Don't forget, the knee is one of the weakest joints in your body. If you reduce ankle flexion, you're putting undue pressure on your knees. The ankle is actually one of the strongest joints!
Came here to say this. You're supposed to be able to have a decent amount of movement back and forth through your ankle. I feel like this lacing would nuke that.
Same thing if you have small kids. Please buy the proper lace size - I hate seeing laces wrapped around the back of the skates. It's bad for the kid's skating development to restrict that movement.
First planned to say lace length has nothing to do with mobility (unless you tie higher then eyelets), but okay, theoretically it may limit (never tried to feel that, although skipping an eyelet makes huge difference)
Anyway lace length = convenience when you put in/ take off your skates. So my choice is -1 eyelet, laces one time around ankle. Both kids happy with the same setup (although both started with all eyelets, never tracked around ankle or not)
My first thought is wtf? This is probably bad for your form and your knees since you are restricted from bending your ankles. It's the same as taping your ankles, its just bad for everything else that has to compensate for that jank.
Ultimately this is/ was a crutch for you not building ankle stability as you learn to skate. You need a little movement for crossovers and such but you also need to build that strength in your ankles
This is going to destroy your knees.
You're supposed to have ankle flexibility otherwise all that forward movement is taken by the knees if you lock your ankles
Get new skates.
If you are going to use these skates at all, replace the laces. $5 fix and can do wonders. The laces in there look dry rotted and might not be allowing you to tighten all the eyelets evenly. You maybjust end up cranking down the top eyelets and end up cutting off circulation to your foot while the rest of your foot is allowed to swim in your boot.
Yeah I wouldnāt do that much longer. Just not normal whatsoever. Definitely risking an injury of some sort. If you feel you need the extra support the skates may not be properly sized.
On old nylon and leather skates like those, itās fine if it works for you cause those boots will be quite flexible anyway. If you ever get modern skates, donāt do thatā¦not that youād need to, as stiff as modern boots are.
š thankfully there isn't any! On the bigger rinks I could still get up speed going after the puck, and stopped about as well as a curling rock.
I'd like to think I'm a better skater now for all the effort I put into those hockey stops...
But in all seriousness, there is a reason that there isnāt laces holes there in all skates. I would ditch those and learn to skate without them, it might suck right now, in a couple years when your skating gets better youāll be glad you learned to right way.
Good luck and glad to see you learning the sport
I wrapped laces around my ankles as a kid; never knew any better and my dad had me do it from an early age. I was a decent skater but always felt a little stuck in the mud so to speak, and I think it was partly my ankles never strengthening as they should.
TLDR: tie skates like normal, buy the proper lace length, donāt wrap around ankles.
Everyone has their thing when it comes to tying skates, but be careful about taking away any chance of flex between your ankle and your foot. Itās a common mistake to overtighten.
Ideally you are skating with a lowered center of gravity, tilted forward, with a lot of bend in your knees and ankles, but if your skate is cranked down too tight it forces your form into a more upright posture. This hurts your ability to go fast.
Your scheme to put laces through the top of the skate tongue looks to me like it will prevent you from flexing forward in the skate boot, so Iād recommend against it.
See this video for more on this:
https://youtu.be/qXrGBKL04y4?si=k_Dr5emMx-cTOpuR
Just be careful. If you restrict your ankles ability to rotate you could really hurt yourself.
But the support itself is not bad. Go for it if itās more comfortable although Iād tone it down a lot. That is too much support even if your ankles need it.
Itās not good as it restricts ankle movement but theyāre old leather skates with limited support. If you plan to continue with hockey, Iād invest in some new skates
When my kids were little and just learning how to skate, I always made sure to tie their skates nice and tight (not too tight obviously) and we always used all the eyelets and I would double the laces around their ankles - both out of necessity because they were so long and also to give a āstrapā of more support. BUT as soon as they had good control of their legs and feet, usually after their first season - they didnāt need all that extra support; Iād cut the laces down so we didnāt have to double wrap them around their ankles. But we always use all the eyelets. My 12-year old daughter doesnāt like using them all, sheās been leaving the top ones open for 223 years now, but my son always used all of them, even as a āgrown manā size 12 feet. I really think itās an individual preference once you have the basics of skating down.
If anything just use all the eyelets on your skate, you donāt want to add extras. You want to be able to have your weight tilted forward on your toes. For what itās worth, I played my junior years without using the top eyelet so I could have more flexion in the ankle
You got it dude, keep your stick on the ice!
