The sides of the skate are extremely stiff and offer a lot of support. Just because you can squeeze them without your foot in them, doesn't mean they aren't stiff. The design is to allow forward movement and that is what allows you to squeeze the ankle. It really sounds like you were not fitted correctly as they should be molded completely to your foot. When a boot is molded to your foot with zero negative space, there is no movement and there is no "loose" feeling, no matter how tight the laces are.