So I missed a few more practices due to a cold, and allergies, a migrane from hell, and being out of ton over the 4th of July weekend.
Last night I wrestled with my demons and decided to go. While skating with the new group of fresh meat (about half of my old fresh meat class, the girls who started when I did in March, graduated to become rosterable skaters!) I started to feel discouraged.
Some of the new girls can skate circles around me. During a couple of the drills I was fighting back tears because here I am, having been doing this since March, and I am still slower than some of the girls who are just starting. I realize we all have to start somewhere, and my first time ever on skates was 2 weeks before my first derby practice! Some of these new girls have been skating all their lives.
When I first arrived at practice last night, one my teammates said hi, and asked where I'd been. We chatted for a while and she has been involved in derby forever--she was one of the founders of our team. She said that she has seen people who improve fast and those who improve slower, she said that some girls start off great and then plateau. There are so many different people. She told me not to give up, and I admitted that the thought had crossed my mind a time or two.
Yes, it has been frustrating at times that I can't do a crossover and that I feel so much more awkward at times on the rink than the other girls look. But I have improved SO MUCH from when I began. Do I still lose my balance and fall a lot? Sure, but I fall small :)
And last night, while skating laps on the outside of the track, one of the veteran skaters doing drills on the inside, was knocked out of bounds and into me, and I didn't fall, in fact, it barely phased me. My Meat Mistress saw me take the hit and smiled and nodded at me. I gave her a thumbs up. If that would've happened a few months ago, I would have been on the floor.
Small things like that keep me going, even when at other times during last night's practice I was holding back tears at not being able to do a few of our drills...
I know I have to keep trying, and I have been missing a lot of practices over the past couple of months, but I definitely plan on re-prioritizing derby in my life-as well as my physical fitness in general- if I get in better shape, derby will hopefully get easier!
In the words of Andy Grammer (and the video I am about to share below (hopefully it works)), I just gotta keep my head up!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
long time no update
I had a 3 week hiatus from derby. I took the first Thursday in June off to pack for my trip back to Canada. Surprised my grandparents with a visit and then saw my aunt (the daughter of the grandmother who died in May)
It was a whirlwind trip, but it was great to see family again.
Upon return to the East, I was too jet lagged to attend Sunday practice (getting into town 90 minutes before practice began). Monday night was spent doing laundry, groceries and watching game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. On Thursday I fully intended to go to practice, but I was just exhausted and wound up in bed by 8pm.
Sunday was my first practice in the month of June. It was kind of awkward, because my other fresh meat buddies were either practicing with the vets (having passed their minimum skills tests) or testing on the final few skills they needed to perfect in order to pass. Sunday was also a recruitment night in our league, where I think about 8 new fresh meat girls joined. I sort of floated around near them for a bit, but I ended up leaving early since I was tired.
Monday night I practiced with the new meat girls and it was a little frustrating to me that most of them are already so good, and I've been here three months and still can't do a crossover.
Still, I know it will be good to keep practicing with them and hopefully I will be able to do the minimums in September and pass them.
The good news is, that having been on the team for 3 months, I was able to submit my name and number, although I won't be able to use it until after I pass minimums! just another reason to keep pushing on!!!
It was a whirlwind trip, but it was great to see family again.
Upon return to the East, I was too jet lagged to attend Sunday practice (getting into town 90 minutes before practice began). Monday night was spent doing laundry, groceries and watching game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. On Thursday I fully intended to go to practice, but I was just exhausted and wound up in bed by 8pm.
Sunday was my first practice in the month of June. It was kind of awkward, because my other fresh meat buddies were either practicing with the vets (having passed their minimum skills tests) or testing on the final few skills they needed to perfect in order to pass. Sunday was also a recruitment night in our league, where I think about 8 new fresh meat girls joined. I sort of floated around near them for a bit, but I ended up leaving early since I was tired.
Monday night I practiced with the new meat girls and it was a little frustrating to me that most of them are already so good, and I've been here three months and still can't do a crossover.
Still, I know it will be good to keep practicing with them and hopefully I will be able to do the minimums in September and pass them.
The good news is, that having been on the team for 3 months, I was able to submit my name and number, although I won't be able to use it until after I pass minimums! just another reason to keep pushing on!!!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
the serious side of derby
Every derby girl knows the dangers of her sport. The risk for injury is something we are well aware of. We've all fallen, or taken a good hit, and shown the bruises off proudly as a badge of honor.
In my short time in derby, I've had a few bruises, and am currently sporting a large one on the inside of my left calf from landing on my own skate on Thursday night. But there are many more serious injuries than bruises.
During a scrimmage a week or so ago, a girl on the opposing team lost a temporary cap from one of her teeth, and banged up her chin. A ref skated into a wall head first about a month ago, in an attempt to keep from further injuring a previous injured shoulder, and that resulted in him needing a few stitches from jamming his helmet into his forehead.
There are some girls who get injured so badly they can't skate anymore. Some of them stay involved as coaches, NSOs, or volunteers.
One of my close friends, a girl who I've known for years, who lives back in Canada, and joined derby a few weeks before me, well, she broke her tailbone on her first practice. She continued to go to practices, learning the rules of games while she officiated the scrimmages for the girls who were skating. When she healed from the tailbone injury, she went back on skates. Unfortunately, on Thursday night, as she was leaving the rink, she fell and broke her ankle in three places. She had surgery yesterday to put in pins and plates. It will be six months before she'll be allowed back on skates. Some girls might refuse to do it again, but I have a sneaking suspicion she will lace up her skates again one day, because as dangerous as derby can be, if you love it, it becomes a part of who you are.
In my short time in derby, I've had a few bruises, and am currently sporting a large one on the inside of my left calf from landing on my own skate on Thursday night. But there are many more serious injuries than bruises.
During a scrimmage a week or so ago, a girl on the opposing team lost a temporary cap from one of her teeth, and banged up her chin. A ref skated into a wall head first about a month ago, in an attempt to keep from further injuring a previous injured shoulder, and that resulted in him needing a few stitches from jamming his helmet into his forehead.
There are some girls who get injured so badly they can't skate anymore. Some of them stay involved as coaches, NSOs, or volunteers.
One of my close friends, a girl who I've known for years, who lives back in Canada, and joined derby a few weeks before me, well, she broke her tailbone on her first practice. She continued to go to practices, learning the rules of games while she officiated the scrimmages for the girls who were skating. When she healed from the tailbone injury, she went back on skates. Unfortunately, on Thursday night, as she was leaving the rink, she fell and broke her ankle in three places. She had surgery yesterday to put in pins and plates. It will be six months before she'll be allowed back on skates. Some girls might refuse to do it again, but I have a sneaking suspicion she will lace up her skates again one day, because as dangerous as derby can be, if you love it, it becomes a part of who you are.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
glides
Slowly but surely I am improving.
Last night we were doing one footed glides (lifting one foot and just skating on the other). Up til now I hadn't been able to do it, but something clicked last night and I got it. I skated most of the width of the rink on one foot. Don't know if I'll be able to do it on the other foot anytime soon, but it felt so good to finally get it!
We also did some pack work, practiced wheel locking (touching wheels with another person) this happens a lot when you are trying to stay tight with your pack and it is such a weird feeling. You feel like your going to fall (and I did a couple of times) but once you get used to it you can keep your balance and recover quickly while its happening.
We were practicing scooter pushes last night too. Combined, the right scooter push and left scooter push make up a crossover. I can do the right scooter push, and thats pretty much how I skated for the first several weeks. I eventually was able to start pushing off with both feet, which has helped a lot! But I still can't figure out the left scooter push. I know you're supposed to be able to get your left leg behind your right leg, but I just can't figure out how to make my body do it.
Small steps tho right?
Last night we were doing one footed glides (lifting one foot and just skating on the other). Up til now I hadn't been able to do it, but something clicked last night and I got it. I skated most of the width of the rink on one foot. Don't know if I'll be able to do it on the other foot anytime soon, but it felt so good to finally get it!
We also did some pack work, practiced wheel locking (touching wheels with another person) this happens a lot when you are trying to stay tight with your pack and it is such a weird feeling. You feel like your going to fall (and I did a couple of times) but once you get used to it you can keep your balance and recover quickly while its happening.
We were practicing scooter pushes last night too. Combined, the right scooter push and left scooter push make up a crossover. I can do the right scooter push, and thats pretty much how I skated for the first several weeks. I eventually was able to start pushing off with both feet, which has helped a lot! But I still can't figure out the left scooter push. I know you're supposed to be able to get your left leg behind your right leg, but I just can't figure out how to make my body do it.
Small steps tho right?
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
so who is derby newbie anyway?