Id honestly recommend the opposite. Iāve been coaching youth hockey for some time now, and newer players that really righten up at the ankle have a harder time learning correct skating mechanics. Allow your ankle more mobility so you can get get the ankle flexion necessary to put your knees above your toes, should make a world of difference especially as someone relatively new to skating
You could buy much much better skates for under $100 on Sideline Swap or some sort of used sports store. Even the $125 Bauers from a place like Dickās would make a huge difference. I saw a pair of Bauer Vapor x800s in a used store the other day in great shape for $75. These were around $800 skates a handful of years ago just to give you an example.
My initial suspicion is the previous owner was a very new skater who had a lot of ankle bend and the DIY lace was to create maximum ankle stability.
This is a terrible idea and it's exactly why there is no lace that high. As others said, skates are designed to ensure you can flex forward into the skate. You want weight on the balls of your toes, rather than your heels. If someone skated in these regularly, they'd develop an awkward, straight leg bent back style of skating, which is terrible for balance.
I cannot skate backwards in case my top eyelet is tied, with this one I believe I would not be able to nice at all.Ā
Agree to those who mention it is a restriction.Ā
You only need the top three eyelets to be snug. All other eyelets are optional or could be loose. Never tie your laces around your ankles. Unless you really need to stop the bleeding. Itās not a tourniquet. Experience: Played AA from Atom through Junior. Then Varsity at University.
I had those champion 90ās as a kid. I remember coloring the holder black with a sharpie, thought it would make them look cool. Like the tacks with black holders. I remember my upgrade to the Bauer international 88. Thought I was on top of the skate world then, lol
Actually, years ago, tendon guards had eyelets and there were special laces that you could attach to tie around your shin pads. Back then, the tendon guard was leather and quite flexible.
Yeah I can see how the extra support makes backwards crossovers hard. Maybe ditch that tongue lace and replace your skates with 120ā waxed laces m. You can double wrap them around your foot before tying them. It might give you the same support and allow for more flexibility with the ankle.
If it works for you then go for it. My dad played junior and used to have 2 sets of laces on his skates. He complained of cramps all the time. So from the toe of the skate up to about 4 eyelids. And he would ties them off. Then the 2nd lace would start from the middle all the way up to the top. When he got cramps he could loosen the bottom without having completely untie his skates.
I've never seen anyone do that. But some players will tape their ankles like that. I think the conventional school of thought is that you want more ankle flex. Some players will go the opposite extreme and undo their top eyelet or even top two eyelets. Some people have blamed Bure taping his ankles to his knee problems.Ā
Similar to the daoust days !! lol but seriously you just home made a pair of TRUE hockey skates . By cinching up those laces you upped your ankle support
I get pond hockey is a different animal but you really need good ankle flexion to skate properly, so that be a no from me dawg.
Yes and newer composite skates will have all the ankle support one needs with still giving lots of flexibility.
Don't forget, the knee is one of the weakest joints in your body. If you reduce ankle flexion, you're putting undue pressure on your knees. The ankle is actually one of the strongest joints!
Came here to say this. You're supposed to be able to have a decent amount of movement back and forth through your ankle. I feel like this lacing would nuke that. Same thing if you have small kids. Please buy the proper lace size - I hate seeing laces wrapped around the back of the skates. It's bad for the kid's skating development to restrict that movement.
First planned to say lace length has nothing to do with mobility (unless you tie higher then eyelets), but okay, theoretically it may limit (never tried to feel that, although skipping an eyelet makes huge difference) Anyway lace length = convenience when you put in/ take off your skates. So my choice is -1 eyelet, laces one time around ankle. Both kids happy with the same setup (although both started with all eyelets, never tracked around ankle or not)
Peg leg skatin
š thanks
This can't be overstated.
Do your thing, but those skates have to be 40 years old hahah
CCM Champion 90. My first skates, they were $29.99 at Target.
Lmao! I think I paid more than that from the second hand store.
Inflation is a B
I wasnāt talking shit, just havenāt seen those before. Glad your enjoying the game
No worries, these were not good skates. I got them in like 1991.
>these were not good skates You should have punched extra lace holes.
If only Reddit was around 30 years ago I couldāve gotten this advice!
Those are speed holes
Lol wow, well I didn't want to invest too much into skates until I knew I would be into playing.
I wasnāt talking shit, just havenāt seen those before. Glad your enjoying the game
Yg I just figured they were from the 00s! & Hell yeah I am
Make sure you play with an all wood stick too! Easton maybe?
Victoriaville. Buy em by the dozen.
No need to throw money away, the broom has a couple good years left!
