Ankles not staying up

[chk hrd 164]

i have to agree with sonsplayhockey. I have taught alot of kids skating and 99% of the time it is the skate fit.

Just because someone from the LHS helped you with the skates doesn't mean they fitted you correctly. Alot of LHS' have kids that work there that haven't learned propper fitting. It could be something stupid like one of his feet is bigger than the other so only one foot is loose (sounds stupid but it happens).

If the guy is realatively new to hockey he might not have know what to look for and just got what the LHS person said was right...You wear a so and so brand in a 12 so your skate should be a 10 1/2...even though so and so's brand of shoes may run small/big and the guy really wears a 11/10.

The guy is also standing knocked kneed like he is about ready to fall over. I'm guessing he is new to hockey, very uncomfortable on the ice and has skates that are to big. All of it adds up to one big mess.

[TBLfan 25]

yeah... and tell him to put his stick on the ice dammit!!! :P

[sonsplayhockey 0]

Weak Ankle myths:

http://web.mit.edu/skatingclub/www/sally.htm

http://www.summitsportsinc.com/summitonlin...es/rhskates.htm

Section on skates:

http://www.lifetimehockey.com/Equipment1.htm

Section on skating with ankles:

http://etobicoke-ringette.com/the_right_skates.htm

I"m sorry to be so passionate about this but its because my first hockey skates were fitted wrong (Sports Authority) and it took me 3 years before I started asking questions and someone helped me out. When my oldest was 3, he had bad fitting skates and wasted half a season of lessons fighting with them telling him to skate without bending his ankles before I finally was helped by someone who knew what he was doing.

On another similarly related note, have you ever seen beginner adults tie the ankles up so tight that they look like frankenstien on ice? I mean no forward ankle bend what soever. Then they try to skate off the toe like they were using figureskates. I saw this 2 nights ago in a low level Beer league game.

[Hobbes_86 0]

Not to hijack the thread but I was wondering since it seems lacing has a lot to do with not only wobbly ankles but also knee bend this might be appropriate here.

My question is what can I do to work on getting a deeper knee bend in the off-season?

Things I do now:

Rollerblading while working on correct form.

Some plymometric exercises with deep knee bend.

Walking lunges forward and backward with weight.

It seems whenever I warm-up on the ice my form feels good but when I’m playing I keep catching myself being too upright.

[Chadd 916]

Weak Ankle myths:

http://web.mit.edu/skatingclub/www/sally.htm

http://www.summitsportsinc.com/summitonlin...es/rhskates.htm

Section on skates:

http://www.lifetimehockey.com/Equipment1.htm

Section on skating with ankles:

http://etobicoke-ringette.com/the_right_skates.htm

I"m sorry to be so passionate about this but its because my first hockey skates were fitted wrong (Sports Authority) and it took me 3 years before I started asking questions and someone helped me out. When my oldest was 3, he had bad fitting skates and wasted half a season of lessons fighting with them telling him to skate without bending his ankles before I finally was helped by someone who knew what he was doing.

On another similarly related note, have you ever seen beginner adults tie the ankles up so tight that they look like frankenstien on ice? I mean no forward ankle bend what soever. Then they try to skate off the toe like they were using figureskates. I saw this 2 nights ago in a low level Beer league game.

I only read the first two links but I do disagree with them on a few points. I have seen kids fitted perfectly with skates that offer more than enough support and they still look just like the kid in the original pics. Part of it is technique but part of it is the individual.

[biff44 0]

Exercizes for ankles:

http://www.nefitco.com/ankle.html?source=G...CFQN2LAodqXPzIw

Wrap this contraption around your toes, put your heel on a book, and do "toe lifts" until your ankle muscles are better. Another good one is to just stand on one foot for a few minutes at a time, or even better master the one-legged body-weight squat.

[HotBacon 0]

Exercizes for ankles:

http://www.nefitco.com/ankle.html?source=G...CFQN2LAodqXPzIw

Wrap this contraption around your toes, put your heel on a book, and do "toe lifts" until your ankle muscles are better.  Another good one is to just stand on one foot for a few minutes at a time, or even better master the one-legged body-weight squat.

The ankle weight on your toes and lifting them will only work your tibialis anterior muscle (a smallish muscle on the front of your shins, opposite of your calf). It's function is to raise the foot upwards...obviously.

The one-legged body weight squat would help w/ ankle strength indirectly I guess only due to having to balance yourself. The best exercise (aside from skating) is moving your foot like your drawing the alphabet because it hits all your ankle tendons and ligaments in all angles of rotation.

[aoes812 0]

I don't even know how he skates with his skates like that..

[gavin 0]

sonsplayhockey, I don't think that anyone is arguing that an "inherent" weakness of the ankles will prevent a kid from skating, which is the myth that all those articles (I read them all) are attacking. I agree with all the articles.

What I and others here are saying is that once a kid is properly fitted for his skates, he might have a problem because his ankles need strengthening. Basic balance excercises (kids don't have balance today because they don't walk, climb, run, bike like they used to in many cases) will solve this. At a much higher level, and for adults who have neglected these muscles all their lives, one-legged squats (very hard to do, start out at 55lbs) will help. The point is, it is a correctable problem. Pro players work on this kind of strenth all the time: just look at Ovechkin's ankles, they are huge.