Hello!
On Monday's practice another team came to scrimmage our team. They brought a photographer with them. In looking through the photos he took, I came across one of myself. It was during our 25 in 5 (in which I only got 16 1/2 laps) But In case you were all wondering what I look like in all my gear, here is a pic!
Thats me in all my derby glory!
On Monday's practice another team came to scrimmage our team. They brought a photographer with them. In looking through the photos he took, I came across one of myself. It was during our 25 in 5 (in which I only got 16 1/2 laps) But In case you were all wondering what I look like in all my gear, here is a pic!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
new discovery
Way back in March, when I first joined my league and was talking with some of the veteran skaters about gear, someone mentioned knee gaskets. I didn't order any at first, because it wasn't part of the fresh meat package I ordered online, and I totally forgot to look for them on the website I ordered from.
Fast forward to last night. One of the NSOs and part time ref for our league owns his own skate shop and gives our league members discounts on his stuff. A while back I had asked him about knee gaskets, to which he had said to let him know which size I wanted and he would get back to me. Well, I never did get back to him as we never managed to be at practices at the same time. Until Thursday. He came near the end of practice with the gaskets. He said he'd be back for Monday's practice and I said I'd bring my money.
Let me tell you, falling is so much more comfortable with the gaskets. They are completely made of neoprene, and they are extra padded right around the knee cap. They offer an extra layer of cushioning and as a bonus, have velcro on the top and bottom in front, so they stick to the inside of your actual knee pad which helps to prevent slippage.
The only complaint I had about the gaskets, is that they are skin tight. Even tho I did get the extra large, my lower legs really bothered me as practice went on, and I wonder if it had anything to do with the tightness of the gaskets. I guess time will tell, maybe they will stretch out a little with use, as my kneepads themselves did.
Fast forward to last night. One of the NSOs and part time ref for our league owns his own skate shop and gives our league members discounts on his stuff. A while back I had asked him about knee gaskets, to which he had said to let him know which size I wanted and he would get back to me. Well, I never did get back to him as we never managed to be at practices at the same time. Until Thursday. He came near the end of practice with the gaskets. He said he'd be back for Monday's practice and I said I'd bring my money.
Let me tell you, falling is so much more comfortable with the gaskets. They are completely made of neoprene, and they are extra padded right around the knee cap. They offer an extra layer of cushioning and as a bonus, have velcro on the top and bottom in front, so they stick to the inside of your actual knee pad which helps to prevent slippage.
The only complaint I had about the gaskets, is that they are skin tight. Even tho I did get the extra large, my lower legs really bothered me as practice went on, and I wonder if it had anything to do with the tightness of the gaskets. I guess time will tell, maybe they will stretch out a little with use, as my kneepads themselves did.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
back on wheels
Well, sorry for the hiatus folks but things in my life outside of derby have been going a little less than perfectly so I had taken a little break.
Over the past two weeks I did manage to get my skate sent away to have the toe-stop repaired so when I went to Thursday night's practice, I was able to wear my own skates. Originally I had thought I would have to wear rental skates for a couple of practices, and I would have had I not missed the few practices while my skates were away.
The rink had been resurfaced, so we had a couple of practices missed because of that.
Stepping out onto the now super shiny wood floor I felt a mixture of a home-coming and a sense of it all being brand new again. A few strides around the track and I was feeling fine. It was great to be back on skates again.
I only stayed for a little more than half of practice, as I had been suffering with a migraine for most of the week and didn't want to make it worse by dehydrating myself or sacrificing one more hour of my precious sleep.
I think I did ok, even tho I did fall a few times. We spent a lot of time on pack-work, which is something I really need to work on still. I am not good at keeping pace with the other girls and I always feel like I am falling behind. We did some weaving and some whips which were fun as usual.
I was about to take my skates off when we did the 25-in 5 drill. I was really worried that I would not do well with our new grippy floor and having been off skates for a while, but I managed to do my best yet! 17 3/4 laps!
One of the girls acted as a personal cheerleader for me, skating inside the track and encouraging me. It's also really awesome to hear some of the vets cheering me on from the sidelines.
It's awesome to have such a supportive team. they've all been new before so they all know what its like. I can't wait till I'm on the sidelines cheering on some new girl who is fighting through it. I know I'll get there eventually.
Over the past two weeks I did manage to get my skate sent away to have the toe-stop repaired so when I went to Thursday night's practice, I was able to wear my own skates. Originally I had thought I would have to wear rental skates for a couple of practices, and I would have had I not missed the few practices while my skates were away.
The rink had been resurfaced, so we had a couple of practices missed because of that.
Stepping out onto the now super shiny wood floor I felt a mixture of a home-coming and a sense of it all being brand new again. A few strides around the track and I was feeling fine. It was great to be back on skates again.
I only stayed for a little more than half of practice, as I had been suffering with a migraine for most of the week and didn't want to make it worse by dehydrating myself or sacrificing one more hour of my precious sleep.
I think I did ok, even tho I did fall a few times. We spent a lot of time on pack-work, which is something I really need to work on still. I am not good at keeping pace with the other girls and I always feel like I am falling behind. We did some weaving and some whips which were fun as usual.
I was about to take my skates off when we did the 25-in 5 drill. I was really worried that I would not do well with our new grippy floor and having been off skates for a while, but I managed to do my best yet! 17 3/4 laps!
One of the girls acted as a personal cheerleader for me, skating inside the track and encouraging me. It's also really awesome to hear some of the vets cheering me on from the sidelines.
It's awesome to have such a supportive team. they've all been new before so they all know what its like. I can't wait till I'm on the sidelines cheering on some new girl who is fighting through it. I know I'll get there eventually.
Friday, April 29, 2011
stops, hits, misses
I've only been to one practice this week. On Easter, we were late returning from out of town so I missed practice. And on Thursday I had plans after work which ran later than expected.
On Monday's practice, we practiced stopping and hitting. I am able to stop doing the plow stop, but not within the WFTDA minimum skills of 10ft. (unless I go slower than I should) but I do know how to stop that way so at least I can continue to improve. T-stops are another story. It took me a long time to just get my foot behind my other foot, but the dragging it is not easy at all. I've managed to get it so-so, but a lot of times I was dragging only on 1 or 2 wheels, when I really need to get all 4 wheels on the ground to get the maximum amount of friction to stop.
I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but I've noticed when I am trying to get my feet to move a certain way, I hold my arms the way I want my feet to go. Like when we do the duck walk (feet turned with toes pointing outwards) I turn my arms so my fingers point the way I want my feet to point. I do the same thing with the T stop, pointing my fingers the way I want my toes to go. Is this weird? Why do we do that?
For hitting, we started off hitting each other as we skated around, but then our coach grabbed a large blue pad for us to hit while she held it. We did shoulder hits and hip hits. I've never been fabulous with the hand eye coordination, let alone when you add motion to the mix, so aiming a hit while I'm moving is very awkward for me. I did ok I guess. On the couple of hits I did manage to land solidly, I ended up falling, and I still have the instinct to flail and grab onto something to prevent me from falling so I ended up grabbing the shirt of the person holding the hitting pad.
I feel like it is going to be forever before I am ready to bout. The girls make it look so easy, but all the little pieces of each skill are going to be a lot to learn and remember. I feel a bit overwhelmed at times.
This week will be a quieter week. The rink we practice at is being resurfaced on Sunday and Monday, so practice is cancelled. On Thursday's practice I will be wearing rental skates (most likely) as I am sending my skate to Minnesota tomorrow for the broken toe stop to be fixed. They said they'll send it back the same day, so hopefully it won't take too long and I will only have to be on rentals again for one practice.
One thing I am looking forward to is getting my hair done on Monday night. The following week we are having team photos and headshots done, so I am getting my hair cut (and highlighted!) in preparation for that. I will definitely post before and after photos.
On Monday's practice, we practiced stopping and hitting. I am able to stop doing the plow stop, but not within the WFTDA minimum skills of 10ft. (unless I go slower than I should) but I do know how to stop that way so at least I can continue to improve. T-stops are another story. It took me a long time to just get my foot behind my other foot, but the dragging it is not easy at all. I've managed to get it so-so, but a lot of times I was dragging only on 1 or 2 wheels, when I really need to get all 4 wheels on the ground to get the maximum amount of friction to stop.
I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but I've noticed when I am trying to get my feet to move a certain way, I hold my arms the way I want my feet to go. Like when we do the duck walk (feet turned with toes pointing outwards) I turn my arms so my fingers point the way I want my feet to point. I do the same thing with the T stop, pointing my fingers the way I want my toes to go. Is this weird? Why do we do that?
