Skateboarding and rolling are two completely different sports with two different intentions. Skateboarders are more about super-tech flat land stuff that eventually gets taken to more terrain while rollers are all about super-tech on the rails and burly airs. I think the hate that has gone on for years between the two sports, much like that hate between skiing, snowboarding, and skiboarding/skiblading is a waste and only comes from the fear of something different or the plain hate of something different for no other reason than the difference itself. Moving on…
Rolling is a great way to improve your skiing in the off-season. Because of the short area between the front and back wheels it forces you to learn how to stomp all of your tricks. While grinds are generally different, it is much harder to grind on skates and it will teach you more balance on rails and keep the motions of spinning on and off refreshed while you aren't skiing. There are many other reasons, but it is quite obvious with the similarities, and of course it is a forward moving sport. Skateboarding is chill too, but you are going sideways so the training wont help much with skiing.
