Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

Wow. That's all I can say really. Derby has now been in my life for almost 2 years, I was hooked from the first game I ever watched. Hell, from the first time I saw Whip It! If I hadn't seen that, I wouldn't have mentioned it to my work colleague, who wouldn't have told me that she trained with Norfolk's only Roller
Derby team and I never would have gone to my first game and got obsessed!

It wasn't until a year later that I managed to persuade my friends to come with me to one of the Fresh Meat evenings and, well, you now know the rest!

We recently had our Christmas party and I remember sitting back at thinking "This is my family!" I've never had a bad day with these ladies as they always know how to make me smile. Not only are they my friends but they are my heroes. I aspire to be like them. They inspire me, they encourage me, they make me feel like this amazing person! As a ridiculously self-conscious and self-critical person, this is the most uplifting feeling. These ladies have convinced me I can do things when I was tempted to quit. To be honest, if they weren't so lovely, I probably would have quit after my first week. They had faith in me when I had none! Furthermore, I have faith in them! I am always rooting for them and they always make me proud and keep me in awe.

And it's not just my team, it's every derby associated person I have met. Skaters from all over the country, NSOs, referees, fans and even people who read this blog! There's something about this amazing sport that attracts the most amazing people. I have made so many friends and I really do mean friends, not just people I'd say a passing Hi to in the street. People who genuinely make me happy and I am honoured to know.

Another plus point is the health benefits! Roller derby has made me fitter, stronger, more toned, and is motivation to keep fitter and healthier!

If one thing has changed my life this year, it's roller derby, and I can't wait to see what next year is going to be like!

Week 26 - 28: A Bit Of A Cop-Out

It's Christmas time and I decided I'd make all my presents and my social life has started existing again! This, however, meant there was little or no time for me to keep up with the blog!

I had scribbled down some notes to stop me forgetting but, as I didn't want to bore you with vague drivel, I thought I'd just mention some things that have happened over the last few weeks:

1. I was signed off on two more blocks! Focus, pack skating & pace line and 20 in 5!!! Yeah! That's right! I bloody well did it! 20 and a half!!!

2. Me and one of my wives came up with an intriguing trick to do t-stops. We were skating round talking to each other and I found that I was doing some of the best t-stops I had ever done. I realised that not only was it because I was thinking about it too much but also because she was on my right hand side which meant I was already turned to talk to her, so getting my foot behind me wasn't as tricky! It's not very practical as it's very unlikely you'll be talking to someone when you need to t-stop, but it really does help when practicing.

3. I NSOd at the Heartlands final! I was a line-up tracker and a line-up tracker assistant! It was so much fun and I even got a certificate and a patch for NSOing. :)

4. I had a go at Head NSOing. This is where you take charge of all the NSOs, make sure they have the right paperwork, the right equipment, that they know what they're doing, etc. It was terrifying but I absolutely loved it! I even got a bunch of flowers from the team to say thank you. :)

And now it's Boxing Day and I have a horrible cold so my brain is a little frazzled. I do apologise for my lack of writing these last few weeks and, as of the New Year (my next skating practice is the 6th January) I shall write a post every Tuesday (hopefully!)

Week 25: The Elusive Plough Stop

This is going to be a short one as I'm writing this 3 - 4 weeks after it happened and my mind's a little fuzzy (it's coming up to Christmas so I'm getting distracted!) but I did learn something interesting at this particular  week's practice so I am going to mention that!

As you're well aware, I'm pretty sure everyone is aware, that I cannot do plough stops to save my life! I feel like I'm putting my legs wide but I then look and they've hardly moved, I feel like my ankles are going to break from the weird angle and then look and they've hardly moved. I must admit, they have got better - I do roll to a stop now rather than keep going!

This week, however, I was told some interesting advice that hadn't even crossed my mind. I was told that if you tend to skate with your knees bent inward (so most of your weight on the inside edges) you haven't built up the muscles that make it easier to push out onto the outside edges. Suddenly, it clicked that I do skate with my knees pointing inwards but had just never really paid much attention to it. So now, I am trying to have a more balanced skating stance, trying not to bend my knees inward and, when I work out, focus on putting my weight on the outside of my feet when doing squats. I don't know if it's going to help, but I'm up for trying anything that might help me do plough stops!

(Except maybe these!)

Week 24: Falls, Thighs & Team Sexy

Ah, week one. My old friend. A nice easy week of falls, derby stance and skating stride. What was even better was that two of my derby wives had returned after almost a month of non-skating and the lovely lady who broke her wrist was also back on skates! It was like a family reunion!

We all commented about how tired we were and how it was good that is was week one as it usually isn't too strenuous. If I was a gambling kind of gal, though, I'd bet that we're all eating our words today. As six weeks goes by, I think we all forget how hard week one actually is and seem to gain rose tinted specs about what is actually involved. "Ahhh falls...no problem...we learnt them in the newbie area....Derby stance? Pah! Easy! I've been skating for a while now so that's not going to be an issue!" Good readers, do not end up like us: arrogant and forgetful!

The thing about derby is that you are always striving to improve. You might be signed off on a certain skill but that doesn't mean you're perfect at it, so you will continue to work at it so you get better and better. This means that what you once thought was difficult, became easy and then becomes difficult again.

So, take week one. For derby stance, you go lower than you've ever gone. For falls, you get up quicker than you ever have. Sticky feet - try and go faster. After all of these, my thighs were killing me. Not to mention our warm up was squats on the whistle.

We got through those pretty quickly, though, so we moved on to week two skills - stops and glides. Again, more thigh work. My t-stops are getting there (I did fall over, however, when I tried with the other foot) but plough stops are still getting nowhere and, by the end of the session, everyone else also knew that my plough stops were getting nowhere. I'd try to stop but then someone would stop in front of me so I'd then concentrate on going round them rather than stopping. I thought I'd see if I could stop behind someone who also couldn't stop yet, then I might be alright, but this turned out to be no one! So I attempted to plough anyway (my thighs were hurting, so I must've been doing something right, right?!) but ended up being the one who rolled past everyone else - "oops...'scuse me...coming though...I'll stop eventually!" there may have also been a few profanities here and there...