For hitting, we started off hitting each other as we skated around, but then our coach grabbed a large blue pad for us to hit while she held it. We did shoulder hits and hip hits. I've never been fabulous with the hand eye coordination, let alone when you add motion to the mix, so aiming a hit while I'm moving is very awkward for me. I did ok I guess. On the couple of hits I did manage to land solidly, I ended up falling, and I still have the instinct to flail and grab onto something to prevent me from falling so I ended up grabbing the shirt of the person holding the hitting pad.
I feel like it is going to be forever before I am ready to bout. The girls make it look so easy, but all the little pieces of each skill are going to be a lot to learn and remember. I feel a bit overwhelmed at times.
This week will be a quieter week. The rink we practice at is being resurfaced on Sunday and Monday, so practice is cancelled. On Thursday's practice I will be wearing rental skates (most likely) as I am sending my skate to Minnesota tomorrow for the broken toe stop to be fixed. They said they'll send it back the same day, so hopefully it won't take too long and I will only have to be on rentals again for one practice.
One thing I am looking forward to is getting my hair done on Monday night. The following week we are having team photos and headshots done, so I am getting my hair cut (and highlighted!) in preparation for that. I will definitely post before and after photos.
Friday, April 22, 2011
bruises are the best part of derby
On Sunday night's practice, I fell while doing a leaning drill (trying to push the other person out of bounds). I pushed her out of bounds and landed on her skate when we both fell. There's a beautiful, blue and purple bruise on my outer right thigh, about 1 inch in diameter.
I only have a crappy cell phone pic or else I would post it.
My sister actually was the one who told me that the bruises are the best part of derby. I'm not sure I agree with her, but I can tell you, that I've shown my bruise to a handful of coworkers, most of my teammates, and even the lady who sells cupcakes on the cupcake bus. I apparently have no shame when it comes to pulling down my pants to flash the bruise.
I have other bruises too, on my lower legs, likely from falling on my own skates. I have bruises that I don't recall getting. I also have a tender spot on my shoulder from where we practiced hitting.
On Monday's practice, I was able to use my left leg a lot more to push off on, and actually did my 25 in 5 using both feet. I am still coasting around the corners, but by using both feet, I was able to do 17.5 laps. That is my new personal best, and there are a few factors that I feel went in to achieving it. For one, I was pushing off on both feet which helped a lot because then my right leg wasn't getting tired from doing all the work. Another thing I feel helped was that I was keeping score for the scrimmage the veteran skaters were having, so I was off skates for the previous twenty-ish minutes. I think being warmed up and doing drills for a while, followed by a rest period, helped me to start the 25 in 5 with fresh legs so I didn't get as tired as fast as I normally do. This won't always be able to happen, since we tend to do it near the end of practices, but it is serving to boost my confidence. I'm sure that once I learn to do a crossover, and as I continue to build up my endurance, I will be able to do it and make it look as easy as some of the other girls do.
I only have a crappy cell phone pic or else I would post it.
My sister actually was the one who told me that the bruises are the best part of derby. I'm not sure I agree with her, but I can tell you, that I've shown my bruise to a handful of coworkers, most of my teammates, and even the lady who sells cupcakes on the cupcake bus. I apparently have no shame when it comes to pulling down my pants to flash the bruise.
I have other bruises too, on my lower legs, likely from falling on my own skates. I have bruises that I don't recall getting. I also have a tender spot on my shoulder from where we practiced hitting.
On Monday's practice, I was able to use my left leg a lot more to push off on, and actually did my 25 in 5 using both feet. I am still coasting around the corners, but by using both feet, I was able to do 17.5 laps. That is my new personal best, and there are a few factors that I feel went in to achieving it. For one, I was pushing off on both feet which helped a lot because then my right leg wasn't getting tired from doing all the work. Another thing I feel helped was that I was keeping score for the scrimmage the veteran skaters were having, so I was off skates for the previous twenty-ish minutes. I think being warmed up and doing drills for a while, followed by a rest period, helped me to start the 25 in 5 with fresh legs so I didn't get as tired as fast as I normally do. This won't always be able to happen, since we tend to do it near the end of practices, but it is serving to boost my confidence. I'm sure that once I learn to do a crossover, and as I continue to build up my endurance, I will be able to do it and make it look as easy as some of the other girls do.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Breakthroughs and fun stuff!!
Tonight I was determined to lift my left leg. As we were skating warm up laps I lifted it a few times but I couldn't figure out what to do with it after (serious duh moment). One of the other fresh meat girls congratulated me and when I said "yeah but what do I do now?" she matter-of-factly stated to just push off on it like I do with my right.
I still feel like I pushed more with my right leg, but throughout the night I used my left leg a lot.
Practice tonight was faster paced, and more intense than usual, and we were grouped together with the veteran skaters for the whole night. One of the best things about tonight was that we got to learn to hit! It was awesome to actually try to hit someone, and to land the hits! (When I say I hit, I mean shoulder checks and hip checks). As fun as it was, it was difficult to concentrate on all the little pieces that go into hitting- skating, keeping yourself low and keeping balance, maintaining speed with your partner, and landing a solid legal hit. (NO ELBOWS).But I know with practice I will be able to get it all together without having to think about each little part.
One thing I noticed is that I really need to work on my endurance. My legs are sorer than they have been after any previous practice, and I made myself take a few breaks during practice to rest them (as well as to drink more than a gallon of water). I don't know how some of the other skaters can make it through an entire practice with just a small water bottle. Maybe I need to start drinking a ton of water during the day before getting to practice.
Now I must go shower and put some icy hot on my legs.
I still feel like I pushed more with my right leg, but throughout the night I used my left leg a lot.
Practice tonight was faster paced, and more intense than usual, and we were grouped together with the veteran skaters for the whole night. One of the best things about tonight was that we got to learn to hit! It was awesome to actually try to hit someone, and to land the hits! (When I say I hit, I mean shoulder checks and hip checks). As fun as it was, it was difficult to concentrate on all the little pieces that go into hitting- skating, keeping yourself low and keeping balance, maintaining speed with your partner, and landing a solid legal hit. (NO ELBOWS).But I know with practice I will be able to get it all together without having to think about each little part.
One thing I noticed is that I really need to work on my endurance. My legs are sorer than they have been after any previous practice, and I made myself take a few breaks during practice to rest them (as well as to drink more than a gallon of water). I don't know how some of the other skaters can make it through an entire practice with just a small water bottle. Maybe I need to start drinking a ton of water during the day before getting to practice.
Now I must go shower and put some icy hot on my legs.
What's new?
So I figured out how to add blog lists in my side bars. I added the few derby blogs I follow as well as a few non-derby related links. I also changed my layout. I'm sure it will change more as time goes on, I want to find the perfect derby related picture to use as a background. But for now, I think I will experiment now and again with the layouts.
Also feel free to link to your own blog in the comments and I will add you to the list because I think it is really great to read about other people's derby experiences. Also, you will see that I follow the Hellions of Troy Blog. I suppose I should actually mention that that is the team I have joined. I am actually including a photo in this post (for the first time!)
Last Monday, The Hellions of Troy had a scrimmage with the CNY team (Central NY I think). During the scrimmage us fresh-meat gals got to observe various NSO positions. I spent the first half in the penalty box, watching the game and learning about timing penalties. I learned that both jammers can't be in the penalty box at the same time. Never knew that before.
For the second half I was an outside penalty catcher. This means I stood with a white board on the outside corner of the track, and if a ref needed to relay a penalty to the inside penalty catchers, he would tell me, I would write down the number of the player under their team initials, and write the code for the penalty and flash show it to the inside penalty catchers.
At the end of the scrimmage, I wrote down the score on the white board (The Hellions won!) My fellow Hellion, Short Temper, who blogs for the team, mentioned that my blog needs pictures (I agree). So she took a photo and sent it to me.
Without further ado, here is the first picture for this blog.
I promise that the next picture will be more derbyish. At this point I wasn't wearing any of my gear since we only skated warm-ups and the 25 in 5 before the scrimmage began.
Thursday's practice involved more actual skating. I opted not to NSO the regular scrimmage of the veteran skaters since I feel like I really need to practice as much as I can. I was able to lift my left leg for brief periods throughout practice, but I am definitely much stronger lifting my right leg. I think I need to attend an open skate session in between practices to really focus on getting my left leg up and getting my crossovers going.
I fell quite a lot on Thursday, and not just when we were practicing falls. During the 25 in 5, which is happening near the end of practice a lot more often, I fell, but I still managed to get 15.5 laps which considering the fall is pretty near my best of 16.75.
