Ankles not staying up

[AlGiballa23 0]

skates might be a HALF size too big. What could help other than new skates? Tape around ankles? any other tricks? He's just starting out so maybe it's just not having ankle strength?

[Duder84 0]

it looks like he doesn't have it tied tightly....that or he's got bad pronation problems.

[Sticks of Fury 0]

maybe walk around the house with skateguards on so he will have to focus on walking around with his skates upright.

[HotBacon 0]

I've seen this in a bunch of beginners.

First make sure the skates fit. Keep in mind skate sizes are not the same as shoe sizes.

Next make sure he knows how to tie skates. The bottom eyelets should be "snug to tight" (tight but not cutting off circulation to the toes), the eyelets over the arch should be "snug" to prevent arch pain (not quite as tight as the bottom, but still pulled in well), the next eyelet area will pull the heel into the boot and should be "tight", and the top eyelets should again be "snug to tight". It's tough to explain how hard to yank on the laces, but it's better to be too tight at first to help w/ weak ankles. He can always loosen them up if/when he feels pain.

Finally, while weak ankles may be true he needs an athletic stance out there. The straight legs, droopy shoulders, and slouched back do not make for easy skating.

[TBLfan 25]

ankle strength and tighter upper laces.

[gavin 0]

Walk around the house with skates on, don't lace them up at all. It will hurt your ankes like crazy but it will teach you to have better leg bend and stronger ankles.

[mnitishin 0]

either the skates are too big or he's not tying them tight enough. if he wont buy new skates, mayb wear an extra pair of socks. ankle strength may b another possibility, if so, my suggestion is the same as gavin's.

[pantherfan 0]

Get him to go skating more to strengthen his ankles

Never tried this but maybe put a wedge in the side of his skates to keep them straight! lol

[Grave77Digger 1]

I had that problem when first skating (on roller blades). definitly ankle strength/laces

[dix0r 0]

there's a guy EXACTLY like that who used to play pickup over here. only he plays dirty to make up for not being able to skate. he tripped me once and i landed on his inno 1100 shaft, which he threw out because the blade broke...whatevs.

he also high-sticked me real hard once and didn't apologize or anything...luckily i had my cage on or i think i'd have probably lost teeth.

sorry for the useless post, i felt compelled to respond after seeing that pic.

[repus 0]

Wax laces and tighten the skates around the ankles.

[jrhky36 1]

he tripped me once and i landed on his inno 1100 shaft, which he threw out because the blade broke...whatevs.

did you keep it?

[asdfa 0]

don't get him to overdo the laces/tape/get waxed laces. he needs to build up strength in his ankles, so he can skate properly without using a crutch. the best thing to do is walk around in a pair of skates so he can build up strength, or else he will not learn to skate properly

[dix0r 0]

he tripped me once and i landed on his inno 1100 shaft, which he threw out because the blade broke...whatevs.

did you keep it?

yes i did.

i don't steal...but he threw it out and left...i figured if i didn't take it somebody else would. plus the fact that it only broke cos he tripped me helped make up my mind :]

[pantherfan 0]

Its you isnt it lol

[ktang 34]

What kind of skates is he wearing?

[HotBacon 0]

Its you isnt it lol

That was my firs though too :lol:

[AlGiballa23 0]

Once again, no, it is not me. Here are pics of me and him....

HIM:

ME:

look at the socks.

[AlGiballa23 0]

we both have vector 6.0s....nice skates for 140....

[djinferno 2]

he just looks weak...

[ktang 34]

we both have vector 6.0s....nice skates for 140....

Maybe the vectors don't fit his ankle / instep area properly (too deep)?

I was thinking that the skates might be too floppy for his skill level, but Vector 6.0s are still pretty stiff.

[sonsplayhockey 0]

Every reputable person I've delt with at a LHS has told me that it has nothing to do with ankle strength. I've found that to be the case with nearly ever case I had of this with kids. I've always been able to help a parent resolve it with a change in the skate or the laces tighness. Since I deal with lots of beginners, Most of the time it was parents ordering skates online that were the same as the kids shoe size. Or getting them used at Play it again sports or something like that where they judged the skate size based on how hard it was to put them on (Mom, Dad did you try loosening up the laces before you put them on little Johnny?, Skates are BOOTs not shoes!) Other times it was the mom (no offense) that did not know about skates who tied the skates up too loose. My oldest has very wide feet so I have to watch what brand he wears. He gets new skates EVERY year so that they fit properly. The season is too long and ice is too expensive for kids to have poor fitted skates. I"ve had a couple cases of the skates being so worn down that it would just not support the kid's ankles. I'd be suprised if this guy had his skates fitted by someone who knows what he was doing.

Anyone here ever have skates fit like that then it got better by strengthening your ankles? That never happened to me, my friends or any of the kids I delt with. If you want to count a kid growing an entire shoe size in a season then saying, yup, Johnny's ankles are finally strong enough to be straight then so be it.

[ktang 34]

I think it is possible for adult beginners to have insufficient ankle / calf strength to support their much heavier weight. I have seen these adult beginners everntually build up their ankle strength enough to overcome the caved-in look.

It may not be the case here, but it is still a possibility.

[repus 0]

I am not sure if anyone else will agree with this, but I find for beginners having the shinguards on the ouside of the tounges help a lot for getting support from the skates for ankles.

-dave

[biff44 0]

A lot of players like skates to be big and sloppy--they feel good. But NOT if you actually want to skate in them. Go a few sizes smaller and see if that helps. Get some used skates from a play-it-again sports shop of similar and see if it helps.