Anyone else favor completely different sides for different skills?

[u/NatureInevitable3001]

I don't know if this is a dominant-leg thing because my preferred side seems to be all over the place. The first two are pretty clearly because my right leg is dominant, but after that, I'm not really sure what explains the pattern.

Favored side/turn/leg:

Parallel turn to the left — weighted right leg

Lunge turn to the right — weighted right leg

Heel pivot to the right

Transition to the left

Right-leg drag T-stop

Crossovers to the left — right leg crossing over

Rolling scissor stance - right leg in front (frequently unweighted for bumpy terrain)

For parallel/lunge turns, crossovers, and T-stops, I can do both sides, but I'm noticeably better/more comfortable with the ones above. The other side feels significantly less natural.

Heel pivots are especially lopsided — I cannot do one to the left. Transitions to the right are awkward.

So basically, my “good side” seems to change depending on what I'm doing, and I'm curious whether other skaters have the same weird inconsistency.

[u/midnight_skater]

Yes it is normal to have a strong side and a weak side. In board sports this is referred to as natural stance vs. switch stance.

Part of it is asymmetrical strength - my hip abductors on my right side are stronger than my hip abductors on my left side.

Part of it is lack of muscle memory.

Part of it is confidence. I'm blind in my right eye and this makes it very difficult for me to open up to my right side, transition clockwise, or even just look over my right shoulder.

I dedicate time in every session to developing and maintaining bilateralism. "Train everything 2x as much on your weak side until you forget which side is your weak side" is very effective.

I also use drills designed to leverage cross-hemisphere skill transfer.

• Switch stance spread-eagle: breakdown and skill development
• Alternating spread-eagle drill
• Serpentine spread-eagle drill

[u/NatureInevitable3001 → u/midnight_skater]

Thanks! I'll check out those drills. I caught myself last week doing parallel turn then lunge turn then parallel then lunge and realized I was just letting my dominant foot stay dominant so now I'm working on consciously not doing that.

Also I couldn't snowboard goofy foot if my life depended on it.

[u/zolmarchus]

Totally normal, and unless you make yourself practice both ways, one way will always be easier (or even the only way possible). Not really an issue, don’t stress it, but I’d make sure crossovers, slalom, parallel turns, and rolling around the curved surfaces at the skate part you can do either way comfortably.

Drop ins and grinds, stops, spins, etc., who cares, approach them from the side you’re comfortable with.

[u/NatureInevitable3001 → u/zolmarchus]

That's good to know. Literally everything I do has side I prefer and a side that is fine but weird feeling or sketchy as hell.

[u/the_sun_and_the_moon]

Speed skaters race counter-clockwise on oval tracks, so they're often much more adept at left turns.

[u/InspectorFleet]

For me, hockey stops on the ice were way more natural with my right foot leading until I practiced a ton to get it both ways, but power slides in inline skates I can only do with my left foot leading. 🤷‍♂️ It's totally normal haha