Gold Stars to help with double jumps?

[sk8trm0m3]

Hi all,
My daughter is 11yo, and currently skates in Edea Icefly’s with Gold Seal blades. She is has most double jumps (except double axel), but she cannot seem to consistently fully rotate them. From a spin perspective, she usually gets level 3’s but working toward level 4 (so area for improvement there).
I have been told by a fitter she should consider switching to gold stars if she continues to have difficulty rotating. But everything I read seems to suggest gold stars better for spins?
I was wondering if anyone has experience with gold stars helping improve jumps? Any other blade recommendations to consider? We have been told by coaches to consider paramount as well since she’s small.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hi all,
My daughter is 11yo, and currently skates in Edea Icefly’s with Gold Seal blades. She is has most double jumps (except double axel), but she cannot seem to consistently fully rotate them. From a spin perspective, she usually gets level 3’s but working toward level 4 (so area for improvement there).
I have been told by a fitter she should consider switching to gold stars if she continues to have difficulty rotating. But everything I read seems to suggest gold stars better for spins?
I was wondering if anyone has experience with gold stars helping improve jumps? Any other blade recommendations to consider? We have been told by coaches to consider paramount as well since she’s small.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Hi welcome! Don't go to Paramount, I will suggest at least that much. As far as issues with spins, is it a rotational issue or is she catching her pick or what's happening? Can you give us more info before I proceed in further suggestion to see if this aligns with what I'm thinking.

 

[sk8trm0m3]

Hi welcome! Don't go to Paramount, I will suggest at least that much. As far as issues with spins, is it a rotational issue or is she catching her pick or what's happening? Can you give us more info before I proceed in further suggestion to see if this aligns with what I'm thinking.

 

[sk8trm0m3]

Regarding her spins, she sometimes struggles finding the “sweet spot”, which I think causes her rotational issues. She has caught the pick before as well; this started when she transitioned from MK professionals to gold seals (I guess because of the different rocker, bigger pick etc). She’s been on the gold seals 6 months, so she has acclimated to them I guess. I was told she should consider the gold stars though if she continued to struggle with jump rotation, because they are better for those with slower twitches.
Appreciate your perspective on this!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Regarding her spins, she sometimes struggles finding the “sweet spot”, which I think causes her rotational issues. She has caught the pick before as well; this started when she transitioned from MK professionals to gold seals (I guess because of the different rocker, bigger pick etc). She’s been on the gold seals 6 months, so she has acclimated to them I guess. I was told she should consider the gold stars though if she continued to struggle with jump rotation, because they are better for those with slower twitches.
Appreciate your perspective on this!

Okay, based on that info IDK that would move her to a Gold Star, since in many ways it's basically a Gold Seal with a 7ft rocker. It sounds to me like she does better on a parallel blade with a 7ft rocker but that doesn't exist in MK. Phantom is Parabolic and that's going to be similar to the taper of the Gold Seal she's on. Gold star is the same. And both Gold Seal and Gold Star have higher stanchions which causes the tip towards the pick more (hence why I asked if she was catching picks more often). So my suggestion would actually be Wilson Pattern 99. This is what I wear now as a pro, and have won them competitively after giving up on my phantoms, Gold Seals, and Paramounts lol. They're the closest she could probably get to a "happy medium" It's going to not have the high stanchion, it's parallel, not such an aggressive secondary rocker; I will tell you though that it's 8ft rocker and also has a straight cut picks as to where her blades you've named in the past have all had cross-cut picks. It's a unique and widely used blade by elites, and the top toe pick, is larger but that's great for spotting on jumps. And traditonal blades only, no Revs, bc revs will make her catch spins and more difficult and make it harder for young skaters who are learning jumps and so on to "feel" their blade and the ice the way they need to learn to.

I hope all of this helps! If you have any other questions don't be afraid to ask!

 

[sk8trm0m3]

Okay, based on that info IDK that would move her to a Gold Star, since in many ways it's basically a Gold Seal with a 7ft rocker. It sounds to me like she does better on a parallel blade with a 7ft rocker but that doesn't exist in MK. Phantom is Parabolic and that's going to be similar to the taper of the Gold Seal she's on. Gold star is the same. And both Gold Seal and Gold Star have higher stanchions which causes the tip towards the pick more (hence why I asked if she was catching picks more often). So my suggestion would actually be Wilson Pattern 99. This is what I wear now as a pro, and have won them competitively after giving up on my phantoms, Gold Seals, and Paramounts lol. They're the closest she could probably get to a "happy medium" It's going to not have the high stanchion, it's parallel, not such an aggressive secondary rocker; I will tell you though that it's 8ft rocker and also has a straight cut picks as to where her blades you've named in the past have all had cross-cut picks. It's a unique and widely used blade by elites, and the top toe pick, is larger but that's great for spotting on jumps. And traditonal blades only, no Revs, bc revs will make her catch spins and more difficult and make it harder for young skaters who are learning jumps and so on to "feel" their blade and the ice the way they need to learn to.

I hope all of this helps! If you have any other questions don't be afraid to ask!

This is great advice, thank you. One of our coaches strongly suggests pattern 99’s as well, says she sees better results with jumps than the other common high level blades. May I ask one hopefully last question on this? Is it difficult as a skater to move from a cross-cut toe pick to straight-cut? As a parent, seeing how difficult it can be for certain elements, it is worth giving a shot to try another blade. I don’t want to cause an unnecessary regression though.

Thanks again for your advice and taking the time to respond!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

This is great advice, thank you. One of our coaches strongly suggests pattern 99’s as well, says she sees better results with jumps than the other common high level blades. May I ask one hopefully last question on this? Is it difficult as a skater to move from a cross-cut toe pick to straight-cut? As a parent, seeing how difficult it can be for certain elements, it is worth giving a shot to try another blade. I don’t want to cause an unnecessary regression though.

Thanks again for your advice and taking the time to respond!

No, like with everything, there will be tiny adjustment but nothing major and should not cause regression. I definitely wouldn't have suggested if that would've been the case, and also would have mentioned that.

You are so very welcome. Make sure to come back and let us know how she does once she's used to the blade switch.
You are also always welcome to DM me and ask questions. Good luck!

 

[sk8trm0m3]

Thank you again. I will definitely have her try the Pattern 99’s and circle back!