Overall, being on skates, being in derby position is getting a lot easier, and I amaze myself at how far I've come. But I still get frustrated sometimes with how far I have to go still. I really don't want to fill this blog with a bunch of "I can'ts" so I will make a list of the things I can do, that 2 months ago I had never tried.
I can skate around the track several times without falling (most days) :)
I can do swizzles
I can do a plow stop
I can do two-footed weaves between cones (slowly)
I can give and receive hip whips and arm whips (needs some improvement)
I can skate slowly shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip with a partner
I can fall on single knee, double knee, all fours and the baseball slide
I can get up from falls without using my hands
That's a longer list than I thought it would be. I plan to keep adding to it!
Also feel free to link to your own blog in the comments and I will add you to the list because I think it is really great to read about other people's derby experiences. Also, you will see that I follow the Hellions of Troy Blog. I suppose I should actually mention that that is the team I have joined. I am actually including a photo in this post (for the first time!)
Last Monday, The Hellions of Troy had a scrimmage with the CNY team (Central NY I think). During the scrimmage us fresh-meat gals got to observe various NSO positions. I spent the first half in the penalty box, watching the game and learning about timing penalties. I learned that both jammers can't be in the penalty box at the same time. Never knew that before.
For the second half I was an outside penalty catcher. This means I stood with a white board on the outside corner of the track, and if a ref needed to relay a penalty to the inside penalty catchers, he would tell me, I would write down the number of the player under their team initials, and write the code for the penalty and flash show it to the inside penalty catchers.
At the end of the scrimmage, I wrote down the score on the white board (The Hellions won!) My fellow Hellion, Short Temper, who blogs for the team, mentioned that my blog needs pictures (I agree). So she took a photo and sent it to me.
Without further ado, here is the first picture for this blog.
I promise that the next picture will be more derbyish. At this point I wasn't wearing any of my gear since we only skated warm-ups and the 25 in 5 before the scrimmage began.
Thursday's practice involved more actual skating. I opted not to NSO the regular scrimmage of the veteran skaters since I feel like I really need to practice as much as I can. I was able to lift my left leg for brief periods throughout practice, but I am definitely much stronger lifting my right leg. I think I need to attend an open skate session in between practices to really focus on getting my left leg up and getting my crossovers going.
I fell quite a lot on Thursday, and not just when we were practicing falls. During the 25 in 5, which is happening near the end of practice a lot more often, I fell, but I still managed to get 15.5 laps which considering the fall is pretty near my best of 16.75.
Overall, being on skates, being in derby position is getting a lot easier, and I amaze myself at how far I've come. But I still get frustrated sometimes with how far I have to go still. I really don't want to fill this blog with a bunch of "I can'ts" so I will make a list of the things I can do, that 2 months ago I had never tried.
I can skate around the track several times without falling (most days) :)
I can do swizzles
I can do a plow stop
I can do two-footed weaves between cones (slowly)
I can give and receive hip whips and arm whips (needs some improvement)
I can skate slowly shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip with a partner
I can fall on single knee, double knee, all fours and the baseball slide
I can get up from falls without using my hands
That's a longer list than I thought it would be. I plan to keep adding to it!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Derby vs Life
I feel like it has been forever since I have written here and yet it has only been 6 days. 6 very long days.
I have derby practice on Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights. Tuesdays and Wednesdays I usually do team trivia with my husband and our friends. Friday evenings all I want to do is come home and crash because Thursday's practice ends at 11, and by the time I get home and showered and unwind a bit, I don't get to bed until 1 and have to be up by 6 (at the latest) to leave for work by 7. Saturdays are my only 100% free day, and really, the only time I have to myself is the early morning (since I go to bed so early on Friday night). We usually do end up having some other plans. (Tonight its a poker game).
Derby seems to be taking over my life. Don't get me wrong, I knew what I was getting into when I signed up for this, but just in case anyone is reading this and thinking they can handle the time commitment of practices and the rest of life will just go on as normal, you might be right, but you might be wrong.
The time commitment is not a problem for me. Before derby I spent those three evenings a week doing laundry or just vegging on the couch being lazy. Or going to bed early. There's been an adjustment to my sleep schedule, but that coincided with a change to my work schedule so the only really tough day is Fridays, as I mentioned above.
If you're like me, someone who thought they were in relatively ok shape but wasn't really working out or actively doing anything to get there, you are in for a rude awakening. Spending 2 hours on skates, 3 times a night, is an awesome work out, and I feel fabulous when I finish, but the next day (or 2 or 3) my legs and back are sore! My knees and ankles are stiff. Its nothing I can't handle, but its definitely noticeable. And then there are the bruises. I fall a lot. Thursday I feel like I spent more time on my butt than I did on my wheels.
I know that as I get in better shape, I won't hurt as much, but for now I am so lucky to be able to spend my down time resting and recovering. I have infinite amounts of respect for the girls who start their derby journey as moms. My friend in Canada (Lucy Purr) has a three year old at home. I cannot imagine coming home from practice, bruised and sore, just wanting to shower and curl up in bed, and having a child to deal with. One of the things my husband likes about me joining derby is that I got off his back about us having kids sometime soon. I still want kids, always have, but I figured I'd learn derby, get into some kind of shape and then have kids in a couple years. I don't want to just get comfortable on skates and then have to be out for a year to be pregnant and have a baby. I'd like this to be something that becomes a part of my life for a long time.
Anyway, I'll write more about the practices this week in another post.
I have derby practice on Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights. Tuesdays and Wednesdays I usually do team trivia with my husband and our friends. Friday evenings all I want to do is come home and crash because Thursday's practice ends at 11, and by the time I get home and showered and unwind a bit, I don't get to bed until 1 and have to be up by 6 (at the latest) to leave for work by 7. Saturdays are my only 100% free day, and really, the only time I have to myself is the early morning (since I go to bed so early on Friday night). We usually do end up having some other plans. (Tonight its a poker game).
Derby seems to be taking over my life. Don't get me wrong, I knew what I was getting into when I signed up for this, but just in case anyone is reading this and thinking they can handle the time commitment of practices and the rest of life will just go on as normal, you might be right, but you might be wrong.
The time commitment is not a problem for me. Before derby I spent those three evenings a week doing laundry or just vegging on the couch being lazy. Or going to bed early. There's been an adjustment to my sleep schedule, but that coincided with a change to my work schedule so the only really tough day is Fridays, as I mentioned above.
If you're like me, someone who thought they were in relatively ok shape but wasn't really working out or actively doing anything to get there, you are in for a rude awakening. Spending 2 hours on skates, 3 times a night, is an awesome work out, and I feel fabulous when I finish, but the next day (or 2 or 3) my legs and back are sore! My knees and ankles are stiff. Its nothing I can't handle, but its definitely noticeable. And then there are the bruises. I fall a lot. Thursday I feel like I spent more time on my butt than I did on my wheels.
I know that as I get in better shape, I won't hurt as much, but for now I am so lucky to be able to spend my down time resting and recovering. I have infinite amounts of respect for the girls who start their derby journey as moms. My friend in Canada (Lucy Purr) has a three year old at home. I cannot imagine coming home from practice, bruised and sore, just wanting to shower and curl up in bed, and having a child to deal with. One of the things my husband likes about me joining derby is that I got off his back about us having kids sometime soon. I still want kids, always have, but I figured I'd learn derby, get into some kind of shape and then have kids in a couple years. I don't want to just get comfortable on skates and then have to be out for a year to be pregnant and have a baby. I'd like this to be something that becomes a part of my life for a long time.
Anyway, I'll write more about the practices this week in another post.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Highs and Lows
Sunday night's practice was a roller coaster of sorts.
It started off as always, with a few warm up laps, during which I was actually able to lift up my left foot a couple of times. I still haven't figured out how to push off with my left foot, but just being able to lift it up was great, even if it was only for a couple of seconds at a time.
One of the drills we did was leaning against another skater. I partnered up with one of the veteran skaters who I am in awe of. She is my derby idol. She makes it all look so easy, but she is super nice and helpful too. Anyway, so we were shoulder to shoulder, leaning against each other, skating around the track. The purpose of this is to try to direct the other person. If you were in a pack situation, you would want to have the advantage. A couple of times I actually tried to push my partner out of bounds, and succeeded! It was awesome.
However, on one of those pushes, our skates sort of collided and my toe stop ended up falling out. When I was trying to put it back in, I discovered that the part it screws into was broken. I ended up having to unlace my skate to take my toe guard off so it wouldn't be flapping all over the place, and then I rejoined the group.
The rest of practice was ok. We did some whips which are always fun, even tho I fell a couple times because I was going so fast. We did the dreaded 25 in 5 which felt even harder tonight and I wasn't able to beat my best but I kept going.