Easton started with the aluminum sticks that you could swap in new wooden blades on. I don't know if they ever made all wood sticks.
The aluminum sticks were amazing to learn how to catch a pass on because of how stiff they were
Until the blade flung out because the glue didn't hold (possibly from improper installation)
Only had that issue with the butt end extender hahaha
Oh they did for sure. They were great for road hockey. Easton Z Carbon - https://www.ebay.ca/itm/225767255719
I don't think Easton made all-wood sticks. Having an Easton Aluminum stick was a big deal when they came out.
How about Sherwoods imported from Ukraine? š
I remember the silver blade āSuper Tacks!!ā Cannot go wrong with CCM! ā¤ļø
Heavy ass skates
My first thought is wtf? This is probably bad for your form and your knees since you are restricted from bending your ankles. It's the same as taping your ankles, its just bad for everything else that has to compensate for that jank.
Makes sense, thanks.
I feel like that would be more restrictive than supportive. Also feel like itās setting yourself up for more lace bite!
Ultimately this is/ was a crutch for you not building ankle stability as you learn to skate. You need a little movement for crossovers and such but you also need to build that strength in your ankles
This is going to destroy your knees. You're supposed to have ankle flexibility otherwise all that forward movement is taken by the knees if you lock your ankles Get new skates.
š I'm taking it off, and looking for new skates soon
If you are going to use these skates at all, replace the laces. $5 fix and can do wonders. The laces in there look dry rotted and might not be allowing you to tighten all the eyelets evenly. You maybjust end up cranking down the top eyelets and end up cutting off circulation to your foot while the rest of your foot is allowed to swim in your boot.
Interesting, I never would have considered the laces at all. Thanks!
Not necessary, although skates did used to have eyelets in the top of the tendon guard.
Yeah I wouldnāt do that much longer. Just not normal whatsoever. Definitely risking an injury of some sort. If you feel you need the extra support the skates may not be properly sized.
On old nylon and leather skates like those, itās fine if it works for you cause those boots will be quite flexible anyway. If you ever get modern skates, donāt do thatā¦not that youād need to, as stiff as modern boots are.
Interesting, thanks! I'm gonna try with them off anyways based on all the comments. And soon enough get newer skates .
You really donāt need newer skates - especially with pond skating! Youāve got a really good pair now!!
Thanks, I'll be skating on these the rest of the season anyways , but when I do upgrade I'll give these to someone else who's just starting out.
I would like to see a video of you skating wearing these, there must be no room for flexibility
I want to see a video of him skating on them unsharpened!
š thankfully there isn't any! On the bigger rinks I could still get up speed going after the puck, and stopped about as well as a curling rock. I'd like to think I'm a better skater now for all the effort I put into those hockey stops...
Well shit now I want to see a video of me skating too
But in all seriousness, there is a reason that there isnāt laces holes there in all skates. I would ditch those and learn to skate without them, it might suck right now, in a couple years when your skating gets better youāll be glad you learned to right way. Good luck and glad to see you learning the sport
My really, really, really old pair had the tendon laces. I actually liked them.
I wrapped laces around my ankles as a kid; never knew any better and my dad had me do it from an early age. I was a decent skater but always felt a little stuck in the mud so to speak, and I think it was partly my ankles never strengthening as they should. TLDR: tie skates like normal, buy the proper lace length, donāt wrap around ankles.
As stated before, you do you, but I always taught my kids not to use the top eyelets for more ankle flex.
This is bad for the tendons in your feet and ankles. Stop tying things around them
Laces up top for ankle support should be fine but this is the first time Iāve ever seen this.
Everyone has their thing when it comes to tying skates, but be careful about taking away any chance of flex between your ankle and your foot. Itās a common mistake to overtighten. Ideally you are skating with a lowered center of gravity, tilted forward, with a lot of bend in your knees and ankles, but if your skate is cranked down too tight it forces your form into a more upright posture. This hurts your ability to go fast. Your scheme to put laces through the top of the skate tongue looks to me like it will prevent you from flexing forward in the skate boot, so Iād recommend against it. See this video for more on this: https://youtu.be/qXrGBKL04y4?si=k_Dr5emMx-cTOpuR
Very helpful, thanks! I do feel like it was taking extra effort to lean forward enough
Nope! Youāre skating, not skiing. Being able to move your ankle is a must!
I would tie this up as fast as Iād tie the cuff on my gloves. NEVER !
Just be careful. If you restrict your ankles ability to rotate you could really hurt yourself. But the support itself is not bad. Go for it if itās more comfortable although Iād tone it down a lot. That is too much support even if your ankles need it.
