This drill puts together the skills of laterals and plough stops to 'steer' opponents, e.g. to one side or the other.

Low contact: Skaters pair up. Skater 1 tries to hold their position while Skater 2 'steers' them off track. Their lead foot is placed in front of the feet of the other player, and Skater 2 shifts their body weight to lean into Skater 1. When in control of Skater 1, the steering skater can then plough or continue the push to get Skater 1 off track.

Levelling it up: As skaters get more confident, add a roll, or encourage skaters to be very close before beginning the block. Challenge them to hold the other skater for at least 5 seconds.

As a side lesson, students should also be taught at this early stage how to re-enter the track legally i.e. behind the skater that knocked them off. Encourage skaters to check the lines regularly to get used to how far they can be pushed, and push other skaters.

An important aspect of this is to get skaters used to using their weight, and occupying the space - ensure they are committing to the block.

When students are first learning contact, they will often be a little shy and 'polite', and this can lead to a lack of commitment in the exercise.

As a coach you want to look for the body weight being engaged. At this stage, skaters should not fight for dominance, but neither should they yield it without making the learner work for it.

An important lesson at this stage is a feeling for 'body weight' - that is the feeling of moving someone else's bodyweight around. Students will need to commit to the task to get that feeling down.