After that, it was pretty much the end of practice, but the coach wanted us all to do a few drills to work on stance. the first was the grapevine (where you cross your leg in front of you on one step and then behind you on the next step). The next was galloping and the last was galloping while getting your feet to touch in the middle. We were to do each drill across the rink and back again.
Well, I never got to either of the galloping drills because I was still on my way across the rink with the grapevines by the time everyone else finished. Two of the girls came over to see me and I ended up having a breakdown. I was just getting so frustrated. They both said they would stay with me and finish my grapevines with me. It was really awesome to have their support.
I know there are going to be more times like this, where I feel so frustrated, but if there is anywhere to have those feelings, derby is definitely the place. The girls are all so supportive. They've all been there before. Getting your body to do some of the things we have to do would be hard enough to do off skates!
I'm also really thankful to have one of my fellow fresh meat girls be super supportive. She comes to derby from a hockey background, and I can tell she is going to be an awesome jammer one day. I drive her in to practice on Sundays and tonight on our way home, she reminded me how far I've come already. She also mentioned that I work harder than anyone else.
I have to keep reminding myself that 6 weeks ago I had never been on skates. my first night on a roller rink I was on my ass more than on my feet. 3 weeks ago I wasn't able to get up without using my hands. now I can. I'm really glad I'm keeping this blog as documentation of my journey. Hopefully it will help out some other new skater some day.
It started off as always, with a few warm up laps, during which I was actually able to lift up my left foot a couple of times. I still haven't figured out how to push off with my left foot, but just being able to lift it up was great, even if it was only for a couple of seconds at a time.
One of the drills we did was leaning against another skater. I partnered up with one of the veteran skaters who I am in awe of. She is my derby idol. She makes it all look so easy, but she is super nice and helpful too. Anyway, so we were shoulder to shoulder, leaning against each other, skating around the track. The purpose of this is to try to direct the other person. If you were in a pack situation, you would want to have the advantage. A couple of times I actually tried to push my partner out of bounds, and succeeded! It was awesome.
However, on one of those pushes, our skates sort of collided and my toe stop ended up falling out. When I was trying to put it back in, I discovered that the part it screws into was broken. I ended up having to unlace my skate to take my toe guard off so it wouldn't be flapping all over the place, and then I rejoined the group.
The rest of practice was ok. We did some whips which are always fun, even tho I fell a couple times because I was going so fast. We did the dreaded 25 in 5 which felt even harder tonight and I wasn't able to beat my best but I kept going.
After that, it was pretty much the end of practice, but the coach wanted us all to do a few drills to work on stance. the first was the grapevine (where you cross your leg in front of you on one step and then behind you on the next step). The next was galloping and the last was galloping while getting your feet to touch in the middle. We were to do each drill across the rink and back again.
Well, I never got to either of the galloping drills because I was still on my way across the rink with the grapevines by the time everyone else finished. Two of the girls came over to see me and I ended up having a breakdown. I was just getting so frustrated. They both said they would stay with me and finish my grapevines with me. It was really awesome to have their support.
I know there are going to be more times like this, where I feel so frustrated, but if there is anywhere to have those feelings, derby is definitely the place. The girls are all so supportive. They've all been there before. Getting your body to do some of the things we have to do would be hard enough to do off skates!
I'm also really thankful to have one of my fellow fresh meat girls be super supportive. She comes to derby from a hockey background, and I can tell she is going to be an awesome jammer one day. I drive her in to practice on Sundays and tonight on our way home, she reminded me how far I've come already. She also mentioned that I work harder than anyone else.
I have to keep reminding myself that 6 weeks ago I had never been on skates. my first night on a roller rink I was on my ass more than on my feet. 3 weeks ago I wasn't able to get up without using my hands. now I can. I'm really glad I'm keeping this blog as documentation of my journey. Hopefully it will help out some other new skater some day.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Who Am I - Nice Girl vs Tough Chick
So, in case you missed it in previous posts or in the description of myself, I'm Canadian! This means I was raised to apologize a lot- even for things that aren't necessarily my fault. If we were in a crowded elevator, and you stepped on my foot, I would say sorry because my foot was in your way. However, one of the things the girls keep saying is "There's No SORRY in Derby!" I've heard it a lot lately, but last night's practice I heard it more, because I kept saying sorry for being in the way of another girl while we were stretching and doing drills.
If you asked ten (non-derby) friends of mine, to give you one adjective describing me, seven or eight of them would say NICE! I've just always been a nice girl. If you are my friend I will move Heaven and Earth for you. I've always put other people before myself, and maybe in some ways that isn't a great thing, but I was raised that way. We didn't have much, but my mom was always willing to share. Our house was so full of laughter and love from my mom's friends, that we kids didn't realize how much we didn't have. We always had friends and that was what mattered.
The philosophy behind "No Sorry in Derby" is simple. You shouldn't say sorry for hitting a teammate hard during practice, because you are supposed to be hitting them hard. You wouldn't say sorry to a girl on the opposing team would you? Hell No- you'd knock her flat and keep going.
I don't think that I will have a problem in that department, its just in general. I am nice. I will apologize. I just need to cut back on it at derby practice. I'm sure I'll continue to apologize to random strangers when we both turn the corner in the grocery store and bump carts, or when some idiot cuts me off (sorry I was in your way), but in derby, I'll just shove you out of the way and go on with what I was trying to do.
If you asked ten (non-derby) friends of mine, to give you one adjective describing me, seven or eight of them would say NICE! I've just always been a nice girl. If you are my friend I will move Heaven and Earth for you. I've always put other people before myself, and maybe in some ways that isn't a great thing, but I was raised that way. We didn't have much, but my mom was always willing to share. Our house was so full of laughter and love from my mom's friends, that we kids didn't realize how much we didn't have. We always had friends and that was what mattered.
The philosophy behind "No Sorry in Derby" is simple. You shouldn't say sorry for hitting a teammate hard during practice, because you are supposed to be hitting them hard. You wouldn't say sorry to a girl on the opposing team would you? Hell No- you'd knock her flat and keep going.
I don't think that I will have a problem in that department, its just in general. I am nice. I will apologize. I just need to cut back on it at derby practice. I'm sure I'll continue to apologize to random strangers when we both turn the corner in the grocery store and bump carts, or when some idiot cuts me off (sorry I was in your way), but in derby, I'll just shove you out of the way and go on with what I was trying to do.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
ooh derby make it hurt so good!
On Thursday I was suffering from the head cold from hell, so I didn't skate. I still attended practice, and I NSO'd the scrimmage the veteran skaters had, but I just knew I wouldn't be able to skate.
That meant that tonight was my first time on skates in almost a week. It felt weird, but it also felt so good.
We practiced more falls tonight, which was great and I was able to get up on my weaker leg without using my hands. YAY for small victories.
I also had an opportunity to practice my crossovers, which I am slowly getting better at. I was able to actually cross my right leg in front of my left and then transfer my weight to my right leg but after that I didn't know what to do with my left leg. I'm sure I will get better at it with more practice.
Tonight we also did a couple of the most exhilarating things I've been a part of so far: Whips and push cars.
We began by skating in a pace line- each girl an arms length behind the next one. We wove our way between each other so the skater at the back of the line became the leader. After that, we used whips to propel us. There are two different kind of whips- hip whips and arm whips.
For hip whips, you grab the girl's hips and pull yourself around her, while sort of pushing her behind you. The speed you get from this is awesome.
But you get even more speed from arm whips. The skater who you are getting the whip from, stretches her arm out for you to grab. You hold onto her wrist and elbow, and she pulls you forward. These give you amazing speed!!
Push cars was a drill we did where we all got in a pace line, but grabbed each others hips, and the person at the back had to push the group like a train. It wasn't very difficult to be the pusher, and it felt so fast when some of the stronger girls were pushing us!
On another note, I did fall a few times on my bottom tonight. I definitely think I need to invest in some padded shorts because I feel that it is only a matter of time until I injure my tailbone. I really need to try to prevent that.
That meant that tonight was my first time on skates in almost a week. It felt weird, but it also felt so good.
We practiced more falls tonight, which was great and I was able to get up on my weaker leg without using my hands. YAY for small victories.
I also had an opportunity to practice my crossovers, which I am slowly getting better at. I was able to actually cross my right leg in front of my left and then transfer my weight to my right leg but after that I didn't know what to do with my left leg. I'm sure I will get better at it with more practice.
Tonight we also did a couple of the most exhilarating things I've been a part of so far: Whips and push cars.
We began by skating in a pace line- each girl an arms length behind the next one. We wove our way between each other so the skater at the back of the line became the leader. After that, we used whips to propel us. There are two different kind of whips- hip whips and arm whips.