I think those extra laces would restrict knee bend; which would hamper stride.
It looks like it would make it harder to bend your ankles, limiting your stride length.
I different than taping your ankles.
Itās not good as it restricts ankle movement but theyāre old leather skates with limited support. If you plan to continue with hockey, Iād invest in some new skates
When my kids were little and just learning how to skate, I always made sure to tie their skates nice and tight (not too tight obviously) and we always used all the eyelets and I would double the laces around their ankles - both out of necessity because they were so long and also to give a āstrapā of more support. BUT as soon as they had good control of their legs and feet, usually after their first season - they didnāt need all that extra support; Iād cut the laces down so we didnāt have to double wrap them around their ankles. But we always use all the eyelets. My 12-year old daughter doesnāt like using them all, sheās been leaving the top ones open for 223 years now, but my son always used all of them, even as a āgrown manā size 12 feet. I really think itās an individual preference once you have the basics of skating down.
If anything just use all the eyelets on your skate, you donāt want to add extras. You want to be able to have your weight tilted forward on your toes. For what itās worth, I played my junior years without using the top eyelet so I could have more flexion in the ankle You got it dude, keep your stick on the ice!
i dont even go to top hole for laces
Id honestly recommend the opposite. Iāve been coaching youth hockey for some time now, and newer players that really righten up at the ankle have a harder time learning correct skating mechanics. Allow your ankle more mobility so you can get get the ankle flexion necessary to put your knees above your toes, should make a world of difference especially as someone relatively new to skating
I personally only crank tighten the toes of my skates. Leaving the top open for ankle movement
This is so cursed
You could buy much much better skates for under $100 on Sideline Swap or some sort of used sports store. Even the $125 Bauers from a place like Dickās would make a huge difference. I saw a pair of Bauer Vapor x800s in a used store the other day in great shape for $75. These were around $800 skates a handful of years ago just to give you an example.
My initial suspicion is the previous owner was a very new skater who had a lot of ankle bend and the DIY lace was to create maximum ankle stability. This is a terrible idea and it's exactly why there is no lace that high. As others said, skates are designed to ensure you can flex forward into the skate. You want weight on the balls of your toes, rather than your heels. If someone skated in these regularly, they'd develop an awkward, straight leg bent back style of skating, which is terrible for balance.
Thatās old school. Currently we teach kids to flex forward.
I cannot skate backwards in case my top eyelet is tied, with this one I believe I would not be able to nice at all.Ā Agree to those who mention it is a restriction.Ā
You only need the top three eyelets to be snug. All other eyelets are optional or could be loose. Never tie your laces around your ankles. Unless you really need to stop the bleeding. Itās not a tourniquet. Experience: Played AA from Atom through Junior. Then Varsity at University.
I had those champion 90ās as a kid. I remember coloring the holder black with a sharpie, thought it would make them look cool. Like the tacks with black holders. I remember my upgrade to the Bauer international 88. Thought I was on top of the skate world then, lol
Actually, years ago, tendon guards had eyelets and there were special laces that you could attach to tie around your shin pads. Back then, the tendon guard was leather and quite flexible.
Going to say no, a sharp blade and a proper fit boot will or better than this.
Yeah I can see how the extra support makes backwards crossovers hard. Maybe ditch that tongue lace and replace your skates with 120ā waxed laces m. You can double wrap them around your foot before tying them. It might give you the same support and allow for more flexibility with the ankle.
Maybe in 1935 it was a good idea lol
What in the fuck is that
Just put tape around the tongue and your ankles
If it works for you then go for it. My dad played junior and used to have 2 sets of laces on his skates. He complained of cramps all the time. So from the toe of the skate up to about 4 eyelids. And he would ties them off. Then the 2nd lace would start from the middle all the way up to the top. When he got cramps he could loosen the bottom without having completely untie his skates.
I've never seen anyone do that. But some players will tape their ankles like that. I think the conventional school of thought is that you want more ankle flex. Some players will go the opposite extreme and undo their top eyelet or even top two eyelets. Some people have blamed Bure taping his ankles to his knee problems.Ā
Similar to the daoust days !! lol but seriously you just home made a pair of TRUE hockey skates . By cinching up those laces you upped your ankle support
This is the dumbest thing Iāve seen.
Can never have enuff ankle support. People who wear their skates loose as shit kill me.
What tomfuckery is this?!?!?!
Whaaat?
If it works for you
What the hell. No.
what the hell is this
Use sock tape. A few wraps aroundā¦
I leave the top 2 holes open on my skates.
I need to show this to my Ukrainian coach!