Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated... Our son "buckles" his ankles in towards the center of the body (like this / \ ... with each line being a foot/ankle). This often leaves him to "drag" the glide foot as he is not "up straight" on the skates. We've gotten new heat molded skates and are taping his ankles, but this buckle is not entirely gone. He's been skating for 3 years and last year was on the ice 4 times a week.

What can we do to help OR
Is this just an issue with the way he is/weak ankles that can't be fixed?

I am not an expert on this but I recently have been reading alot about power skating as my son is in need of some work on his stride.

One thing I came across and was very shocked while researching is that you DONT want to tie your kids skates too tight on the ankle, the article actually stated that you should be loose on the ankle so that you get a better edge on the ice. Follow the link below, at the bottom of the article it mentions loosening the skates!

3 common skating mistakes!

This goes totally against everything I knew to be right, but I am trying it now with my son to see how it effects his skating.

I had always tied his skates like a cast on his foot. From what I understand it is very common in European hockey to loosen the skates.

Hopefully someone with knowledge can chime in and give us their opinion on this.

It may be a foot problem not an ankle. Take him to a podiatrist and check his feet. Could be that he needs inserts for his skates (and shoes). My sons needed them for a few years to help correct that they walked a bit on the inside of their feet. Didnt notice it until the doctor showed us. But we noticed it with the same problem your son is having. As soon as the doctor made him inserts the problem went away.

I have been coaching and helping our local powerskating instructor for quite a while. I guess my first question is, how old is your son? Second, it is a preference to how tight the child likes his skates, but I will agree that the "norm" is tight at the bottom, snug in the middle and looser at the top for proper ankle flexation which helps with edge control. Alot of kids we see at the younger ages just seem to have not developed in the ankles fully and have this problem. They eventually learn to correct for it and do outgrow it. The biggest thing is to make sure someone is reminding him that he is leeting his ankles turn in. If he is aware of it and turns his ankles out, they will strengthen as well. Also, make sure the skate is a proper fit, alot of parents will buy the same size as their childs shoe, when skates can be anywhere from 1-2 sizes lower than a shoe size depending on manufacturer. Hope this helps.

I agree with an earlier reply. Take him to a foot doc. If it is not a foot or ankle problem find a good powerskating instructor. If it is a bad habit that has developed it may take a while and a lot of attention from the powerskating instructor to fix the problem.

My son has developed several bad habits over the 2 years he has played hockey. It always seems like they show up over night and take months to correct.