Spiral Problems, boot related??

[abbi_1990]

I have been working on spirals and have come across a problem. i can get into position fine and hold the spiral position whilst gliding aloong the rink, but the skating leg is bent.

i tried to straighten it (the skating leg) but that made the top of the back of my boot to dig into my leg and it felt like i was pushing against the resistance of the back of the boot. also, when i tried to straighten the skating leg my heel lifted off the bottom of the boot and all my weight went onto my toes! as a result i lost my balance and almost fell.

when i stand in my skates, my legs are bent at the knee and i have the same problems when i try to straighten them as when i do my spiral. it kinda feels like the boots are bending my ankles forwards.

has anyone else experienced this? do you think there is anything i can do about it?

[sweeneytodd]

If you have newish boots you tend to give slightly after a while to make things more comfortable.  However it is worth experimenting with your laces eg trying different areas tight and less tight (not loose).   I  used to think having the skates as tight as possible all the way up was best, but now find if the  bottom couple of hooks are less tight,  I skate better.
 Try having a word with your coach as well, to check you are on right part of blade too.  It's easy to put your weight too far  back and then  when trying to move forward moving too far.

[kittyskate]

Hi abbi_1990

If tightening your boots dosent work then your skates might be to big I had the same problem as you and I got new boots fited and now I dont have that problem any more.

I used to have a problem with jumps whene I had my old boots but now I dont since iv had my new boot iv been able to do things alot better.

Kittyskate  

[abbi_1990]

yeah i have been thinking that might be the problem. im having quite a lot of trouble trying to spin :S

i have tried putting cotton wool in the heel of the skates to try and let my leg straighten and it kinda worked but i had to put so much cotton wool in (about 1 inch thick) that my toes were starting to get squashed. plus, when i did that my ankle felt really unsupported.

unfortunatly i just brought these boots in november so i dont really have the money to buy new ones but it looks like i might have to.

Which skates did you have when you had this problem? and which skates do you have now?

[kittyskate]

I use to have Risport RF4 which were size 3.  But my Mum took me to see Les Westaway who mesured my feet.  Now I have GAMs which are half a size smaller but a wider fit.

[Gareth]

Who fitted your skates, maybe you should go back to them and see what they suggest.  What boots do you have?

[abbi_1990]

Gareth - i have been back to the person who fitted my skates and they said that there  isnt anything they can do.

They let me try the next size down but in a narrower width (they didnt have my width in stock) and they fitted me fine in the legth but were obviously too narrow. This solved the problem of my heel lifting up when i tried to do a spiral position but it still dug into the back on my leg (not as badly though). However, they didnt really comment much when i told them that the length of the smaller boot felt fine.

They suggested that i tried using gel pads, cotton wool, bubble wrap or felt padding to fill up the heel.

I have tried various combinations of padding and have been unable to find a solution.

[Cdns8r]

I'm sorry to say but what you have described is your boots being sized wrong for your feet (too big)

Your other post indicated you were looking for new skates -

know the shape of your foot - for example is your heel narrow and your ball wide?

Then try the Riedells, they have a heel lock system which may be beneficial to you.

Also, your arch may also be affecting the fit of your boot. 

I would opt for trying a different vendor altogether....

look for someone who carries a wide variety of boots, plan on spending the day and keep each boot that you are trying on for as long as possible - ie. about 1/2 hour to an hour.  Walk around the shop, bring a book, browse whatever.  Also check to make sure the shop can heat mold the boots, which is vital to Jackson and Riedells.

Good skates are very expensive and you deserve to take the time to get a proper fitting.  Afterall they are the tools of the sport and integral to your successes.  And let's face it, this is not a cheap sport so every penny you spend should be worth it.

Happy feet = happy people and a keener desire to learn and practice longer.

In my own opinion, if you can afford it, Klingbiels, they are really worth the money, but once you go there, there's no going back! 

[smelltheice]

Gareth - i have been back to the person who fitted my skates and they said that there  isnt anything they can do.

They let me try the next size down but in a narrower width (they didnt have my width in stock) and they fitted me fine in the legth but were obviously too narrow. This solved the problem of my heel lifting up when i tried to do a spiral position but it still dug into the back on my leg (not as badly though). However, they didnt really comment much when i told them that the length of the smaller boot felt fine.

They suggested that i tried using gel pads, cotton wool, bubble wrap or felt padding to fill up the heel.

I have tried various combinations of padding and have been unable to find a solution.

My advice is to contact Ian at  www.specialistskatingservices.co.uk   He is absolutely fantastic and his reputation got him the job of supplier and skate technician to dancing on ice (plus I get my boots from him) He is based in Blackburn and although he may be far away from you (I don't know where abouts you live) it is worth the trip to get yourself sorted and you could have a skate in Blackburn to make it more worth you while to travel there. You will be able to sell your boots through one of the coaches at your rink. Alot of parents can't afford to buy new boots for their kids when they grow out of them and sometimes source them from a skating coach they know and trust

[abbi_1990]

an update:

yesterday i travelled 3 hours to Sheffield, ( i had to attend a university visit there so i could combine the two things!) and went to Puckstop the rink shop there as i had ordered a pair of jackson freestyle boots in what i hoped would be my size.

i tried them on and my immediate reaction was 'they are too small' so i tried some other boots on in the next size up and my heel was lifting so i was like 'these are too big!' so i asked to try the Freestyles on again. i then realised that the length was fine but they were not wide enough.

the man who was fitting the boots for me looked at the shape of my foot and said it is really square so its going to be hard to find boots to fit but we will do our best.

eventually after comparing the shape of risport, jackson, graf and edea insoles to the shape of my foot, we concluded that the jacksons were the best shape, but they still werent wide enough. so the guy phoned up the Jackson dealer who said to heat mold them to see if that would help, and that these particular boots stretch a lot as you break them in.

we heat molded them 3 times and finally they were starting to feel more comfortable. i could feel a lot of pressure around my little toe and the toe next to it, but it wasnt pain, just pressure. so we decided to buy them and i would skate in them like that for a few weeks, and if necessary i could get them heat molded again or even punched out.

i wore them for 4 hours last night, just sitting in the house, and by the end my little toes were hurting and they were red, but i didnt have pins and needles or numbness or anything like that.

i skated in them today, and instead of skating tights i wore really thin nylon popsocks and trousers to give my feet a bit more room. i skated for 1 hour with no pain, just pressure. my little toes were red when i took them off but they soon went back to normal.

hopefully all this means that as i break them in the pressure will get slightly less, and they should be really comfortable.

Problems that my new jackson boots have solved:
1) the inablilty to straighten my leg when doing spirals
2) my foot moving around in the boot
3) my heel lifting inside the boot

thanks for your advice everyone!