This is actually related to my daughter.

Up to now I've been relatively lucky in picking up good 2nd hand blades to fit my daughters skates when she outgrew her old ones. Currently she's in MK Professionals. I have her next pair of boots here and was looking on the net for a pair for these.

Anyway it got me looking to lots of other blades that are out there but I wondered, now that she's at a fairly decent level (well what I would call that anyway) should I keep the same brand & model blades from here on in. ie. if I picked a different brand blade, am I going to be causing her skating issues?

She's 5yrs old, approx 35lbs and she can do a toe loop & salchow consistently - currently she's learning a loop jump though as well.

Would love to hear what you think?
Thanks

__________________
AW1
mum to Miss Lil (6yrs old)
mum to be to #2 due in March 08

If she's happy with her blades, I would get another pair of the same. MK Pros are fine for most skaters working on all their single jumps and I know some kids who learned nearly all their doubles on them (most bought new blades as a "reward" for the double lutz or double axel). On the other hand, if she's having problems with those blades, you should talk to her coach about what might help. But I've always believed you can learn really good technique on Pros and that will help you even if you decide to move up in blades.

Stick with the MK Pros for now. The Wilson Coronation Ace is similar to the MK Pro so you could get away with those blades as well. Because she's so little, you don't need anything higher level. The toepick should be in proportion to the skater and the level and the MK Pros are actually a little advanced for her right now but she seems to be doing OK (looked at the video). Nice solo

Oh, she is SO cute! Nice heel stretch, too!

I'd stick with the MK Pros. Like others have said, it's a great blade through the single jumps, and even through doubles.

__________________
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
--Thomas Jefferson

www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!

She's enchanting! I was really surprised by the heel stretch - it was really strong! (She must like doing it, right?)

Keep her on the MK Pros - they're fine for her level. I know you have the boots ready - would it be possible to move her current blades to them or are the blades too short?


I laughed out loud when the grey-haired gentlemen blocked the camera view. I video'ed my students last weekend and I had the same kid walk in front of me four times while I was taping my last students' routine. (Par for the course with that one; she really does think everyone else skates to keep her company.) LOL

Next time, I'm setting up cones on either side of me to prevent walkies!

__________________

Finally saw the link to the vid. I loved it! Does anyone else get a warm feeling watching little kids skate?
Lyle

Your daughter has one of the best blades for a young skater doing single and double jumps. In fact, the Professional is the same basic blade as the highest level blades, just without the extra features that make those blades more expensive to produce and may or may not make a big difference in performance (side-honing, tapering, etc.). The next blade up is the Vision, and the only difference is the larger, straight-cut toepick. I personally like the Professional's cross-cut pick, which is almost exactly the same as the toepick on MK's top-of-the-line blade, the Gold Star. I also think the Vision's larger toepick may just get in the way (you wouldn't want her tripping over it). Another thing to take into account is how good your blade sharpener is. Features like tapering and side-honing make it more difficult to sharpen the blades, so if you aren't getting them sharpened by a real expert every time, she could end up with uneven blades that don't perform nearly as well as the Professionals, and you've just wasted your money.

__________________
"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

If you prefer a straight-cut toe pick, you might also consider the John Wilson Four Aces, which is identical to the Coronation Ace except that the toepick is straight cut instead of cross cut.

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Is that what it's called, I never knew, and to be honest I don't think her coach does either LOL! As for her liking doing it - I think so - it's one of those things she just picked up out of no-where and wanted to show her coach she could do it.


I think the blades will be too short for her new boots unfortunately.

Yeah I think my husband was ready to thump that man in the head - some people just have NO idea do they!?

__________________
AW1
mum to Miss Lil (6yrs old)
mum to be to #2 due in March 08

Thank you to all for your feedback on the blades, I think I will stick with this blade for the meantime. I agree she shouldn't need anything higher, but I suppose I was trying to be a bit frugel, and this doesn't always pay off!

Thank you all for the compliments on her skating too.

