Please help, I feel so dumb. How can you tell if skates are broken down. My daughter has outgrown all her other skates. She has Riedells 375 or gold star. She has had them about a year. She is working on double jumps (landed 2salchow, 2toe ) after taking a very long time to learn that dratted axel . Her coach says that her edges are wobbly and she needs more ankle muscles, but could it be the skates. I tried on one (my daughter has big feet) and they don't seem to have a lot of ankle support. The rental skates have a lot more ankle support. I can bend the sides easily.

Also, she has a new coach (for 9 months now). Her old coach liked Riedells, but her current coach wants Jacksons. She did have Jackson once before and her old coach did not like it. She says that she was able to get her sit spin a lot lower with Jacksons.

It's not unplausible that she's broken her skates down. I broke down Silver Stars in a six-month period working on single revolution jumps.

The best way I've found to determine whether skates are broken down is by talking directly with the skater. When my Silver Stars broke down, my feet were in constant pain. The ankles had also started to buckle somewhat.

In terms of buying a particular brand of skate, I'm not so sure that it's as necessary what type of skate the coach likes as what type of skate works best for the student, given that both Riedells and Jacksons are reputable companies with good boots. I love Riedells, but I would never recommend them to students of mine with wide feet. You need to get boots that your daughter is comfortable in, not ones that a coach suggests because that coach has a particular affinity for a brand name, which may be the case occuring here.

Getting a boot that fits the student well and doesn't cause pain is most important. That being said, ask your daughter what's worked with her Riedells and her Jacksons. What did she like about both types of boots, and what did she not like? Take your daughter to a local pro shop. Test out both types. IMO, the best opinion you'll get regarding new skates will be your daughter's, since she's the one who has to live with the boots.

When my last pair of skates broke down, I also experienced a lot of pain in my feet that hadn't been there before. I also found myself needing to relace quite frequently, especially after doing just a jump or two.

She has a bit of a narrow foot, the current Riedells are an A - 2A. I think that may be what the old coach disliked about the Jacksons. She worried they were too big in the ankle. Sadly, I can't rely on what my skaters says a whole lot. It is an odd combination, but she is both very tough and a huge drama queen. She would probably want to skate with several toes chopped off, yet throws a big hissy over the color of a ponytail holder. She gets used to new skates rather quickly after a bit of drama.

If she's doing doubles and she skates frequently (needed to KEEP doubles) the skates are probably taking a beating. It's possible they are broken down, or she may not have developed strong edge control yet. What level is your daughter skating in Moves in the Field (MITF)? If none, you should have her start working on that before you get new skates. The MITF may resolve the wobbly ankles.

The narrow foot is probably why the coach likes Riedells. That brand tends to run narrow, moreso than Jacksons. Both are heat-molded, so fitting the ankles isn't as much of an issue. It's always good to have time to break new boots in before competitions and shows. A lot less drama, which I'm sure you'll appreciate.

You can buy new skates and/or have these skates rebuilt by a good pro shop. If you buy new boots, you might have to buy new blades as well. (Depends on the boot's sole length.)

Rebuilds only last a few months, but are less expensive. They also let you keep the same blades, which saves money.

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If she's doing doubles and rental skates have more ankle support than her current boots, it sounds like they are broken down. She might consider upgrading to a slightly stiffer boot, but a good professional boot fitter will be the best person to make that call. The right choice of boot will depend on the shape of her foot, how aggressively she skates and jumps, and her body weight.

She is working on pre juv moves. Her coach seems to be very picky about moves, which is good. Other parents told me (not sure if true) that pre juv is a gate keeper level. It seems to me that most all USFA moves tests are fairly serious (except pre pre, where they give you a break). Good form and clean edges seem to be expected. I have seen skaters who can perform many impressive tricks fail these test over toe pushes, shallow edges, etc.

She wieghs 100 pounds.

Ditto with my Silver Stars (which also broke down between 6-12 months of single-rev jumps). I would get a sharp pain in the soft outer hollow of my heel between the ankle bone and the heel bone (making it feel like I needed to wear an ankle brace). It promptly resolved with new boots.

I'll take your (and everyone else's) word for it, (and I can't speak to Jacksons), but I have a narrow heel (narrow-to-normal ball), and my Riedells always, always ended up far too wide in the heel. Even if they started out 'okay', the padding compressed and the heel was slopping around within 6 months. I switched to SPTeris, and the heel fit (with AA's) is a dream. (The ball is a shade too narrow, but I got stock boots off-the-shelf, and I'd go for a split width next time...but they're very, very close to perfect as-is.)


Until you get her new boots, have her 'butterfly-tie' the laces. Tie them off normally with a bow, then take the loops of the bow and hook them around at least two sets of hooks, pulling tight, then make another bow to finish. It adds a little bit of support.

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