For hip whips, you grab the girl's hips and pull yourself around her, while sort of pushing her behind you. The speed you get from this is awesome.
But you get even more speed from arm whips. The skater who you are getting the whip from, stretches her arm out for you to grab. You hold onto her wrist and elbow, and she pulls you forward. These give you amazing speed!!
Push cars was a drill we did where we all got in a pace line, but grabbed each others hips, and the person at the back had to push the group like a train. It wasn't very difficult to be the pusher, and it felt so fast when some of the stronger girls were pushing us!
On another note, I did fall a few times on my bottom tonight. I definitely think I need to invest in some padded shorts because I feel that it is only a matter of time until I injure my tailbone. I really need to try to prevent that.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
practice recap & blog referrals
Tonight I was late to practice due to a staff meeting at work. I honestly debated not going since I hadn't been feeling great today, and I was still sore from yesterday's practice, but I sucked it up and went anyway. We practiced a few falls and I worked on trying to get up on my weaker leg (still darn near impossible). Then, we did the dreaded 25 in 5, in which you attempt to skate 25 laps in 5 minutes. I managed to get 16 3/4 laps, out doing my personal best of 14 1/2. Slowly but surely I am getting there! Once I can manage to figure out cross-overs I know I will improve faster.
After that, the skating part of practice was over, since they needed more people to NSO the scrimmage the veteran skaters were doing. NSO= non-skating official.
It was really cool to watch a scrimmage from inside the track. I got to learn how to keep score. Thankfully I was able to take my skates off, because spinning around trying to keep my eyes on my jam-ref was dizzying! I really learned a lot more about the game, and I look forward to future NSO opportunities.
Now onto some blog referrals.
A friend of mine back home in Canada, joined her local derby league just a few weeks before me. She, unfortunately, broke her tailbone on her first night. But she has not given up, and in fact, spent her time off skates, learning how to NSO. I mention this, because she has just started her own derby blog (and I have to say, based on the single entry so far, it is more entertaining than mine!)
You can find her blog here: http://bruisedandlovingit.blogspot.com/
Please stop by and give it a look.
I was also pointed in the direction of another blog, by one of my teammates.
http://www.theroadtorollergirl.com/ I just read the entire blog in the last hour or so. Its another story of a girl's journey into the roller derby world. She has just past fresh meat status so I will continue to read her blog as a sort of sign of things to come.
After that, the skating part of practice was over, since they needed more people to NSO the scrimmage the veteran skaters were doing. NSO= non-skating official.
It was really cool to watch a scrimmage from inside the track. I got to learn how to keep score. Thankfully I was able to take my skates off, because spinning around trying to keep my eyes on my jam-ref was dizzying! I really learned a lot more about the game, and I look forward to future NSO opportunities.
Now onto some blog referrals.
A friend of mine back home in Canada, joined her local derby league just a few weeks before me. She, unfortunately, broke her tailbone on her first night. But she has not given up, and in fact, spent her time off skates, learning how to NSO. I mention this, because she has just started her own derby blog (and I have to say, based on the single entry so far, it is more entertaining than mine!)
You can find her blog here: http://bruisedandlovingit.blogspot.com/
Please stop by and give it a look.
I was also pointed in the direction of another blog, by one of my teammates.
http://www.theroadtorollergirl.com/ I just read the entire blog in the last hour or so. Its another story of a girl's journey into the roller derby world. She has just past fresh meat status so I will continue to read her blog as a sort of sign of things to come.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
practicing falling means practicing getting up
Today we practiced more falls. This means I practiced getting up a lot too. If you read my last post, you know that I had to use my hands to get up. Well, I had a breakthough today.
We've been told that it is more stable to get up on your toe stops, which I cannot do without using my hands. The angle just doesn't seem to work for me. Today I was able to balance on the wheels of my skate and get myself up without putting my hands down. So far I can only do it with my left foot down and pushing up on my right leg, and this has resulted in my right quad muscle being very sore from repeatedly pushing up on it.
I know I'll have to practice more with the other leg and eventually I'm sure I'll be able to get strong enough to do it just fine with either leg.
For now tho, its time to take some Advil and get some rest. There's another practice tomorrow night!
We've been told that it is more stable to get up on your toe stops, which I cannot do without using my hands. The angle just doesn't seem to work for me. Today I was able to balance on the wheels of my skate and get myself up without putting my hands down. So far I can only do it with my left foot down and pushing up on my right leg, and this has resulted in my right quad muscle being very sore from repeatedly pushing up on it.
I know I'll have to practice more with the other leg and eventually I'm sure I'll be able to get strong enough to do it just fine with either leg.
For now tho, its time to take some Advil and get some rest. There's another practice tomorrow night!
Friday, March 25, 2011
First Practice with my gear!
Let me start off by saying, that after practicing for 2 full weeks without gear, practicing with gear feels a thousand times hotter. My head was drenched in sweat! (I'm gonna have to wear a bandana under my helmet like some of the other girls do)
Stepping onto the rink in my own skates, with my new wheels, I instantly felt more stable than while wearing the rental skates. The wheels I got were recommended by a few of the girls on my team for being a wheel with a lot of grip, but also with speed. I definitely noticed a difference between them and the rental skates.
I am in love with my wrist guards and my elbow pads (although I'll definitely have to wear some kind of sock under the elbow pads because I'm already getting some irritation from the sweat.)
My knee pads required some tweaking. The pad itself is the perfect size, but the straps that fasten behind the knee were a wee bit small. I'm told they will stretch over time, but in order to make them work tonight, I had to buy some velcro strips to connect the pieces. Then the outer straps fastened just fine over them, but I noticed as the night wore on that the pads became looser so hopefully I'll be able to go without the extra velcro next time I try.
The difficult thing about the knee pads, is crossing your legs while wearing them.
This is problematic for me, as crossing my legs is hard enough to do in skates, although I have been getting better. But it is definitely going to take some practice to cross my legs around these giant knee pads!
The awesome thing about knee pads tho, is falling on them! Tonight we practiced some different falls. (single knee, double knee, and single knee 180s). The falling is the easy part. Getting up (in 2 seconds, without using hands) is the EXTREMELY HARD part!
I can get up, but it takes me a lot longer than 2 seconds, and as hard as I try, I can't do it without my hands. This is bad, because in a real derby situation you do not want your fingers on the track (someone could skate right over them).
I know that with practice I will get better. I already have improved since the first practice when I couldn't even get up without using the wall.
Tonight, getting up was made further difficult by the fact that my toe stops were coming loose, so trying to stand on them while getting up was nearly impossible. Thankfully one of the other girls had a wrench and was able to help me tighten them, so it shouldn't be a problem in the future.
That's pretty much all I've got to say for now. My brain is exhausted so it must be time for bed!
Stepping onto the rink in my own skates, with my new wheels, I instantly felt more stable than while wearing the rental skates. The wheels I got were recommended by a few of the girls on my team for being a wheel with a lot of grip, but also with speed. I definitely noticed a difference between them and the rental skates.
I am in love with my wrist guards and my elbow pads (although I'll definitely have to wear some kind of sock under the elbow pads because I'm already getting some irritation from the sweat.)
My knee pads required some tweaking. The pad itself is the perfect size, but the straps that fasten behind the knee were a wee bit small. I'm told they will stretch over time, but in order to make them work tonight, I had to buy some velcro strips to connect the pieces. Then the outer straps fastened just fine over them, but I noticed as the night wore on that the pads became looser so hopefully I'll be able to go without the extra velcro next time I try.
The difficult thing about the knee pads, is crossing your legs while wearing them.
This is problematic for me, as crossing my legs is hard enough to do in skates, although I have been getting better. But it is definitely going to take some practice to cross my legs around these giant knee pads!
The awesome thing about knee pads tho, is falling on them! Tonight we practiced some different falls. (single knee, double knee, and single knee 180s). The falling is the easy part. Getting up (in 2 seconds, without using hands) is the EXTREMELY HARD part!
I can get up, but it takes me a lot longer than 2 seconds, and as hard as I try, I can't do it without my hands. This is bad, because in a real derby situation you do not want your fingers on the track (someone could skate right over them).
I know that with practice I will get better. I already have improved since the first practice when I couldn't even get up without using the wall.
Tonight, getting up was made further difficult by the fact that my toe stops were coming loose, so trying to stand on them while getting up was nearly impossible. Thankfully one of the other girls had a wrench and was able to help me tighten them, so it shouldn't be a problem in the future.
That's pretty much all I've got to say for now. My brain is exhausted so it must be time for bed!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
MY GEAR!
Just a short post to say that I got my gear delivered today!
