hi new to this forum

[jackie16]

Hi all, i am new to this forum and also to the ice skating world......my 9yr old is learning and her coach has recommended that she get a better quality of boot...something with a bit more support.. can someone give me some advice.....she has a big foot for a little girl......almost 9inches long....i just dont know what i am looking for....
thanks
Jackie

[SynchroSk8r114]

You should probably go to a professional skater fitter in your area, although to find a decent one, you may need to drive a little out of your area. I drive about 2 hours into the next state (Ohio) to get my skates and have them sharpened, but it's worth it. You wouldn't want just anyone messing around with your boots/blades. I've seen far too many problems from poor sharpenings on my students' skates - it's not worth the time you save when you end up putting out extra money to have a careless skate shop's errors fixed, if possible. Try asking your coach where he/she recommends getting skates. (I'm surprised she didn't steer you to anything yet...) If your coach has no suggestions, ask around and see where others at your rink go.

An experienced skate fitter should be able to direct you toward a type/brand/size of boot for your daughter. Chances are he or she will measure your daughters feet and determine the size and stiffness of boot that would be practical based on her height, weight, skating ability, how often she's skating, etc. I'm trying to remember what my students wear, but I can only vaguely recall that three of them wear Riedell's and another wears Jackson's. (Sorry, but the style is escaping me at this time. I do know that they are a beginner type of boot. I think my student who wears Jackson's is in the Classique Misses - JS1891 boot...). My students skate at ISI FS1 and USFS Pre-Preliminary freestyle/Preliminary MIF/Preliminary dance and they're boots are working out just fine for them.

If you're interested in looking into these brands, here's some links:
Riedell's Web site:
http://www.riedellskates.com/home.html
Riedell lists boots by Advanced, Intermediate, and Beginner (for your daughter).

Jackson's Web site:
http://www.jacksonskates.com/

Hope this helps you get a start on things. Welcome to the forum! :D

[jackie16]

thanks so much for you feedback....at present Emma is at a beginner level....she is skating in a pair of Altumura skates they are in really good condition but really have no support for anything much more advanced than a swizzle.....she currently skates twice a week 3 hours at a time she would go more often but i havent mastered time travel yet so dont have enough hours in the day....

...i have looked at the links you sent me and think that maybe Jacksons are the way to go...as she is 9 and still growing if i got a size up and put innersoles in them they would last a little longer wouldnt they( or is that a big NO NO?...as i said i am still learning)....she told me this morning she was going to the winter olympics when she was old enough to get a passport and a visa.....its so cute such enthusiasm...lol

once again thanks
Jackie

[Clarice]

Again, your daughter really needs to be professionally fitted, if you can at all manage it. They'll be able to tell you whether the inner sole thing on a slightly bigger boot will work for her. In general, you do not want skate boots to be too big - it makes it too hard to control. The foot should not move around inside the boot at all - the heel should not come up, and the toes should go pretty much all the way down to the end. It's hard with growing kids - I remember the year my daughter went through two pairs of boots because her feet grew so fast. It was very frustrating, but for safety's sake they need to fit properly. Start with her shoe size, and go down from there if necessary. My daughter and I both wear Jacksons, and both of us are in boots sized smaller than our shoe sizes. My daughter usually needs a new pair of boots every year. When she was younger, it was because she outgrew them; now, it's because she breaks them down. I'm not nearly as advanced as she is, so mine usually last at least two years. How long a boot lasts (besides being outgrown) depends on how stiff it was to begin with, how heavy the skater is, and what kinds of jumps they're doing. Young beginners usually outgrow them before they break them down, so you can sometimes get very good deals on used skates, too.