Structural integration for skaters
Ankles, hips, low back, built to keep skating
Ankles that feel locked. Hips that have stopped giving you what they used to. A low back that nags after long sessions. A fascial pattern shaped by years of impact. That is the work.
The off-season window
Skating does not have a clean off-season. The window is whenever you are dialing back, recovering from a slam, or finally giving the body the rest it has been asking for. Twelve sessions, eight to twelve weeks, then you skate into the next stretch on a reorganized structure.
What is actually restricting you
Two patterns show up in nearly every long-tenured skater I assess:
- Ankle and lateral line lock. Years of pop, slam, and lateral load shorten the peroneals, the ITB, and the lateral line. The ankle loses dorsiflexion. Tricks that used to land clean start asking the knee or hip to make up the difference.
- Asymmetric deep front line. Stance side and switch side do not load evenly. Over years the deep front line on the dominant side shortens. Hip range narrows. The low back picks up the slack.
Stretching reaches the surface. Structural integration reorganizes the chain.
The 12-session ATSI series
The series is a project, not a subscription. Twelve sessions, structured in three phases:
- Sessions 1 to 4 (Sleeve). Open the superficial layers. Free the lateral line and the surface back. Ankles start to give you range back.
- Sessions 5 to 8 (Core). Work into the deep front line, the psoas, the diaphragm. The asymmetric hip pattern resolves here.
- Sessions 9 to 12 (Integration). Refine rotation and lateral load. Lock the new organization in.
Full program detail lives on the 12-Session Series page.
Where this fits in your recovery stack
- Massage releases tension locally. Useful after big slam days.
- PT rehabs a specific injury. Useful when something is acutely wrong.
- Chiropractic adjusts joints. Useful for joint-by-joint complaints.
- ATSI reorganizes the fascial system so your body needs the others less often.
It is not better. It is different. Most long-tenured skaters use all four.
Credentials
- ATSI-certified, 750+ hours of training
- Anatomy Trains teacher-in-training under Tom Myers
- Santa Cruz studio. Mobile sessions throughout the Bay Area.
- Working with skaters, surfers, climbers, and impact athletes since 2015
Book a free 30-minute movement assessment
I will watch you move, ask the questions that matter, and tell you honestly whether the 12-session series makes sense for what you are after. No pitch.
Questions, answered
My ankles feel locked. Will this help?
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Almost always. Skating asks the ankles for range most athletes never demand. When the lateral line and deep front line bind, the ankle stops getting the slack it needs. Free the chain and the ankle starts moving the way it did when you were younger. Three or four sessions can address an acute restriction. The full 12-session series tends to make the gains stick.
I have a back that nags after long sessions. Hip thing?
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Usually. Skating uses the hips asymmetrically, and over years the deep front line on one side shortens. The lumbar spine compensates. The back becomes the relief valve. Reorganizing the chain so the hips and T-spine do their job is what makes the back stop nagging.
I have been skating for thirty years. Is it too late?
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No. Fascia remodels at any age. The thirty-year skaters I work with usually see the biggest changes because the patterns are the deepest. The series is structured to work with whatever is there, not against it.
Can I skate during the series?
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Yes. Most skaters skate through the work. We time the deeper sessions away from your biggest sessions and filming days.