We ended on something new, though. We played some games! Admittedly they were drills, but with fun elements so I was overly excited! The first game involved falls. Our coach would call out a word and we would then have to perform a fall. For example, when she said "Jammer!" we had to do a single knee fall, etc. That was really good fun, if really tiring! Next, we had a race. We were split in to two teams (we were christened "Team Sexy") and then had to race up the track and perform skills at cones. So, at the first cone you would do a single knee fall, 2nd cone a 4-point fall, turn around, plough stop at the next cone and then t-stop at the end, then the next skater would go. We practiced it once and then each team had to race each other. Unfortunately, we didn't win. But, hey, we were Team Sexy, so we didn't need to win! Ha ha!

After all the fun and games, though, I ached by the time I got home and my knees are really creaky today. So, no, week one wasn't easy going. But I like to think I trained that much harder so that's why I ache today!

Week 23: Level 1 Sign Offs - Take 2

The time had come again...after 2 weeks of training...Sign Offs were here.

I feel like I'm making it seem a lot more dramatic than it was. As we did only have two weeks of training, they were held in a more casual manner - if we didn't want to attempt any of the blocks, we didn't have to and it was seen as more of a "if I pass it, I pass it. If I don't, I don't" kind of thing. This really helped take the pressure off.

Block one was derby stance, skating stride, track movement and sticky feet. Last time, my track movement was the thing which didn't let me pass - apparently, my stride changed everytime I went to turn which meant I wasn't as fluid or as stable when moving from one side of the track to the other. So this time I tried so hard focusing on my stride and making sure that I kept it going when moving back and forth. In the first attempt of derby stance I even heard a "Right now, Honey is the only one who is low enough" which gave me a huge boost of confidence as I had difficulty getting low enough in the past, being so tall and what not.

Next was my arch nemesis of derby skills - stops and one foot glides. I can't stop and I can't glide, so I don't know why I even bothered. All my t-stops result in me flailing and veering off to one side. All my plough stops result in me still rolling, just lower and with my legs wider. One foot glides, well, they just don't happen at all!

I got to sit out for falls/taps as I passed them last time and then next was stepping and weaving. I was told, at the end, that I passed this block yet I'm slightly bewildered by that, so I'm waiting for this to be confirmed in my Sign Off Record before I truly believe it. Stepping side-to-side, I'm quite happy with as long as I concentrate. Stepping forward was good as I pretended to be a dinosaur but I thought I'd done terribly at stepping backwards! I thought I'd gone no where, but maybe everyone behind me was just stepping faster or with bigger steps, who knows? Then there was weaving - another skill I really do not like. However, I now had my new super soft cushions, so I was a little more optimistic. My first attempt I managed to make it through the cones without knocking them or falling over, but I was told I had to do it faster (I also know I look hilarious while weaving as I lean so far forward to keep my balance and to stop me from falling backwards!) so I tried again and managed to scrape by with it being "jussssssssssssssst fast enough". Woohoo! I really am still in disbelief that I passed this whole block though.

Next was one foot balances and lateral hops. Now, I kid you not, I actually managed a 15 second right foot balance! I did it on my second attempt and I actually did it! I was rather thrilled by that! Left foot, not so much... I gave my best during lateral hops, but ended up falling and losing my toe stop, again, which was very annoying and the block had finished being assessed before I could get back on the track.

Finally, it was 20 in 5. I wasn't expecting to get 20 but I went out there and gave it my best shot. Tried crossovers, kept skating, really went for it and ended up getting....wait for it....18 in 5! Yeah! That's right! Eighteen! I couldn't believe it! I was expecting to be disappointed, but I had beaten my personal best by 3 laps! After 2 weeks training! Woohoo!

Okay, so 18 isn't 20. But it was a personal best and I think that's what a lot of derby is about. It's about getting better and stronger and faster and constantly challenging yourself to be the best you can be. I stopped comparing myself to other skaters as everyone learns at different rates and some people take to things quicker than others, but if you can do better than you did the week before, if you can see yourself improving as the weeks go on, then you know you're doing something right, that the training is working and that you'll eventually reach your goal. And once you do, you'll have another goal to strive for and on it continues. Even the elite derby players still try to beat their personal bests. That's what should keep you going. That's what should make you happy. It's not about being in competition with the skaters you're learning with. Sure, you need to be better than the other team. ;) But if you have to be in competition with your own skaters, then that's never going to work and you're never going to be truly happy with yourself. (Like I was after these sign offs. I even did a little air punch when I got home, I was so happy!)

My 3rd NSO Role: Score Tracking

This week was NSOing with a twist! It was Halloween! So I got to paint my face, tear up an NSO t-shirt, scribble NSO on the back and still get taken seriously! Plus, even more exciting, I was taught a new role - Score Tracking.

(photos by nearthecoast.com)

You seem to find that once you've learnt a role or two, that's all you ever do. It makes sense because I've done it before so, therefore, I'm less likely to screw up and won't need anyone to watch over me and help me. But I want to learn every role and this can get a little frustrating so when I was put down for a role I'd never done before, I was over the moon!

If you know me, you'll know I talk with my hands a lot and am quite animated which meant that score tracking was perfect for me! You get to watch the game (although, don't get too absorbed and forget to watch your ref), not fill out too much paperwork, mirror your refs hand signals and do some mental arithmatic! Amazing! (Yes, I like maths.)

Oooo! But let me quickly explain score tracking. Basically, each Jammer Ref has a score tracker who follows them. You each wear a coloured wristband relating to the team your tracking so when you mirror the hand signals, you know you're signalling to the right person. After every pass the jammer makes, the ref will signal the number of points the jammer has scored, you mirror this number and wait until the ref has confirmed you've got it correct and then you make a note of it. At the end of the jam, you total the points for that jam and also keep a running total for the whole bout. You also work with the scoreboard operator who relies on you to make sure they're showing the right scores! There's other little niggly bits like ticking a box if your jammer becomes lead, if they call it off, if they lose lead jammer status, etc. but the score tracking is the main bit.

I really enjoyed it. I may have even enjoyed it more than penalty timing. It might even be my new favourite role...hmmm...it's a close call! I just hope I get to score track again in the near future.

The whole night was really enjoyable and, as it was a mixed scrim, skaters from all over the country turned up so I got to meet a lot of lovely people, too. We then ate cookies and went to the pub. The way all good scrimmages and bouts should end!

