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totally awesome afternoon and boys ice skates question


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I have a ds with special needs. He is starting to skate. He's been in adaptive lessons since March (took the summer off). He skates holding hands with a coach. I finally felt he was skating well enough to try to take him on my own today. I know how to skate, but have minimal proficiency. He held the wall for 3 laps. The second time around he let go with one hand and held my hand with that hand. After the third lap he let go the wall and just skated holding my hand. We did several more laps like this. THIS IS HUGE. :party: He was upright the whole time (at lessons he leans forward a lot and they spend time trying to get him upright). OK, I think he has some serious misplaced trust in me--coach at lessons is a former figure skater and obviously more stable than I am, but I guess he trusts mom :) .

 

So, I'm going to get a pass to skate this winter at our outdoor rink.

 

Should I keep renting skates for him. $5/session. His feet will grow and he will need larger next season.

 

If you think I should get him his own pair, what? I've discovered he's an odd size 4. The stores seem to stop kids sizes at 3 and start mens sizes at 5. I want to get him figure skates, because I understand that's best for learning.

 

I did put a "wanted" on freecycle. Maybe I'll get a response.

 

What about me? For years I stuffed my size 10 feet into a size 9 boot that I own. After I had children (18 years ago) my feet became 10.5-11. I rented 11s today and they were OK. It seemed like I had a lot of toe room, but I had no problems skating. Should I spring for skates for me. What should I get? I want something practical and inexpensive, but not junk. I will not be doing any triple salchows or death spirals :lol: .

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So much fun! I taught my ds to skate last year and we have so much fun together. I have my own pair of skates from college when I played hockey. They don't fit as well as I'd like, since having kids and gaining weight, but they save me a few bucks whenever we go. For ds I rent, since his feet will continue to grow and we only skate about once or twice a month.

 

I think the frequency of your skating will determine whether or not you buy or rent. If you are going often enough that you will get enough wear before his feet grow, making it cost effective, then buy. But good quality skates are pricey and won't be financially worth it unless you are going a few times a month at least. If you are going to get a pass and expect to go several times a week, then totally buy them.

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My oldest dd is a figure skater, so we family skate once or twice a week. I own this: http://www.llbean.co...s-women-s�� They are made by Jackson and mine are white. My youngest dd, also a recreational skater has these: http://www.jacksonul...C4D5E1A2B3C4D5E. Riddell also makes a recreational skate: http://www.skates.com/Riedell-625-Ice-Skates-p/r625w-ice-gr4.htm that I've seen many folks use at the rink where we skate.

 

We both really like our skates. Oldest dd is jumping, so she is a totally different type of skater from the rest of the family and her boots/blades reflect that level of skill. One big reason I bought my own skates was sharpening. I was so tired of getting rental skates with dull blades. Having sharp blades make a world of difference. Do you have a skate swap at your rink? Or perhaps a used sporting goods store in your area. Coaches usually know where to find good deals or used skates, you might ask around.

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I would ask the skating coach if he can recommend somewhere to buy skates. You don't need to spend a fortune but it will make skating so much easier for your son. Rental skates are worn by hundreds of people and are just awful. A good skate shop should be able to fit your son (and leave some room for growth) without having to spend a ton of $$$.

 

I would not get the LL Bean ones or ones like it with a different kind of blade. It makes it much harder if you switch to a regular figure skating blade.

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If you are going to skate with any regularity, you will want to buy skates. Rentals are never sharpened and it is so hard to skate with dull blades. If your rink has a figure skating club, see if they do consignment sales. Sometimes the hockey shops will sell used skates. My rink offers a discount on skate purchase if you are enrolled in a class. If you go new, you can find decent intro level skates in the $50 range. We all skate here and my kids usually get 8-12 months out of their skates. Obviously that will vary widely, but It's worth it to purchase.

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