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!)