(Photo taken by nearthecoast.com)

Weeks 20 - 22: Catch-Up & Bout Of The Living Dead

So this 6 week rotation has been a bit fragmented really. The rink we used for practice has been using our evening sessions for some refurbishments and they opened late this week as it was half term, so we've only had two weeks of practice and now tomorrow is Sign Offs again!

I'm just going to sum up the last couple of weeks as there haven't really been any makor breakthroughs and I'm having a hard time remembering what happened! Plus, I have a more important derby thing to tell you about - my first time NSOing at a tournament! 

So, exciting things that have happened:

- We were told not to focus so much on edges with plough stops (I was aware that all our weight has to be on the outside edges of our skates but, apparently, some skaters find this isn't the case and to focus on pushing your heels out rather than focusing on the edges) which has actually helped as I have managed to do a couple of plough stops since then!

- I managed to get 15 1/2 in my 20 laps in 5 minutes, which beats my 13 from sign offs!

- I found out I was signed off on one block - falls/taps! Woohoo!

- I've changed the cushions on my skates! I've gone from super hard ones to pretty soft ones and, although it is still quite scary, I've found I can corner a lot better and I feel a lot more fluid on them!

But, the exciting news of the week! I've NSOd three times in this period, one was at a closed bout where I learnt a new role (a separate post about that soon) and the other two times at the Heartlands East Final!
This was a big deal, not only for my team but it was a little personal victory as I have never NSOd at anything this important! There were 3 games, each determining finishing positions for each team and my teams bout was determining who would be placed second and would go on to play for a position in the Heartlands overall final! (Thankfully I wasn't NSOing in that game as I managed to scream myself hoarse. Here's a picture of me getting rather excitable - taken by Daz Wilson)

This time I was doing both the roles I know - Line-up Tracking and Penalty Box Timing. Now, in my last NSO post, I talked about being overwhelmed with the urge to join in with the crowd when I was meant to stay completely impartial and straight faced. Well, in the first bout, when I was line-up tracking, I had the opposite issue. The line-up itself got quite complicated as the first team has very similar numbers and their boutfits weren't the easiest to read, and this got me quite flustered occasionally. Let alone throwing in the odd Star Pass and an explusion! But once I'd got past this, I found myself drifting off. I had no connections to either team so found myself drifting off in places; admiring the skaters skates which then led to me remembering I was going to buy myself some new plates...I wonder where they got their plates from...they're probably Avengers...oh look, she's skating in a pretty basic set up...that's comforting...what does that sticker on her helmet say....Oh! What?! My jammer's made another pass? Right! Okay!
My excuse was that I'd driven for 2 1/2 hours to get there and I was probably coming down from the sugar high I had from all the sweets I'd eaten on the drive down! By the 2nd half, though, I'd eaten some cake, drank some coke and was back on my game! Thankfully, I only made a couple of mistakes on my paperwork in the first half, but I definitely learnt that there was a fine line between becoming completely absorbed in the game and letting your mind wander.

(taken by Daz Wilson)

For the second game I was penalty timing, which I absolutely loved! I'd eaten more cake, drunk more coke and was ready and on the ball! Penalty timing can get pretty complicated, especially with jammers (only the Penalty Box Manager deals with these) or when more than 2 blockers are sent to the box. Fortunately, it didn't get too complicated during this game so it was a really pleasant experience. The ladies I was working with were lovely, the timing ran smoothly, and not once did my mind wander or did I get too involved! Woohoo!

(taken by Daz Wilson. Yeah look at me being all commanding!)

The third game was when my team was playing, so I lost the grey shirt of impartialness, donned my teams colours, screamed myself hoarse, clapped my hands til they hurt and had an amazingly good time! We didn't win the game but we seemed to have won over the crowd and the ladies left with their heads held high. (I knew I was insanely proud of them and proud to be apart of their league!)

Week 19: It's Not Easy Being Grey

Or, in the case of my last bout, white. Or sometimes pink. Or red. Yep, that's right. It's another NSO post!

There was no derby practice this week as our local rink was recarpeting, so I upped my workout by wearing skates (it was killer!) and I got my derby fix by NSOing at an unofficial public bout.

I absolutely adore NSOing, I think it brings the geek out in me - something about stopwatches and charts and it all being proper and straight-faced and official. Ooo and clipboards, got to love a clipboard. I think I've NSOd about 5 times now (I've even started a NSO CV - you know, just in case I'm not skating in the Roller Derby World Cup, I might want to officiate instead...) and I've just kept my head down and got on with the job and, maybe, had the odd, sneaky smile to myself when there's a lead change in our favour, or something, but never really got too much caught up in the game. Well, this time it was different.

Oh yeah, that's a nice looking clipboard!

I really don't know what sparked it off, but something happened during half-time that made me go from straight-faced, clipboard in hand, line-up tracker to resisting the urge to become completely unprofessional and start joining in with the crowd's cheers.
It may have been that it was an away-game so our crowd wasn't as big as the other teams, it may be that I now know the majority of the team so it was more personal to me, it may have been that the score was so close that I just couldn't bear it. Whatever it was, it was pretty hard to control.

I did control it, mind you. I am an official and I will do the job properly but, god damn, it was hard. Every time our jammer became the lead I had to resist a little "yeah!", every time someone fell or was a victim of an illegal hit I had to resist the urge to call it out. You start to realise how hard to it to officiate during a game when your own team is playing and you gain huge respect for the people that do.

The next bout I'm NSOing at is the Heartlands East Final.This is a pretty big deal. It decides who wins the East Final and who goes on to play in the Heartlands Final. It's the first tournament bout I've ever NSOd at and it's actually really important for NSOs to remain impartial. Thankfully, I'm not NSOing for my team's bout but I thought it might be a fun idea to think of ways of staying in the NSO zone and to not get too carried away with the bout:

- Focus on what you're doing! Do not get involved in what's going on with the other parts of the game, just what you need to know. (This may be quite difficult if dealing with penalties as you have to follow the whole game to spot when people get sent off!)
- Try to think of the team as skaters, not friends. I'm not saying exclude yourself completely but, as soon as you get in position, they are skaters. Athletes who rely on you to accurately to record the data from the game.
- Up the severity of it. If you can't detach yourself from the team, tell yourself that if you don't stay impartial and do your job, your team will lose.
- Admire all the skaters! You don't have to be indifferent, you can like them all! Just because they're not on your team doesn't mean they're not awesome skaters! Cheer them all on! (Inside cheer, though!)
- Eat cake. Cake makes everything better and hopefully you'll be thinking "Mmmmm, cake is good!" not "Yeah! Hit that bitch!"

mmmmmm.....cake!