Its all shiny and new and clean. When I get access to a decent camera I will take pics of all of it, and maybe of me in it, and post it on here! :)
Its all shiny and new and clean. When I get access to a decent camera I will take pics of all of it, and maybe of me in it, and post it on here! :)
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Getting Better
I'm not gonna lie to you, derby is hard work. For the first several minutes of each practice I am unsteady and unbalanced. I have to continuously remind myself to get into derby stance: bend knees, straighten my back, and get low! It's a lot to remember and it definitely feels unnatural at first, but once I've done a few laps I start to feel more comfortable in it and I am confident that in time it won't be something I have to think about, it will just naturally be how I move.
Tonight we got to pair up with the more experienced skaters to work on a few skills. I find it really helpful to have the one-on-one time with the other girls who all have different ways of explaining how to do a certain move. It's interesting to hear their thought processes because not everyone thinks the same way and sometimes the things they tell you just click and it makes it so much easier to understand how to do a certain move (even if I still can't actually DO the move, at least I am figuring out HOW TO do it).
I feel like we also did a lot of squats tonight, but maybe that was just because we did them in between our sidestepping which also involves a lot of thigh muscle use. I am definitely getting better at them. The first day we did squats I was so wobbly on my skates that I opted to do them on my toe stops, which gave me some more balance initially, but was much more difficult to hold (since I also wasn't getting low enough). Today, after 2 weeks of derby-ing, I am much more stable and steady on my skates. I can squat with the rest of the girls, without feeling wobbly. Sure my thighs burn while we do it, but that's the point.
I did fall a few times tonight, while practicing stops mostly. I landed on my elbow a couple of times and am going to have a nasty bruise. It's been a week since I ordered my gear, and I can't wait for it to get here!! I am so excited to have it all. I feel like it will give me magic super powers or something! Like I'll strap on the knee pads and elbow pads, buckle up the pink helmet and put in the magic mouth guard and all of a sudden I'll be the best derby girl ever! HA! I do know that it will give me more confidence and make me push myself to try more things because it'll take away most of the fear of injury. I won't have the gear for tomorrow's practice because even if it does get delivered, I won't be home to get it before practice. But hopefully I will have it for Thursday's practice. I'm so looking forward to it!!!
Tonight we got to pair up with the more experienced skaters to work on a few skills. I find it really helpful to have the one-on-one time with the other girls who all have different ways of explaining how to do a certain move. It's interesting to hear their thought processes because not everyone thinks the same way and sometimes the things they tell you just click and it makes it so much easier to understand how to do a certain move (even if I still can't actually DO the move, at least I am figuring out HOW TO do it).
I feel like we also did a lot of squats tonight, but maybe that was just because we did them in between our sidestepping which also involves a lot of thigh muscle use. I am definitely getting better at them. The first day we did squats I was so wobbly on my skates that I opted to do them on my toe stops, which gave me some more balance initially, but was much more difficult to hold (since I also wasn't getting low enough). Today, after 2 weeks of derby-ing, I am much more stable and steady on my skates. I can squat with the rest of the girls, without feeling wobbly. Sure my thighs burn while we do it, but that's the point.
I did fall a few times tonight, while practicing stops mostly. I landed on my elbow a couple of times and am going to have a nasty bruise. It's been a week since I ordered my gear, and I can't wait for it to get here!! I am so excited to have it all. I feel like it will give me magic super powers or something! Like I'll strap on the knee pads and elbow pads, buckle up the pink helmet and put in the magic mouth guard and all of a sudden I'll be the best derby girl ever! HA! I do know that it will give me more confidence and make me push myself to try more things because it'll take away most of the fear of injury. I won't have the gear for tomorrow's practice because even if it does get delivered, I won't be home to get it before practice. But hopefully I will have it for Thursday's practice. I'm so looking forward to it!!!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
On Not Giving Up
During the recruitment night, we were told "You get out of this what you put into it."
These are very important words. If I want to improve I have to keep practicing, keep trying, make changes to the rest of my life to assist me in becoming better at this.
So far that has meant that I have adjusted my work schedule to allow me to still get a functioning amount of sleep on two of the three nights of derby practices, I've begun to eat healthier and am trying to go to the gym more.
I'll be honest here, I know I'm overweight, I always have been, but I thought I was in relatively OK shape considering. One thing derby has taught me is that I was dead wrong on that front.
My abs and thighs and calves get so sore after each practice, but I know I need to do more to help strengthen them.
On Thursday night, we were practicing walking sideways in our skates. We walked across the width of the rink and back side stepping, and the next drill was side stepping but crossing your leg in front of your other leg one one step, and then crossing it behind the leg on the next step. Now for me, walking in skates is pretty awkward. I was the slowest of the group, but I kept going. I tried to keep my head up, looking at a point on the wall across the rink, although I admit I did occasionally drop my eyes to the floor. I kept my knees bent,(for balance) and didn't worry about being fast, I just worried about getting it done.
By the time I began my crossover steps, the other girls were on their way to being finished with theirs, but I kept going. My calf muscles were shaking. As I started to make my way back, I felt tears come to my eyes. I was frustrated that I was having so much difficulty with a seemingly easy task, but I took a deep breath and I made myself finish.
I could've given up, skated over to the group, and continued on to the next drill, but what would I have learned from that? I'm sure there are going to be much tougher things ahead of me on this journey, and if I give up on a drill how does that prepare me for the real tough sports situations??
It doesn't! And that's why I will never give up, even when I am crying and my legs are shaking and I don't feel like it, I will keep going.
These are very important words. If I want to improve I have to keep practicing, keep trying, make changes to the rest of my life to assist me in becoming better at this.
So far that has meant that I have adjusted my work schedule to allow me to still get a functioning amount of sleep on two of the three nights of derby practices, I've begun to eat healthier and am trying to go to the gym more.
I'll be honest here, I know I'm overweight, I always have been, but I thought I was in relatively OK shape considering. One thing derby has taught me is that I was dead wrong on that front.
My abs and thighs and calves get so sore after each practice, but I know I need to do more to help strengthen them.
On Thursday night, we were practicing walking sideways in our skates. We walked across the width of the rink and back side stepping, and the next drill was side stepping but crossing your leg in front of your other leg one one step, and then crossing it behind the leg on the next step. Now for me, walking in skates is pretty awkward. I was the slowest of the group, but I kept going. I tried to keep my head up, looking at a point on the wall across the rink, although I admit I did occasionally drop my eyes to the floor. I kept my knees bent,(for balance) and didn't worry about being fast, I just worried about getting it done.
By the time I began my crossover steps, the other girls were on their way to being finished with theirs, but I kept going. My calf muscles were shaking. As I started to make my way back, I felt tears come to my eyes. I was frustrated that I was having so much difficulty with a seemingly easy task, but I took a deep breath and I made myself finish.
I could've given up, skated over to the group, and continued on to the next drill, but what would I have learned from that? I'm sure there are going to be much tougher things ahead of me on this journey, and if I give up on a drill how does that prepare me for the real tough sports situations??
It doesn't! And that's why I will never give up, even when I am crying and my legs are shaking and I don't feel like it, I will keep going.
Friday, March 18, 2011
How to locate your abs!
If you are like me, you have probably wondered a time or two where your abs are hiding under your layers of flab. Well I have found the best way for you to locate your abs. Lace up a pair of roller skates. Lay on your back on the floor, put your legs up in front of you and begin to move them as though you were riding a bicycle. At the same time, lace your hands behind your head, and lean forwards (as though you were doing a crunch), turning so that your elbow touches the opposite knee. Repeat in 30 second intervals 2-3 times over a practice. You will definitely find your abs!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Fresh Meat and Derby Names
One of the coolest things about joining derby is choosing your derby name. You want a name that represents who you are, but that also is either tough, or sexy or funny.
For a complete list of derby names go here: http://twoevils.org/rollergirls/
Before you are allowed to skate in a bout, you must submit your name to the above list. You may be denied if your name is too close to someone else's, but keep thinking and try to come up with something creative and unique.
In my league, when you first join you are considered "Fresh Meat" and are not able to compete for 3 months, or until you can successfully pass the WFTDA (Women's Flat Track Derby Association) minimum skills test. Once you pass the test, you can submit your chosen name and number to your team (and the two evils site).
In the meantime, Fresh Meat on my team are assigned "meat names" by our "meat mistress" (new player coach). If a player is vegan or vegetarian they get a meat alternative name.
On Sunday night, we were assigned our meat names. I can't tell you how excited I am to write my meat name on the back of my tank top and to emblazon it on my helmet with sparkly stickers!
For the next three months (or longer if need be) I shall wear my meat name proudly, until such a time as I get to choose my own name.
