balance practice and blade alignment

Question
Dear Pat Palmer,
I am 42 and have started learning how to roller blade about two weeks ago.  I am having trouble with my right foot alignment.  My right ankle wants to rotate out and cause me to run an outside edge on the wheels. What's the best way to solve this problem?  

Answer
Hi Todd,
  My guess as to why your right ankle rotates out is probably because you're new to roller blading.  Here's a couple things you can try which may help:

  1)  Skate with your feet close together and try to keep the
      wheels straight up.  Don't worry about your skates touching
      each other, you won't trip yourself with roller blades.  You
      need to keep both feet directly under your hips.

  2)  Make sure your skates fit quite snug.  You need ankle support.
      Make sure your foot doesn't move around inside the skate
      and that the buckle around your right ankle is tight
      enough to give you solid support.

      We all have a favorite foot....one that's more coordinated,
      one that' stronger etc.  It seems that your left foot is your
      stronger foot.  So pay special attention to the right one
      to get it to stay straight up over the wheels and don't allow
      it to turn outward.

  3)  If you are skating well enough to push with both feet and
      pick them up off the ground after you push, then make sure
      that the foot that just finished pushing comes back in and
      is aimed straight forward when it takes the ground.  Don't   
      allow it to angle outward.  The only foot that should be
      angled out is the pushing foot, the stationary foot is always
      aimed straight ahead.  This may help with the right foot
      rotating out.

Just make sure your skates fit properly and aren't too big.  Skates that are to big tend to do strange things to your ankles.  They should fit like a glove so there's no room for your foot to slide around or wobble.

I hope some of this info helps you out. If you need extra help, try taking a few lessons at your local roller rink, most rink offer group classes which are very inexpensive.  I'm sure by actually seeing what your right ankle is doing, they could help you fix it quickly.

Good Luck
Pat