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!)