For a complete list of derby names go here: http://twoevils.org/rollergirls/
Before you are allowed to skate in a bout, you must submit your name to the above list. You may be denied if your name is too close to someone else's, but keep thinking and try to come up with something creative and unique.
In my league, when you first join you are considered "Fresh Meat" and are not able to compete for 3 months, or until you can successfully pass the WFTDA (Women's Flat Track Derby Association) minimum skills test. Once you pass the test, you can submit your chosen name and number to your team (and the two evils site).
In the meantime, Fresh Meat on my team are assigned "meat names" by our "meat mistress" (new player coach). If a player is vegan or vegetarian they get a meat alternative name.
On Sunday night, we were assigned our meat names. I can't tell you how excited I am to write my meat name on the back of my tank top and to emblazon it on my helmet with sparkly stickers!
For the next three months (or longer if need be) I shall wear my meat name proudly, until such a time as I get to choose my own name.
Ordering Gear
Roller Derby is a dangerous sport.
In my few practices so far, all I've had for protective gear are the wrist guards I bought after I first went skating back in late February. I'm thankful I had those, because I have sure fallen a lot.
One of the things we will learn in an upcoming practice is proper falling technique. Because you are propelling yourself forward, most of the time you should be falling forward, onto your knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards. However, if you are without protective gear, falling on your ass, where there is padding, is advisable. Just try to fall either left or right so as to avoid injuring your tailbone.
On Sunday night, when I found out I would in fact be a member of the team, I went ahead and placed my order for my gear online. Where I live, there aren't much in the way of skate shops. You can find a few things, but if you are looking to get all your gear at once, it is best to look online. I won't list a specific shop here, but you can google "derby gear" or something similar and you should find plenty of places. Your local league will likely have some suggestions on where to order, and may even have some discount codes for you.
The MINIMUM gear you will need is:
helmet, knee pads, wrist guards, elbow pads, mouth guard, and your skates.
You may also want to purchase some padded shorts for added hip/butt protection especially if you are a new skater.
Also, talk to your league about skates and wheels. If you are going to stick with derby for a while, you don't want to go cheap. Talk to the girls in your league and see if you can try on some of their gear to see if you like the way it fits and feels. That way you can order a brand you'll be comfortable with.
I haven't gotten my gear yet, but when I do I plan to take pictures and post them here!
In my few practices so far, all I've had for protective gear are the wrist guards I bought after I first went skating back in late February. I'm thankful I had those, because I have sure fallen a lot.
One of the things we will learn in an upcoming practice is proper falling technique. Because you are propelling yourself forward, most of the time you should be falling forward, onto your knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards. However, if you are without protective gear, falling on your ass, where there is padding, is advisable. Just try to fall either left or right so as to avoid injuring your tailbone.
On Sunday night, when I found out I would in fact be a member of the team, I went ahead and placed my order for my gear online. Where I live, there aren't much in the way of skate shops. You can find a few things, but if you are looking to get all your gear at once, it is best to look online. I won't list a specific shop here, but you can google "derby gear" or something similar and you should find plenty of places. Your local league will likely have some suggestions on where to order, and may even have some discount codes for you.
The MINIMUM gear you will need is:
helmet, knee pads, wrist guards, elbow pads, mouth guard, and your skates.
You may also want to purchase some padded shorts for added hip/butt protection especially if you are a new skater.
Also, talk to your league about skates and wheels. If you are going to stick with derby for a while, you don't want to go cheap. Talk to the girls in your league and see if you can try on some of their gear to see if you like the way it fits and feels. That way you can order a brand you'll be comfortable with.
I haven't gotten my gear yet, but when I do I plan to take pictures and post them here!
Joining the Team
At the recruitment meeting we learned about the basic skills necessary for joining, the type of gear we would need, the time and financial commitment necessary to join and we were even able to strap on some skates and try a few things.
It was a bit intimidating at times to see these confident, powerful, beautiful women doing things on skates I didn't think I could ever do. But it was so exciting to be there and have the idea be "real."
The recruitment manager told us we were all welcome to come to the next three practices, to see if we would really want to join. She said it was something that you need to be sure of since it isn't a cheap sport to start in, and there of course some dangers.
Over the course of the next three practices we learned a lot of basic "derby-skating" techniques, practiced various steps, stretches and fitness exercises and talked a lot with the veteran skaters. My stomach, and thigh muscles have never felt so sore.
On that 3rd practice we were evaluated as to our basic skills and even though some of us (myself included) did not necessarily meet the standards, they still made the team based on effort, attitude and willingness to try.
In my experience so far, derby girls are a very accepting group. The girls on the team are of all shapes and sizes, ages and from many different backgrounds. I may be one of the most out of shape girls on the team now, but I am sure with my 3 2-hr practices each week I will soon be in the best shape I've been in a long time.
It was a bit intimidating at times to see these confident, powerful, beautiful women doing things on skates I didn't think I could ever do. But it was so exciting to be there and have the idea be "real."
The recruitment manager told us we were all welcome to come to the next three practices, to see if we would really want to join. She said it was something that you need to be sure of since it isn't a cheap sport to start in, and there of course some dangers.
Over the course of the next three practices we learned a lot of basic "derby-skating" techniques, practiced various steps, stretches and fitness exercises and talked a lot with the veteran skaters. My stomach, and thigh muscles have never felt so sore.
On that 3rd practice we were evaluated as to our basic skills and even though some of us (myself included) did not necessarily meet the standards, they still made the team based on effort, attitude and willingness to try.
In my experience so far, derby girls are a very accepting group. The girls on the team are of all shapes and sizes, ages and from many different backgrounds. I may be one of the most out of shape girls on the team now, but I am sure with my 3 2-hr practices each week I will soon be in the best shape I've been in a long time.
And so it begins
A few weeks ago, due to a number of factors, I got the crazy idea in my head that I wanted to join roller derby. A couple of years back my much thinner and fitter sister, joined her local roller derby team and it sounded like she had a lot of fun. I never really gave it much thought at the time, thinking that I would never roller skate on traditional quad roller skates (as opposed to inline skates).
Fast forward to a few months ago, I watched the movie "Whip It" and thought it was awesome. (I've been in love with the acting skills of Ms Ellen Page since "Juno" and any film with Drew Barrymore is amazing in my opinion).
Then, about a month ago, a friend of mine posted on her LJ that she was planning to join her local roller derby league.
I had been thinking for a while about starting a serious (this time) weight loss / get healthy mission. I also thought that it was time that I met some friends that were not either coworkers or my husband's friends first.
So one day I looked up the times for open skate at my local skating rink. I posted on facebook to see if anyone would want to join me. A friend of mine did. Before we went, I watched a few e-how videos on how to "derby skate."
The day came and I met my friend at the rink. We laced up our rental skates and the moment I stepped onto the wooden track, I fell flat on my ass. I got myself up, shook myself off, and skated around the track tentatively. Growing up in Canada, I was used to skating on ice skates, and I had had rollerblades as a young teen, but here I am, nearly thirty, and it felt like I was learning to walk all over again.
After that first night, my legs were sore, but I felt good.
I went out and bought wrist guards before I dragged my husband to the rink to watch me skate again a few days later (he's a big chicken!)
Meanwhile, I researched the leagues in my area, and after emailing the recruitment for one of them, found out there was a recruitment event later that same week. I made plans to attend that meeting.
Fast forward to a few months ago, I watched the movie "Whip It" and thought it was awesome. (I've been in love with the acting skills of Ms Ellen Page since "Juno" and any film with Drew Barrymore is amazing in my opinion).
Then, about a month ago, a friend of mine posted on her LJ that she was planning to join her local roller derby league.
I had been thinking for a while about starting a serious (this time) weight loss / get healthy mission. I also thought that it was time that I met some friends that were not either coworkers or my husband's friends first.
So one day I looked up the times for open skate at my local skating rink. I posted on facebook to see if anyone would want to join me. A friend of mine did. Before we went, I watched a few e-how videos on how to "derby skate."
The day came and I met my friend at the rink. We laced up our rental skates and the moment I stepped onto the wooden track, I fell flat on my ass. I got myself up, shook myself off, and skated around the track tentatively. Growing up in Canada, I was used to skating on ice skates, and I had had rollerblades as a young teen, but here I am, nearly thirty, and it felt like I was learning to walk all over again.
After that first night, my legs were sore, but I felt good.
I went out and bought wrist guards before I dragged my husband to the rink to watch me skate again a few days later (he's a big chicken!)
Meanwhile, I researched the leagues in my area, and after emailing the recruitment for one of them, found out there was a recruitment event later that same week. I made plans to attend that meeting.
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