And that’s exactly where I am now: sitting in the Pro Shop looking all the skates being worked on. The Shop is a full service shop, not only selling equipment, but taking care of any skate, boot, blade needs you have. So let’s touch on some common issues that people have with their skates, brand new or 10 years old.

“Mommy, it feels tight on my toes” or ”My skates feel too narrow”

I’m sure we’ve all heard this one before. Don’t get me wrong, some times the issue is the skates are getting too small. But before you run out and get new boots, pull the insole out. In a fairly broken in skate, you can see the imprint of where your skater’s foot sits. This gives you a good idea of if the skates are really too small, or if there is still room. If there is still room in the skates, it just means your skater’s toes are hitting the sides of the skate.

There are two ways to fix this. Option #1 We can punch out the skates, which simply puts a small bump on the outside of the boot, giving a little more room for the toes. Option #2 is to do a full stretch.  We simply put the skates on our strecher overnight and this can expand the toes from a D to almost a EEE.

“My foot is slipping in the skate”

This is more or less a sign that it is time to make a visit to the shop to get your skates looked at. Sometimes, the issue is that the heel pocket is wider than the heel itself. What we do in these situations is called a heel pinch. The boot gets heated up in the skate oven, wrapped with a towel and pinched by a wood clamp. This makes the heel pocket narrow and will hold the foot better. In drastic situations, while the skate is still hot, we will stick the skates in a fridge to super-cool all the layers of the skate.

“My new skate hurts”

Majority of new skates have ankle padding that has yet to be broken in. The padding is normally flat and your ankle bones are round so there is a lot of rubbing and a lot of pain. This is also common in other parts of your foot, most commonly your “navicular bone”(inside of your foot, slightly down diagonaly from your ankle bone) and “fifth metatarsal” (outside of your mid-foot). These all vary skater to skater, but a simple boot punch takes care of it all. Boot punches only take a couple minutes and saves you from a lot of pain and discomfort.

Well, there you have it. Some insight on your skates. I’ll touch on blades and sharpenings next time. But for now, if you have any questions come in and see our shop staff who are all professionally trained and can answer any of your questions!

SDAHA 1977-78 Midgets with Chris Chelios, he is bottom row 3rd from the left.

Top row: from left, Unkown assitant Coach, Head Coach John Mizuk, Lad Morris Goalie, Greg Burns, Todd Verity, Greg Stoike, Mark Verity, Steve Madruga, Dave Ashton, Coach Bob Newton, Unknown Coach.

Bottom row: from left, unknown player, unknown player, Chris Chelios, Tom Mizuk, Tom Deihl, Gary Andreassi, unknown player.

SDIA has been in this location for over 35 years. If you have any good pictures from back in the day, post them on our Facebook page: SDIceArena or email them to Kevin@sdice.com We want to bring back the memories from the good ol’ days!

Unlike shoes, skates should be a snug fit, tight but not painfully so. The worst thing that a skater can do is purchase skates that are too big. Skates that are a little small can be fixed. Our Pro Shop uses couple of fitting techniques to enlarge skates. These include: punching – a quick process in which a small and very specific portion of the boot is stretched out; and power-stretching – an overnight process where the boots can be widened by at least a full width.

Skates that are too big are almost impossible to fix. Most people think a second pair of socks will help here. On the contrary, wearing an extra pair of socks is one of the worst things you can do in a pair of skates. The extra layers create room between your boot and yout foot, thus allowing your foot to move around, which makes it more likely you are to develop blisters and even spurs on your feet. Most serious skaters never wear socks and even when they do, they wear thin tights no thicker than heavy panty hose would be. Many hockey players and figure skaters forego socks altogether in favor of bare feet. While this ensures a better feel for the ice, it is very hard on your skates. They will stink and actually wear out faster as they soak up all the perspiration from your feet. I prefer a very thin, liner style sock, the Pro Shop sells Swiftwick socks as well as Mondor Knee Highs which work perfectly.

The first and most important rule in buying skates is to never buy a pair that you cannot try on first. As internet shoppers this probably isn’t what you hoped to hear.

Having worked in ice skate retail for over 7 years, I can tell you that it is annoying to have people come in and take up a long period of your time only to tell you they are going to buy the skates on the internet. If you do try skates on at a local shop, you might ask what services they include in the price. Here we provide the 1st initial sharpening and rocker as well as the heat mold and any boot punches for the life time of the skate. This can add up to be an $80 value. Now the price with shipping on the internet isn’t very different. So take the time to come in and try a pair of skates on, see how they feel and see what the shop offers.

When sitting with the boots first on and not laced, they might feel uncomfortably short. Don’t panic. First you should kick back into the boot. Kick the heel of the skate on the floor a couple of times to make sure your heel is settled back. Next lace the skates up and make sure they are tight. The forefoot area should be snug, but not crushing. As you get to where the eyelets start to turn towards the vertical portion of the boot, tighten these up a little tighter. This will pull your heel back into the proper position. When laced and still sitting, you might still feel like the skates are too short. Don’t make your judgment yet. Most boots these days are heat moldable - this is where we put the boot in an oven, as it heats up, the boot softens and molds to your foot when we lace it back up – and yout foot will sit back in the heel pocket even more. Once in a proper skating stride, your toes will curl back as well, giving you added room in the skate.