At the end of the day, it's just not fair on the other players. It's easy to get caught up and cheer on your team, but it's your job to be impartial and to accurately record the data. You know you would never change the data (what is that ever going to achieve?!) but you've still got to look and act like you won't!

You can still enjoy watching roller derby without being competitive. Relax and just enjoy the whole experience. :) (And, if you can, just NSO at other teams' bouts!)

Week 18: Level 1 Sign Offs - Take 1

So, it had come to this. The last six weeks had been working up to this moment and I was feeling...well...pretty alright actually. Or, at least, I thought I was. When we turned up at the rink, I had to take an anti-histamine as I thought my breathing allergy was playing up (more likely a mild panic attack), checked and doubled checked my wheels and toe stops, kept putting my kit on wrong and was just in a bit of a muddle really!

We had to line-up so our coach could make a note of our numbers, then we warmed up, stretched and got right in to it. I was in the second group, which was nice as I could watch to see what skills we were doing in each section and could mentally prepare for it.
First was derby stance, skating stride, sticky feet and track movement. I'm pretty sure my derby stance was good as my legs were certainly burning! Sticky feet was fine but I was told off during my skating stride as I drifted or did sticky feet around the corners. This was how I got comfortable with going round corners so I never knew that was the wrong way to do things! (You're meant to keep your skating stride going the same way you would on the straight) So I corrected it and was then told I was doing it right. Track movement was also fine.

Next was plough stops, t-stops and glides. I don't know why I even bothered getting up on the track for this! I probably did the best plough stop I've done in a while, but the other two I just kept rolling (rollin', rollin'). I think I was more concerned about not stopping in time and crashing into people so I thought I'd rather just go round people than try and stop. T-stops were the same although I was just more apprehensive about putting my leg behind me and kept leaning forward, which I don't understand as I never used to do this! I gave one foot glides the best I could but, again, still failed miserably at them. In recent days, I seem to have gained more fear about falling over. It might be that before we had two serious falls, I'd never seen anyone get properly injured so it just never sunk in. Maybe now that I've seen someone get injured my subconscious is constantly aware. Even though I've fallen over before and I know it's not that bad, I'm now terrified. I really, really need to get over this. It's so very frustrating!

Next was falls!

Sorry, not falls, taps. But hurrah! Finally something I knew I could do! Right knee taps on the whistle, easy. Left knee taps on the whistle, a little sketchy but still pretty good. Double knee falls, nailed it! But...wait...what's this?! My toe stop had come off yet again! Gah! I managed to retrieve my washer and luckily I'd brought my skate tool on to the track with me. Apparently my toe stops are just too low. They're set at the right length, but there's just not enough thread in the plate for them to stay in nicely. They are long-stemmed, but the way my skates are, I have to secure the toe stop in with a nut rather than tightening the plate around them with an allen key. I think this makes it easier for my toe stop to just pop out. As we're not learning toe-stop runs for Level 1 now, I can just raise them but, later, I'm either going to have to learn to run on high toe-stops or to purchase a new plate. The latter is more likely as I'm currently skating on nylon plates.
But I digress; I was allowed back on the track with the next group for my four point falls and I got them down too! Yay!

The next skills were stepping and weaving. Stepping wasn't too bad. I did roll a couple of times but managed to steady myself. Backwards was the worst. I did it for a little bit, pretended to be a dinosaur (see last post) and then lost my concentration and kept rolling. I'm hoping I showed enough skill on that to be crossed off, although I know I didn't get signed off on that block as there was also weaving!

I know this isn't on roller skating but I couldn't resist a picture of one of the original Z-Boys.

My first attempt at weaving was too slow. My second attempt, I scuffed a cone and I was too slow. My third attempt, I think I was going fast enough but I fell over. I knew that was going to happen. I always feel like I'm going to fall over when it comes to weaving.

 

Next was 15-second one foot balance and lateral hops. Needless to say, I didn't get the one foot balances and I'm pretty sure I didn't get lateral hops, although one of the ladies said that she saw me do at least one, so that surprised me a little!

Then there was focus, pace line and pack work. Focus was a little hard. Not looking where you're going while keeping your usual skating stride is very tricky! I think I managed left and right but I'm sure I didn't manage behind as I was meant to make eye contact with the person assessing us. Although, I blame my lazy eye for that! Hehe. Pace line seemed pretty good. Lots of fun and butt slapping! Pack work did seem okay. A couple people fell which didn't take down the whole pack, so that was good, but our group kept spreading rather than getting in tight. Afterwards, we were told that our communication was some of the best our coach has ever seen but that the pack itself wasn't as good. So I'm not really sure whether we passed that or not.

Finally, last but not least, 20 in 5 and crossovers. Ergh.

We were asked to vote whether we wanted 20 in 5 first or last. The majority ruled last so that's where it was put. I didn't vote as I didn't mind, but I now believe I should've vote for it first. It was a killer. I didn't really care what I got but I wanted to get at least the 15 laps I'd previously got. I set off but I was knackered so, by 3 minutes in, my legs were burning like hell! Also, I was skating with my friends, which was nice, but when they fell over, I was then concerned for them and ended up cheering them on to get up rather than focusing on my skating! Furthermore, I didn't even attempt crossovers as I just didn't feel confident enough, which, actually, may have lessened the burning in my legs and may have upped my laps. In the end I did 13 3/4 laps. I was pissed off.

I ended up completely spread eagle on the floor trying to catch my breath, not really wanting to talk to anyone. We had a few minutes to stretch, which I hardly did, and I then skated off in a sulk, not even stopping to see what I had passed.

The thing that overshadowed it, though, was my two friends getting signed off on the level completely! One had been so nervous about that I secretly bought her a chocolate bar to give to her if she passed (which we all totally knew she would and she did!) So I was super pleased for them that it made me feel silly. I'll be able to give it a go again after the next six weeks and then I'll be out skating with them for the next levels!

I haven't been told what I've passed yet, but when I find out, I'll let you know!

