Supination of foot/ankle

[vesperholly]

I have a young girl in one of my LTS classes whose right foot leans outward at about a 60 degree angle. It's so bad that she can hardly do a one-foot glide, and forget about edges or 3-turns. There's no way I could in good conscience pass her on the current level (where all her friends are, and who will all pass), which requires inside and outside edges, 3-turns and a waltz jump. Her edges and turns are fine on the left foot. She's an absolute sweetheart and I hate to see this make her quit.

I talked to her mother, who said her foot is normal in regular shoes, though I haven't observed it personally. She originally started in soft-sided figure skates (with various tightening of laces), but switched to hard-sided rental skates to see if that would work. Nothing seems to help.

She's getting very, very discouraged and I feel completely helpless! Is there anything more I can do for her? I'm thinking of going to my podiatrist and asking for literature to give to the parents. I can't help but think that the poor girl really does have an ankle problem that maybe Mom and Dad aren't seeing. Advice, anyone??

[Stormy]

Is it defintiely her foot and not the skates? I see this problem and it's usually because our rental skates are so bad, or the kid has their own pair of poorly fitting skates If her mom says the foot is normal in regular shoes, I wouldn't push the idea of an ankle problem to the parents. If I was a parent, I don't know how I'd feel if you went to a doctor and got literature. You've mentioned it already and that's great that they're aware of it now. Do they watch her lessons? They probably see that she's having problems.

Have you suggested she get fitted for a good pair of skates? If she's in a level doing 3 turns, edges and waltz jumps, she should have her own pair of decent skates, even one of the lower Ribbon Reidell models. That way, when she gets fitted, the skate shop would notice a problem if it is her ankle. It really does sound like she needs ankle support in her skates and she dosen't have that now

[Query]

I suggest you actually look at her in regular shoes. Maybe her mom just doesn't realize. This is so extreme, it is hard to believe it wouldn't show up off-ice.

Otherwise, several obvious causes could create this:

1. The left/right slant of the insole at the bottom of her skate does not match the slant of the bottom of her foot. In particular the left side of the bottom of her foot doesn't really touch the insole much, so the weight of the foot rolls the skate to the right. Apply tape under the insole to fill the empty space.

2. The left side of the skate (mostly at the arch) (or above it) does not touch the foot there much, causing the same problem. Stick moleskin there to fill the empty space.

3. The blade is mounted way too far to the left. Offset it to the right.

4. She has very weak muscles supporting her hip and legs. In fact, this must be the case for one or more of the other reasons to create such a large angle.

5. Her right leg is much much shorter than her left. I think this would be pretty noticable.

6. She simply got used to using her body that way when skating. I imagine as a good coach you have already asked her to try not doing it that way, and asked if that created any discomfort.

I hope the girl isn't too young to be able to able to say whether she feels #1 and 2 above.

A good bootfitter, or if that doesn't work a competent podiatrist, should be able to diagnose the problem if you can't.

I bet she can do good outside edges!

[rsk8d]

Is the skater bowlegged? The problem may be coming from the alignment of her hips and knees, or maybe the strength in her hip. Odd to be one-sided though. Have her stand with her skates off, stand on one leg, and bend the knee into a one-legged squat. Look at the alignment of her knee, hip, and ankle. If there is a major deviation from a straight line, the problem most likely may be from alignment/weakness. Sk8Strong is wokring on a DVD that will teach coaches a few simple evaluative techniques to determine skaters' strength and weaknesses. This will help a coach determine why a skater may be having problems with a certain jump, spin, etc, and show some basic exercises to correct certain problems.


www.sk8strong.com

[vesperholly]

You're right, Stormy, I don't want to upset or insult the parents. I really think it's her foot. After trying two different skate boots and various tightening/loosening of laces, the problem is exactly the same.

I think what I'm going to do is give them the name of our local skateshop, explain how a good fitting with a decent pair of skates would probably solve the problem, and let them take it from there. I've known the fitter there for years and years, and he's a great fitter as well as super nice and well informed. If he spots supination, he'll tell them so, and what to do about it.

The worst part about this is that our classes are so tightly scheduled - 3 hours back to back, with no breaks at all. I had to end class a few minutes early the last time I needed to talk to the parents. I really wish I could sit down with them and explain the problems, show them why she can't do all the required elements, and even have her skate a little. She does come to the first hour, maybe I'll ask them to come 10 minutes early next week, so we can talk. :(

Thanks for the advice, everyone!