__________________
AW1
mum to Miss Lil (6yrs old)
mum to be to #2 due in March 08

I fully admit to plagarizing the term "heel stretch" from Flippet - I originally wrote "catch foot" but edited it just to be a copy cat.

__________________

I don't know how she skated in that dress. I'd kill myself

a question related to kids. Maybe its something I only notice

When they skates (little ones) they seem to kinda of march glide, rather then glide with their foot to the side (does this make sense)

I went o the rink the other day and this small girl was doing that and she was also 'hunched' over when skated it kind of look liked < only her legs were a bit straighter.

This is she could do a toe loop, and slachow...how did she get that far without someone noticing her leaning forward like that all the time?

__________________
Check out the sites I run
http://www.joelisi.net
http://www.charlieday.net

P.S. Your daughter makes an ADORABLE "bluebird" for that music. She seems very self-confident.... you're doing a good job with her!

Um I will answer this as best I can because I know Lilly leans forward alot when she skates too and does the march glide kind of thing. I think, well in her case anyway, it's a laziness thing. She can skate totally upright and she can stroke in the correct way, but sometimes, when you're 5 you just do what you want to do. I don't know if this other girls situation is similar to my daughter - but she fast becomes very bored when she's doing the same thing day in day out. She could do a nice spiral not long after she learned a 1 foot glide, and her coach has a tendancy to get her to do stuff alot higher than she's required to do at her level to both keep her interested (read: entertained) and challenged.

__________________
AW1
mum to Miss Lil (6yrs old)
mum to be to #2 due in March 08

LOL! Sorry Flippet. Actually Isk8NYC, her coach calls it a side catch foot most of the time - other times it's just - that thing with your foot LOL.

__________________
AW1
mum to Miss Lil (6yrs old)
mum to be to #2 due in March 08

Actually, I stole 'heel stretch' from cheerleading--that's what they call that Y-stretch move.

__________________
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
--Thomas Jefferson

www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!

I dont think its as much laziness as just its hard for a child that age to have good posture while skating.There is alot to remember while skating , even for adults. It does get better with correction, time and maturity.
Nice vid too !!

ITA! You also need to remember that a 5 year old doesn't have great body awareness. There aren't usually any mirrors on the ice so they generally have absolutely no idea what they really look like. If you were to ask her she probably thinks she has a Sasha spiral and MK stroking because that is what she sees in her mind! My little one has fabulous posture at ballet when she can see herself, and it is just starting to show up in her skating (she's 6 and every year makes a hugh difference at this point,) but they eventually will learn what good posture feels like and can do it without the aid of a mirror. Meanwhile, the little bluebird looks like she is really enjoying herself. She should be very proud of her performance.

What a GREAT cosutume!! I love the feathers on her little butt!

did anyone else notice that she can do a bunny hop on both feet? Awesome!!!

__________________
Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

I noticed, but I was just blown away by the heel stretch!

__________________

hahah oh to have a little butt like that again :sigh: it fits into the palm of one of my hands

She had to learn bunny hops on both feet before she was able to pass her tests - they make them do everything both ways to pass the tests in the Aussie Skate program she does.

twokidsskatemom & Tennisany1 - I do agree about it being about maturity also, but I think that laziness is still part of it (even if only a little bit)... her coach does a very good "impression" of what she calls Lilly's gorilla arms when she is hunched over and doesn't keep her arms up - it's most amusing!! LOL

__________________
AW1
mum to Miss Lil (6yrs old)
mum to be to #2 due in March 08

Is that awesome? I thought it was something everyone can do! Which is not to take away from Lilly's show, which was super..... and I am very envious of her spirals and, what I noticed most, her wonderful drag! Excellent.

__________________
Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I've noticed that the skaters who lean forward when they stroke are often the little ones who are trying to keep up with older/larger kids at the same level as they are. It gives them just that little extra bit of push. My daughter gets called on it every time she tests (though last time the tester did comment that it was getting better).