Week 17 - 'Twas The Week Before Sign Offs

So this week it was review week. This was when we have a run through of all the skills we've learnt over the last six weeks and where our coach could have a quick scan to see if she could give us any last minute advice.

First was skating stride, derby stance, track movement and sticky feet. This went relatively well, I'd like to think my skating stride is good, track movement was a little harder with such a crowded track but it went fine, sticky feet went well, but I started having issues during derby stance. I tend to skate in a constant squat position now, not necessarily as low as derby stance, but it means that I find it hard stretching out my legs when they start to ache as I'm not particularly confident in skating with straight legs. So, after warm ups, sticky feet and a few laps of derby stance, I was getting the usual burn mixed with a horrible pain in my right thigh. I tried to skate through it but my thigh just felt stiff and I knew I had to come off. I got off the track, went to stop with my right knee and my toe stop came right off! Gah! My coach retrieved my washer from the track and I skated off to get a spanner, which is actually really weird with just one toe stop!

After attaching my toe-stop and double checking the other one, we set out to do knee taps and falls, which I'm pretty confident with, even though I was getting paranoid about my toe stop. Next was crossovers and following the jammer line. I gave crossovers a good go and am kind of comfortable with them, even though I'm sure I'm not getting my foot all the way across. Then we did stops and here was where I started failing miserably. I kept wimping out of t-stops and I don't know why I even  bothered with plough stops. I swear, everyone managed to stop or at least roll to a stop. I just kept going! "Oops. Don't mind me. Coming through."

One foot glides were just as bad! One foot up, wobble, straight back down. Next was stepping. Sideways wasn't too bad, forwards wasn't too bad, backwards....well. I ended up moon walking on skates i.e. going nowhere! Just skating on the spot. Wahhh! Why is everything so hard?! (We were taught a good trick though. If you pretend your a dinosaur when going forwards or backwards, it actually really helps!)

Weaving was next and I managed to make it through the cones, nudged one of them but was told I was going just a little too slow for them. I really dislike weaving. It's one of those ones that you don't hear a lot of people complain about, but if I turn too sharply I fall backwards. I think it's because I try to lean the way I'm going but lean more to the back than to the side and my skate just escapes from under me.

The last skills were new to me as I'd missed the last week: lateral hops, focus, pace line and pack work. Lateral hops were terrifying. I'd been a little scared of jumping but this was hopping from one foot to the other while skating! I can understand why it's not the same as jumping and why people don't find it as scary. But I still found it terrifying and just did the tiniest baby steps from one foot to the other.
Focus was good although looking backwards is a big old stretch for the neck and trying to keep the same skating stride is a bit like patting your head and rubbing your stomach!  Pace Line was also good although it was a bit of a struggle to try and keep at the same speed as the others. Pack Work was great fun! I've never done it before but soon picked up how to inform the others where you wanted to go and how to recycle.

The evening was a bit of a roller coaster really. What started a little annoying, with a lost toe-stop, turned into getting pretty sad about the skills I couldn't do and then finished back up on a high with enjoying the skills I hadn't even learnt before! I know I'm not going to get signed off next week, but I am intrigued on what skills I'll pass!

Week 16: Off-Skates Training

So this week I was unable to make derby practice as I was in hospital (not from derby, may I just add! I was having an allergy screening.) But I had recently bought a workout DVD so I thought I'd give that a go instead.

I was looking in to off-skates workouts as I knew I needed to improve my core muscles (to help with balance) and to generally tone up my legs and get fitter. A lot of people recommended videos on the internet to use and there were a few websites that suggested workout routines. This all sounded good and, obviously, the videos were free! However, with shoddy internet I'd probably have to wait ages for the video to buffer or it would keep stopping plus I'd have to spend time, in between, clicking through videos, etc. I know, I know, that sounds like an absolutely ridiculous thing to to whine about but I just wanted a one video workout that I could put on and do without any faffing around! After Googling "roller derby workout" I found a DVD called, funnily enough, Roller Derby Workout!

It's a 50 minute long workout that has warm-up stretches, a core section, a leg section, a booty section, and an off-skates section. Skates are totally optional and you can wear them for all of the sections, except the last one. I have opted for no skates as I have a laminated floor and I can see myself breaking my neck! I might get some ankle weights though to make-up for the skates.

So I put the DVD in and got ready for an intense workout. Boy, was it intense! About 30 minutes in I was sweating like a good 'un! I did end up having to wear my knee pads and elbow pads as a lot of the stuff was on the floor and I needed some sort of cushioning, so that didn't help the sweating! The warm up was very similar to the stretches we do at derby training and then we moved on to core. Here I discovered my extreme lack of core muscles! "Now for a plank, we're going to hold this for 30 second" How about 10!? I collapsed to the floor! My stomach soon hated me after that section. The leg section wasn't too bad as they've been strengthened thanks to skating and the booty section wasn't too bad either! I'd done it and I felt awesome! Perfectly toned body, here we come!

The next day wasn't so much fun. My stomach ached, my legs ached, and it only got worse as the day went on. It was one thing I'd forgotten about skating. I used to feel like this every week after practice but I rarely get it now. I'd like to say it's cause I'm use to it, it's more likely that I'm not pushing myself enough. After a very long day at work (I work in a basement, which didn't help my legs!) I was set to go skating at the adult roller disco. I also thought a little gentle skating might help flush my muscles - there was certainly no chance of practising anything like crossovers or stops or even glides!

Skates on, pads on, ready to go. The first few laps weren't bad until my wheel skidded on something and I had to cling on to the rail to stop myself falling over (someone's inline skate had exploded and I'd actually skidded on a bit of wheel!) After recovering from that surprise, I went back on to try again. About 4 laps later my legs were killing me and I was having real trouble trying to actually skate. Whenever I came up to people who were skating slower than me, rather than trying to go round them or to try and slow down, I felt like I would rather just fall over, so I came off the track and rested for a bit. The rest of the evening continued like this and, when I got home, I literally had to fall in to bed as my legs wouldn't allow me to bend to get in. The next morning wasn't any easier. I was late for work because I couldn't walk at my normal pace! Thankfully, though, my legs started to ease up as the day went on.