These people are the kind of people that go hiking with you and then role their ankle but then you have to carry them out even though they weigh 100lbs more than you.

[Chadd 916]

You can always improve your ankle strength, it should never "prevent" you from playing hockey if you're willing to work on improving it. Too many retailers use weaker ankles as a reason to get a kid (or adult) into a much more expensive skate than they really need, simply becuase it offers more "support". In the end, people end up with a skate that doesn't allow them to get the forward flex that they need and their skating suffers.

[biff44 0]

Exercizes for ankles:

http://www.nefitco.com/ankle.html?source=G...CFQN2LAodqXPzIw

Wrap this contraption around your toes, put your heel on a book, and do "toe lifts" until your ankle muscles are better.  Another good one is to just stand on one foot for a few minutes at a time, or even better master the one-legged body-weight squat.

The ankle weight on your toes and lifting them will only work your tibialis anterior muscle (a smallish muscle on the front of your shins, opposite of your calf). It's function is to raise the foot upwards...obviously.

The one-legged body weight squat would help w/ ankle strength indirectly I guess only due to having to balance yourself. The best exercise (aside from skating) is moving your foot like your drawing the alphabet because it hits all your ankle tendons and ligaments in all angles of rotation.

Yeah, I know. You need to do all of them to exercise the ankle in all directions.

[gavin 0]

I'm working my way toward being able to do a "pistol" while wearing regular shoes. Someday I'll be able to do a "pistol" while in skates. Methinks a lotta single-legged squats with BIG weight (70lbs or more) will be required.

[Sammy 0]

Quite often it has zero to do with weak ankles. In fact , most of the time it doesnt. What it has to do is with how a persons leg and ankle is physically positioned vis a vis the foot.. My son is very prone to pronation (which can be fixed by superfeet or blade alignment). You watch him walk & his high ankle looks like its aligned about one inch inside his lower ankle & foot. In his case (& most imo), it has zero to do with weak ankles & everything to do with the alignment of ones leg, foot & ankle.

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

No such thing as weak ankles. If you are able to walk, you are able to skate.

[Ti-girl 0]

It's not ankle control, its edge control.

[delpiero81 0]

Agree with Ti-Girl! I started skating on loose cheap skates, learned the value of the edges with a russian figure skating coach; of course i like proper fitting skates but a loose skate wouldnt prevent you to learning how to skate.

Doing exercise to use edge, epecially single foot ones, will help him a lot, then when he will be able to skate he can choose whatever skate he likes and fit to his feet.

[ktang 34]

I broke my leg a couple of years ago, and the first few times I got back on the ice the ankle caved in when striding. This was after only 5 weeks in a cast, but I had done some physio.

It may not be muscular weakness in this case, but it is a possibility.

When I was growing up the skate boots were a lot more flexible, and there were some more ankle walkers. But, after enough time, they would straighten up. Except one guy.

Good discussion.

[ktang 34]

I broke my leg a couple of years ago, and the first few times I got back on the ice the ankle caved in when striding. This was after only 5 weeks in a cast, but I had done some physio.

It may not be muscular weakness in this case, but it is a possibility.

When I was growing up the skate boots were a lot more flexible, and there were some more ankle walkers. But, after enough time, they would straighten up. Except one guy.

Good discussion.

[kovalchuk71 212]

I'm working my way toward being able to do a "pistol" while wearing regular shoes. Someday I'll be able to do a "pistol" while in skates. Methinks a lotta single-legged squats with BIG weight (70lbs or more) will be required.

What is a pistol? (Dont say its a gun)

[gman 0]

I'm working my way toward being able to do a "pistol" while wearing regular shoes. Someday I'll be able to do a "pistol" while in skates. Methinks a lotta single-legged squats with BIG weight (70lbs or more) will be required.

What is a pistol? (Dont say its a gun)

Is it a one legged squat with your non-contact leg held out in front of you? If so they are awesome, and even more awesome holding on to 70#.

[pantherfan 0]

When you do 1 legged squats do you go allthe way down so your butt hits the floor almost?

[gman 0]

I cannot speak for Gavin, but generally yes. There is a fellow named Pavel Tsatsouline who is a former USSR Spetznaz trainer guy who does stuff with kettlebells and is big on one legged squats.

http://www.dragondoor.com/dv032.html

Hopefully this link works. The page is kind of hokey, but the guy on the cover of the DVD is doing a weighted pistol. Again, this is what I think of as a pistol/one legged squat. Sorry Gavin if I am off base with the way you do it.

[pantherfan 0]

Thanks^^

Just tried going all the way down on 1 leg then going up again lol

I think i managed about 3 3/4 then i fell over lol

Obviously that was a pathetic attmpt but what would you say was good?

[gman 0]

Sure it was good for your first time. For me the big thing was the balance. Hold on to a wall or a counter or something and just work on getting all the way down and up without touching your front foot. After a while add some weight out in front like a little dumbell and it will actually help you keep your balance. Good luck. These are also good for "bar bets"....

[gman 0]

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