If you are unsure of the length a good way to check is by simply taking out the insoles of the skate and standing on them. An adult’s toes should come right to the end of the insole. A child who needs room for growth should never have more than about a finger’s width of toe space. This will get them through about a year without having skates so loose that they cannot skate without their ankles bent.

Now the other factors of width and foot shape are a little more abstract. If you have a full service shop like SDIA, (not some online retailer) sales people will be able to recommend skates based on the width of your foot and height of your instep.

Again, make sure that your skates are snug, but not uncomfortable. Pay attention to the fit of your heel, does it move? If it does, try on another pair. Do the laces feel like they are digging in to the top of your feet? Try another pair. Does the forefoot feel loose? Try another pair. Eventually one will likely feel significantly better than the others did. There are a lot of different models of skates, each one uniquely different. Like I said above, come in and try on different skates, it’s the only way you can tell which pair are the ones for you!

Morning Public Sessions

From Monday 12/19/11 thru Friday 12/30/11

Public Sessions are scheduled 11:00am to 2:00pm

 Dance Sessions are cancelled from 12/22 and 12/29

Friday afternoon Pick-up Hockey is cancelled from 12/9th thru 1/6/12

Other dates:

· Friday 12/2 Developmental Hockey cancelled (corporate event)

· Friday 12/2 Teen Melt Down cancelled (corporate event)

· Tuesday 12/6 Adult Public Session 7pm to 8pm cancelled for Xmas show practice

· Saturday 12/10 All programs cancelled for our Holiday Show

· Saturday 12/24 Closed at 3pm after Public Session

· Sunday 12/25 CLOSED

· Saturday 12/31 Special end of year Public Session scheduled from 11am to 2pm

· Saturday 12/31 Rink will close at 2pm for private event.

· Sunday 01/01 CLOSED

Our annual Christmas Show is coming up, December 10th, 2011! This year, we will be showcasing the best of the past 20 years. We are already selling tickets for each show in our Pro Shop, be sure to get them early as this will surely be a sellout event!

We still are in need of chaperones for each show, please sign up in the entrance to the rink. Our 7pm show needs the most volunteers. Each chaperone will be given 1 free ticket to the show of their choice!

Thursday 24th (Thanksgiving Day): Regular hours until 2pm when the rink will close

Friday 25th – Sunday 27th: Regular hours

Our Pro Shop will be having a Black Friday Sale on Friday the 25th. There will be discounts from 10-30% off figure and hockey equipment and apparel. SDIA’s Shop has everything you need to finish your Christmas shopping, get in before it’s too late!

Check out our website: www.sdice.com/horton for more information

Be sure to follow Fantasy on Ice on Facebook for daily pictures and posts

And Fantasy on Ice will be featured on NBC 7 San Diego on November 30th as they broadcast live for their “Holiday’s on Horton Square.” We have already been mentioned on the Union Tribune as one of the best outdoor skating rinks in San Diego: Icy Hot Holiday Ice Skating

Register here:Try Hockey For Free Day

Since the early 90’s, I have listened to many coaches, parents, and skaters talk about figure skate blades. What I havelearned is that everyone believes they’re an expert and they all have no problems repeating false information, unbeknownst to them. This false information has made skate technicians and sharpeners look bad in the public eye while preserving the reputation of the companies who make these blades with rather astonishing manufacturing variances.

Myth #1

Figure skate blades are made of 2 different grades or hardnesses of steel that are fused or welded together at the bottom.  

Fact – Figure skate blades are cut (stamped or laser-cut) out of a solid piece of tempered or hardened steel, then chrome plated for rust resistance and aesthetic value. After this process, the manufacturer creates the “chrome relief”, which is a line towards the bottom of the blade that suggests where you can safely sharpen the blade down to. Certain companies chrome relief their blades by hand, which produces quite a variance in appearance of sharpenable life. Some pairs that I have seen have had astonishing variances between right and left blades. This variance in manufacturing has led some skaters and coaches to believe that their local skate tech has mis-sharpened the blades. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Understandably, coaches and skaters find it easier and more feasible to blame someone at their local rink than a multi-million dollar blade company that still uses manufacturing procedures and processes that were common around the turn of the 20^th century.

Myth #2

You cannot sharpen a blade beyond the chrome relief. 

Fact – Since the blade itself gets sharpened but the toe picks do not, the chrome relief is just a suggested sharpening range so that you replace the blades before you end up tripping repeatedly on your picks. Beyond the chrome relief, the rest of the blade is the same hardness of steel as the bottom part and is indeed sharpenable.

Myth #3

The sharpening machine is what actually makes the blades sharp.

Fact – The sharpening machine removes a small amount of steel, uncovering fresh steel and re-creating the hollow. The stoning of the blade (final process) is what actually makes the blade sharp.

While we are not accpeting any formal donations in the rink itself, donations can be made through the Susan G Komen foundation