New skates-poor performance

[coskatingmom]

Hello, I am the mother of a 9 yr. old beginner figure skater. She is a level 6 freestyle in the learn to skate program and has been skating for 2 yrs. After her 1st pair of entry level figure skates began to "break down" her coach recommended that we purchase Riddell 255TS boots and Matrix Legacy 7050 blades (the stainless steel). Since switching to the new boots/blades her performance has decreased substantially, she can no longer do her elements at the same level of competency and in particular her speed has decreased. She has had the new boots/blades for 6+ weeks and has assured us that they are broken in, and not causing her discomfort. Her coach is losing patience with her and believes she simply isn't trying. That is not the case, she is trying and is very frustrated. I need to add that her coach is normally a very kind person, but is really getting angry at our daughter. Her coach believes that she is making excuses and should simply skate "faster". Can anyone give some advice on how to help our daughter adjust to these skates, or some methods on increasing her speed? Does anyone have any experience with the blades, and advice on adjusting to them? It is noteworthy that she skates 5-6 times per week. Thanks so much in advance.

[loopy]

Have you measured your daughter's height and compared it to 3 months ago? I am guessing she has grown. When my daughter grows even half an inch, things that were excellent throw out the window. The first to go are camel spins and then her axel and double jumps. They come back, but it takes time. She has grown 6 inches in a year and 20lbs. It's like having a whole new body every 2 months.

Another thing to check are to make sure her blades are positioned correctly. Does she fight an edge? Does she make snow when just doing a spiral?

How many hours has she skated in them?

Check the blades for any burrs and have let the skate pro know she is having issues - maybe they weren't sharpened well.

Did you get them sharpened before she skated in them or is she on the factory sharpening?

If it's just speed that is effected, does she take an edge speed type class?

[coskatingmom]

Thanks for your reply. I think you may have a point, my daughter has grown at least 1 inch in the last 6 months. We did have her skates sharpened by the person who has been sharpening them since she started skating. She spends around 10 hours a week on the ice, so she has skated in them around 60 hours. No burrs on the blades, and I'm afraid one of the issues is that they are stainless steel blades. She does take a power stroking class one a week and has for over a year. Perhaps we need to just give this some time? Thoughts?

[silver.blades]

If she's growing there's nothing that can be done other than to wait it out and see how she progresses. What boot and blades did she have before? It's possible if there's a big change in the style of boot or blade, that they just aren't the right fit for her regardless of whether they're causing her discomfort or not. Plus the matrix blades are so much lighter than standard blades that could defiantly take some getting used to and could possibly throw off her technique. I refused to buy those blades because I knew having them would mess me up mentally due to their lightness. Also check that the blade is properly and firmly attached to the blade. Since they're new that's probably not an issue, but it doesn't hurt to check and a slightly loose blade isn't always noticeable when skating but can be extremely dangerous and cause all kinds of problems.

[SkateNater]

Also make sure the blades are set correctly. Even if they aren't it may not be very noticeable since she will compensate subconsciously, automatically. But being off just a little can destroy your skating.