As much pain as it caused me, I knew my muscles would eventually get used to it, so I did the workout again this morning. As my muscles are still a little sore, I didn't push myself. Rather than 20 of each exercise, I chose to do 10 or 15. If my muscles started to hurt rather than ache, then I stopped. I wasn't going to injure myself! I'm not sure how I'm going to feel tomorrow. I'm hopinh not as bad as last time!

I have a good feeling about this workout and I'm hoping it will help improve my skating ability too. I'll keep you guys updated!

Week 15: Carnage

"Carnage" was the word most people used to describe practice this week and if I told you we were taught 20 in 5, running starts, stepping, balancing on one foot, and jumps, then you may already guess why...

Last week, I was getting down on myself about crossovers. Fortunately, I went to our local roller rink later on in the week and practised crossovers so much until there was only me and one person left on the track and by the time I'd finished I had a headache and my legs were shaking. BUT I did actually do some crossovers! It felt awesome!
All this awesomeness went out the window at derby practice. We have a lot of newbies on the track now, so it is rather crowded which still makes me uncomfortable (I know, I will need to get used to this!) I guess I'd say I was at a middle speed; I could over take some of the less confident skaters but most people overtook me, and super speedy skaters who cut it close makes me wobble, so I really didn't want to try crossovers in that condition.

We started with 20 in 5, which means 20 laps in 5 minutes. Crossovers are perfect for this as you can just do crossovers the whole time and go speedy with less effort. There was 6 on the track at a time which was fine but I knew I'd slow down to try crossovers so I just tried to skate as fast as I could without going so fast that I'd lose my confidence in it and fall over! (There's a point when I gather speed and then suddenly think "Oh dear, this is rather fast!" and then I feel like I'm going to lose control) So I skated as quick as I could and managed 15 laps. I was rather pleased with this! That's a lap every 20 seconds, which I think is great considering I didn't even attempt a crossover.

We then discussed 1 in 15 (one lap in 15 seconds) but we didn't have time to get through everyone so we moved onto starting techniques: toe stop runs, duck runs, Rocky Mountain runs, which would help us when we did do 1 in 15.
Toe Stop Runs: I tried this to begin with and hated it. I'd decided that my toe stops were too high and, after talking to my coach, she said I could lower them but I shouldn't go any higher, so I decided to go off and lower them then. During the lowering process (I was having issues with my toe guards getting in the way), the rest of the group were slowly walking round on toe stops and then practiced running starts on them. The lady who was helping me and a Merby guy with our toe stops was suddenly called over to the group "Get over here NOW, please!" A poor lady was lying on the floor, sobbing so hard. From what we could figure out from the other side of the track, she had tried toe stop walks, fallen over backwards and winded herself in the process. It was heartbreaking to watch as she had really injured herself, but after a while of crying, she skated (kudos for that!) off the rink, took an icepack and then was back on after about 10 minutes! As much as I admire her for carrying on skating (I would've called it a day if I had been in that much pain), it was terrifying to witness, so I took little longer to tighten my toe stops and headed back to the track for duck runs.

Duck runs: I actually liked these! I don't think I did them properly, but you put your feet at an angle so your heels are closer than your toes, and then run like this with more weight on your inside edges. It was more like duck steps for me, but it was my preferred method of running starts.
Rocky Mountain Runs: This are named after the ladies from Rocky Mountain Rollergirls. You start on your heel, then roll onto 4 wheels and then roll onto your toe stops. It is, essentially, like running on skates. Me and a few ladies practised this by holding on to the rail and walking round. We then had to do these free-standing as an actual running start. I attempted one foot, thought "Sod this!" and skated on. On the way back, I put too much weight on my heel and fell over backwards. Thankfully, it wasn't painful, and I did get up straight away and skate back. Needless to say, I hated Rocky Mountain runs too.
I was unaware (how, I have no idea, he must've stayed so super quiet) but one of the Merby guys dislocated his shoulder during the runs! I didn't witness it, but I heard that he may have fallen backwards, put his hand down and just....popped his arm out. Just thinking about it makes me squirm! He was rushed off to A&E and I'm guessing he won't be back for a while, but I really hope it hasn't put him off!

We managed to get through one-foot balances and stepping, without any casualties, and moved on to jumping. I was actually terrified at the idea of jumping and had planned to own crash pants/padded shorts before I attempted them. But I didn't have any crash pants this week, so I just had to try. They weren't actually as scary as I thought. I probably only got about 1 inch off the ground, if that, but it was baby steps. You really really have to get low and lean forward though, otherwise I could see it going terribly wrong and there were a few bum landings from several skaters.

We ended the session by skating clockwise, which I thoroughly dislike and then as I was slowing and turning so I could stop for stretches, I did the most spectacular fall where I landed on my shoulder, tried to move onto my knees but ended up doing a side rolly-polly and landed on my back. I got a round of applause though and, apart from a crick in my neck (which was soon sorted by a loving neck massage from the mister and a hot bath) I didn't really hurt myself.

I don't think I'm going to risk it though and am going to buy crash pants and a mouth guard as soon as I can this week!

Week 14: Wheels Aren't Everything

So I went to this practice, maybe a little over confident. I had guessed that we were going to be taught stops and, with my new wheels, I was planning on cracking them. I now have super duper wheels. so stopping is going to be a doddle!

I was wrong. Our first task was one foot glides. I hated these. I'm gonna defend myself a little bit - I can stand on one leg fine without skates on. Put skates on my feet and all that balance just disappears. Right foot glides initially seemed easier. But I kept just wanting to put my foot down. I lift it up, wobble slightly and a split second later it goes back down. Left ones were even worse! This gave me no hope for t-stops. I was told I needed to speed up as, for sign offs, you need to be able to glide around half the track on one foot! So my last attempt I sped up (even though speed still scares me) and it did help a little bit but it wasn't anything impressive. We were told one-foot glides were the corner stones for the rest of the skills we were going to learn this session. I knew this session wasn't going to go too well.

Next was stops. T-stops went well-ish, but not as awesome as I was expecting. We were given a few minutes to practice in our own time and I was able to put my foot behind me, put my two front wheels down, get a satisfying noise from my wheels and then slow down or stop. They were wobbly and I did lose my balance occasionally, but I was pretty happy. We were then told to do them on the whistle. This failed. Whatever I did earlier was completely forgotten when I was put on the spot. Not once did I stop. Ah well, at least plough stops were next.


