level Two, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2010.

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