I've been away from MA for a while now and while I was away, I partook in the Track teams jumping squad. I can say that the repetitious beating on my shins / ankles has left them a little tender and I was curious if anyone had any suggestions as to how to Condition your ankles so they won't hurt when you run, jump rope, etc... Any help would be awesome, thanks.
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you could try some kind of balance board, allan suggested to build one with a billiard ball, i still can't hold my balance on that one.. but that's ok just trying keeps the ankles moving.
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Start with tree, begin playing around with dynamic transitions until you can do multiple sequences of tree-warrior 3-standing single leg lift-half lotus tree- half lotus squat-single leg lift squat... then start to do them with your eyes closed.
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Circle walking (no palm changes), squatting monkey, Taiji in general, dipping the heels up and down with only your toes planted on a staircase step (i.e. the heels sink lower than the step level to elongate and strengthen the achilles tendon), and some rare stuff where you stand on the blade of the feet and then later make turns on the side (impossible without trained ankles).
There really was stuff like standing on strong tree branches seesawing on them and jumping from tree to tree, but that might be a bit daring unless you can do it not falling. Best tried perhaps on LOW branches ... Or replace with tightrope training.
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Originally
Posted By: Kazumei
I've been away from MA for a while now and while I was away, I partook in the Track teams jumping squad. I can say that the repetitious beating on my shins / ankles has left them a little tender and I was curious if anyone had any suggestions as to how to Condition your ankles so they won't hurt when you run, jump rope, etc... Any help would be awesome, thanks.
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I know exactly what you need. Just watch this video: (it got a lot of good exercises for conditioning your ankles.)
Exercise
The foot and ankle are primarily controlled by the muscles of the shin and calf. To increase the stability of the ankle in the rehabilitation phase of therapy, the following exercises should be performed daily. • Ankle circles — While sitting in a chair, cross the injured leg over the good leg. Rotate the foot in as wide a circle as you can both clockwise and counterclockwise. Begin with 10 circles in each direction. This exercise is effective in preventing poor scar tissue formation. • Ankle flexion — Sitting in a chair with the leg crossed as above, flex the ankle so the toes come toward the knee. Hold the flexion for one or two seconds, then point the foot and hold the point for one or two seconds. Begin with five repetitions of flexing and pointing and then rest. • Heel raises — Stand holding on to something for balance. Without bending the knees, rise up onto the balls of the feet. Keep the feet parallel. Stay there for a moment and come down again. Begin with five repetitions and then repeat this same exercise with the knees slightly bent. Build it slowly to eight repetitions of five. • Inner-ankle lift — For this exercise some props are needed. Either use weights that attach to the foot in some way or use a small plastic shopping bag with a five-pound weight in it or cans that total two to five pounds. Sitting in a chair, cross the injured leg over the good leg with either the weight apparatus or the loaded shopping bag across the front part of the foot just behind your toes. Now raise the foot toward the ceiling five or 10 times. Repeat after a brief rest. • Outer-ankle lift — The same props that you used in the inner-ankle lift are needed for this exercise. Lie on your side on a couch with the knees bent. The injured ankle should be on top. Now extend the top leg off the edge of the couch or bed. Wearing the weight or the shopping bag, lift the outside of the foot toward the ceiling, keeping the foot pointed. Begin this exercise with 10 repetitions. Do it again, but this time keep the foot flexed.
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..the last two are very good as they work the tibialis anterior and peroneus longus or stirrup muscles independently. Pretty good article in general.
Been spending some time with a very experienced Japanese sports massage therapist/bonesetter, and one thing he keeps stressing is that Achilles injuries in particular (followed by calf and hamstring)can be career ending, take those very seriously.
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Conditioning your...ankles? 