These were worse. I could've sworn I'd managed to do plough stops in the newbie area! Well, apparently I'd forgotten what to do. I was told I had good stance but I just couldn't tell if I was rolling to a stop or actually stopping. We were also showed how our posture was meant to be when doing a plough stop, by holding on to someone else and leaning back. Further to this, we were also pushed in plough-stop stance so we could practice ploughing without having to propel ourselves as well. This too, failed. I just couldn't stop myself and my legs were aching and I fell over a couple of times, and I just couldn't do it!

My only ray of sunshine was crossovers. We practiced doing each foot individually and, although I found the right foot difficult to get over (although, I was told I was getting there) I found the left foot a lot easier to get behind and I feel that if we had more time to practice, I might have got it down a bit better.

On the drive home, I felt pretty fed up. What seemed quite obtainable at the beginning of the evening felt almost impossible at the end. The more I thought about it, though, I compared it to driving. When I first learnt to drive, I hated it! I daren't go past 2nd gear as I was terrified of speed, I was also scared of changing gear. I hated driving down narrow roads, I hated all the manoeuvers we had to learn, I hated driving through crowded streets, I hated roundabouts, I hated it all! Yet, I persevered, passed first time, and now I love driving!
The hardest thing for me to learn was to not be afraid of the car. You always assume it's the one in control as it's the big, heavy metal thing that goes fast. But you learn that you are the one that controls the car. You steer it, press the accelerator, press the brakes, etc. My car is now my bitch (in the nicest way of course!) and this is what I need to do with skating.
I am terrified of my skates. I love them, but once they're on my feet, they control me. They control my speed, they control where I go, they control whether I can stand up or not! But, soon, I will learn to control them. And I will embrace skating fast and I will master crossovers and stops and, ultimately, I will master my skates. I will learn their little quirks and the secrets of getting them to do what I want. You see all the team members just acting on skates like they would in normal shoes and that is because they aren't afraid anymore. They are in control.

It will take patience and it will take time. But I'll get there.

(New toe-guards!!)

Week 13: A Brave New World

Now, I said that I was going to wait until I got derby skates and that I was going to wait until the first week of the next rotation, before I properly started on the main track.
This week, those two things had come around so it was time to keep my promise to myself and get on that track!

It was quite scary. Mainly, because my new wheels had finally arrived (after the cock up with my other ones) but I hadn't tried them out. Well, I'd tried them on my kitchen floor but it's very slippy and slightly uneven, so it wasn't particularly successful. So I was expecting to land straight on my bum as it was something new. However, I didn't! I had a quick skate up and down the end of the rink and then made my way on to the track for warm ups. They were grippy but not too grippy, speedy but not too speedy, and sticky feet was easy! I was originally concerned about trucks being too tight as when I tried sticky feet on the Thursday, in the rubbish wheels, I found it quite hard. Now, it was obvious there wasn't anything with my trucks! (I think I mean trucks. I'm completely rubbish at that kind of technical stuff!)

A few remarks were made about my shiny new skates and wheels (and that my shiny white wheels were certainly not going to stay white for long!) and I heard from a few of the team members that they were pleased to see me on the track, which made me feel even better about my decision to move on to there.
I'm not entirely sure why I was scared, though. It was week one, so it was basics, which I had done time and time again; derby stance, skating stride, falls/taps, etc.
Our first task was skating stride and to think about what edges we use on our skates, and so on. We were then paired with a more experienced skater so we could watch how they skate and they could watch us and then tell us what we were doing right and what we could work on. I was paired up with a signed-off skater but then was called over "Honey, who are you with?.....Right, well can you guys split up and pair with one of the new people" Eeee! Did this mean I was actually doing something right?! I was asked to help someone with their skating stance when 13 weeks ago I couldn't even move on skates! I know it's not that impressive, but it was like someone had given me a big gold shiny star!

The rest of the evening I was super confident. I pushed myself with the taps, trying to get back up as quick as I could. I even got a comment of "It's amazing to see how quick you get back up now!". I got as low as I could with my derby stance. So low in fact, that after the 5 minutes or so of practising, I thought I was going to throw-up! At the end of the night, I was buzzing! I felt so good! I'd been on the big track, it was full of people - experienced and new, and it was amazing! Not scary! Go Fresh Meat!

Oooo, and may we take a moment to admire my shiny new skates:

(For those who are interested, they are Riedell R3s with 92a Rollerbones wheels and Gumball toe stops. Oh and a layer of Zebra Duct Tape to protect the toes from scuffing.)

Week 12: Sign Offs = Skive Off

Now, that's not entirely true, but it worked as a good title! Yes, I did not go to my usual session as it was signs off, but:

1. My main reason is because I had gone two weeks without seeing my other half, due to a huge work commitment, so we had a date night, which was our usual Blue Monday at Yo!Sushi.
2. It was sign offs and I knew I wasn't going to try for them until I'd been on the track.
3. I'd gotten a new tattoo on the Sunday so it was still very tender.
4. I went skating later on this week, so therrrrrrrrre!

At the weekend, I donned my t-shirt and name necklace and went to represent the Brawds at our local tattoo convention. We met loads of lovely people, all who seemed very interested in roller derby and who did end up joining fresh meat on the Monday (I heard that 12 newbies turned up! Woohoo!) and some who we educated on derby as they'd never heard of it!
While there, I decided to show my dedication. I'd been thinking about a roller derby tattoo for a while and had thought that I would get one when I was signed off completely. However, I felt like I needed something to support me and give me confidence - I suffer with anxiety and, after a very bad day with it, I decided something needed to be done about it, so part of that was getting a small tattoo saying "Be Brave" which has been my little safety blanket, and I wanted to get something like this for roller derby. In this case, it seemed silly to get one done when I had been signed off as I needed the support now, to help me in the training stages to getting signed off. I knew what design I wanted, so I set out to find the right tattooist. I did have it down to three ladies, but I knew the lady I really wanted to do it, and I'm glad I chose her, as it is amazing:

Tattooed by Anna at Adorn Studio - I absolutely adore it! It's perfect and it sums up my derby experience so far and what I hope to come. If I had given up on my first week, if I had quit when I felt that I was terrible and when I was terrified, then I wouldn't be here! I tend to be one of those people who, if I can't do it from the start, then I will quit. But I chose not to. I gave myself a mental slap and went back and, even though I fell, I went back again and again and have worked hard and am improving every session. So whenever I feel like I've had a terrible practice, I will look at this and I will remember what got me here.

Another derby treat to myself was new skates! Woohoo! I knew I would have to grace the track with the proper skates, so I bought skates (Riedell R3s - perfect for my skinny feet), new wheels (Rollerbones, Day of The Dead, 92a - not to grippy for our our already pretty grippy track, but not so hard that I'll land straight on my bum!, and some toe-stops (Gumballs). I decided to try them out before I start on the track, so I took them to our local roller disco.

Unfortunately, there was a mix-up with my order and they had sent me the wrong wheels, so I had to skate on the wheels the skates come with, which are very hard. It was terrifying.

I would say it was like starting again, but I couldn't even move when I started, so it was more like being knocked back a few stages. I'd got so used to my super grippy disco skates, that I was not at all prepared for the slipperiness of these wheels! Also, as I had lowered my toe-stops to the suggested length (when up on your toe stops, your back wheels should be 2 fingers off the ground) I was convinced I kept catching them if I kicked my foot out wrong, which jolted me and sent me straight into the drilled derby stance, double knee fall position. Thankfully, I didn't actually fall!
Despite all of that, I do love my new skates and I'm hoping that, once the right wheels arrive, I will soon get back in to the swing of things.

Main track, I'm ready for you.

 With regards to kit, I would totally recommend talking to one of your coaches. Mine managed to help me try and get my head around wheels and taught me a lot of things while melting my brain a little too! She is my wheel guru now, though, and I hope to learn her ways!

Week 11: It's Getting A Little Crowded!

This week was a refresher session on the main track, in preparation for sign offs next week, so it seemed like a good idea to stay in the newbie area still. I've decided that I will start on the rink from week one of rotations so I can start from the beginning. It seems like a good order to do things in.

I took my usual place in the newbie area, but soon noticed that it was a little cramped...

Where there is usually, at most, 5 or 6 of us there was now not much space at all and people were queuing round the corner! Our usual up and down the width had to become a mini track so we could skate comfortably and not risk any wheel locks!* This influx of fresh meat was due to the bout at the weekend and part of me was like "Woohoo! Awesome! More people know about the Brawds!" yet, part of me was a little unnerved about the lack of space and the fact that these fresh meat were really good!

After the bout and the after party, I really felt like a Brawd and I felt like I needed to pass on advice to these newbies. I made some points about where the pressure should be in a plough stop and how it varies from a plough stance in skiing (in skiing, the weight is on the inside, in order to dig the blades in and to stop you from going so fast - in derby, the weight is on the outside and you push your heels out) but I also made a point that, although I knew this, I still couldn't plough stop!

I continued practicing each skill, but now with a sense that I needed to be better than I was in order to fit in with the calibre of these new skaters. However, the more I tried to be better, the less I was thinking about the skill and kept messing up. So I decided to get in my own zone and not worry about how good everyone else was. At the end of the day, every one learns differently and, eventually, I will crack it. A coach once told me that when she first started, she found the basic levels the hardest yet her friends found them easier, then as she progressed, she found the harder skills easier and her friends found them harder. I've always remembered this as it helps. If you start comparing yourself to everyone else then you'll never reach your best ability as you're trying to reach someone else's. Just because someone else finds it easy and you find it hard, doesn't make you weird or incapable. A little perseverance and dedication and you'll get there! (And I'll let you know when I do too!)

* After writing that I became aware that I will need to get used to cramped skating conditions for pack work!

Bout Day!

Woohoo! So I've been thoroughly excited about this for weeks! My team (which I will now reveal is The Norfolk Brawds, as I now feel like I really am a Brawd!) are part of the Heartlands Series, which splits the Heartlands into East and West and then plays out games leading up to a final, etc.

The Brawds were playing against Rebellion Roller Derby while Romsey Town Rollerbillies were playing Mean Valley Rollergirls in an exhibition bout.
I won't go in to too much detail about the bout as there's bound to be someone out there who will cover it better than myself and I want to focus on the Fresh Meat side of things and, more so, the first bout you go to as Fresh Meat.

Firstly, my main excitement was about getting my printed t-shirt and name necklace! Our merch team had ordered the t-shirts a while ago and I had ordered the name necklaces earlier in the week from Sugar & Vice.

The main thing you notice when you put on your t-shirt is that you instantly feel included. There were a few "Looking good, Fresh Meat!"s and when a member of the crowd looked at you, you just felt proud, like "Yeahhh, that's right. I'm a Insert Team Name Here]". I even felt thoroughly complimented when someone offered to let me queue jump for the toilets as they thought I was a skater. I obviously told them I wasn't skating, but it made me smile a big cheesy grin.

You also get even more absorbed in your team's game. I've been a huge fan of the Brawds ever since the first time I saw them play, but now I was one of them I was even more in to it. I knew the players personally, I knew what they were trying to do, I knew how hard it was to do what they were doing! I screamed myself hoarse cheering them on, I almost fell down the stairs as I was leaning so far forward in tense moments, I was clapping so hard that I swear I've got RSI in my wrist now! You just get absorbed and it also riles you up. You want to be out there, you want to train harder and get better so one day you'll get to be out there doing your team proud. It's a feeling that leaves you buzzing for days afterwards.

The most amazing thing I found, though, was that you feel accepted. This is more than just being part of the team, this is being part of a family. One of our long-standing members was moving away, so we gave her a huge farewell at the end of the bout. All of the Brawds were called on to the centre of the track to wish her well and we realised that now included us. The massive group hug that followed showed we were now part of this amazing and inspiring group of ladies.
The after party just confirmed this acceptance. We weren't sat in a corner being ignored and feeling excluded, we were welcomed in. We were called up to dance, hugged, kissed, groped, given so many words of encouragement that one day they'll be cheering us on and we'll be out on the track, representing.

Everyone is so lovely that is really is hard to put in to words. The ladies on your team are your family. They are the ones who will be out there on the track with you, who will have your back, who will train with you. They are the ones who lift you up and encourage you when you feel you're not good enough or just won't be able to crack that certain skill. They are the ones who pass on wisdom and advice. Two of my Fresh Meat friends even became Derby Wives at the bout!

It's difficult to explain. But once you join a team, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!

Oh, and The Brawds won their game! 166 - 122!