2017: The Year I Joined a Charter

Last year I wrote about how I tried out for, and did not earn a spot on, our charter team. I had a great year playing with our B team, the Steel Beamers. I got to fly for the first time since 2006. I got to visit several cities I’d never been to, including Boston MA, Charlottesville VA, Bloomington IN, Columbia SC, and Baltimore, MD. I got to play in the B-Cup tournament, where we were the only team to move up from our initial seeding. I got to play the B teams of teams I’ve been a fan of for years. I learned a TON and made invaluable improvements. I got invited to be a red shirt for the charter team for the last two months of the season, which was really exciting. Spending the last two months practicing with the charter definitely helped me be more prepared for tryouts this year. This lead to me going to playoffs in Columbia, SC, which was a blast. I worked the merch table for our games and cheered my face off, I got to see Rose City play live again and met Brawn Swanson (and of course asked how she kept her mustache on), I got to see Denver play live for the first time, and I spent a lot of time in the hotel pool because it was really damn hot down there. Overall, it was a really great year in derby for me and I enjoyed the whole season and the progression.

We lost some folks at the end of the year last year which opened up the opportunity of making the charter team this year. And, if you read the title, you’ll see that I did just that. I even managed to make the first roster and skated two jams in my first sanctioned game. 

Last year my focus was leveling up my game and improving mental toughness. I feel I definitely accomplished both of those things. So, what are my goals this year?

-Consistency – I want to make sure I am a skater that my captains/coaches can look at and know that I can do the job they need from me.

-Dedication – My goal is always to attend every practice available to me that I can reasonably attend. Last year I was stuck being mostly a bare minimum skater, usually making 2 practices a week, occasionally 3, because of life circumstances. This year, I have already been pretty consistently making 3-4 practices a week and it feels great. In addition to practice attendance, I extend dedication to being happy to fill any role in which I am needed, whether it’s on the track or off.

-Tenacity – I want to make every moment I’m on the track count, and always be doing something.

-Endurance – This is one of my biggest boons right now. Increasing endurance is not easy!
What are your goals for this season?

Freshies, I Think of You.

Fresh skaters, you inspire me.

I’ve been playing derby for 4 years. My enthusiasm waxes and wanes with the muscle soreness and intensity of schedule. I always want to learn and get better, but motivating myself to actually do it can be a bit of a battle at times. I love my sport, but like anything, I can take it for granted. And then, freshies, I think of you.

 
I haven’t gotten to attend a regular league skills practice for a few weeks just due to my home schedule. I got to go on Monday, where it was mostly freshly contact cleared new folks and a couple of us vets. I thoroughly enjoyed the smiling faces, the effort, the enthusiasm, and watching the progress of the freshies. It brought me back to my own freshie days when learning everything was so hard but fun at the same time. It made me want to get back to trying out some new moves I’ve seen but that seemed so advanced I felt maybe I’d never “get it.”

 
So, I started working on one foot transitions again. I could go forward to backward most of the time, but not backward to forward. I kept trying it between drills and eventually I nailed several of them throughout the night, and the feeling was pretty damn awesome. It made me remember the first couple times I nailed a regular transition after spending HOURS doing nothing but just that. The first time I held a mohawk around a turn, after trying it and trying it and trying it so many times and ending up turned around backwards. The first time I actually knocked someone down with a hit instead of just rattling their upper body a bit. The first time I got to scrimmage and how it felt like there was a tornado of sounds and movement around me that I just couldn’t yet understand. Freshies, it made me think of you.

 

Sometimes those who have been playing for a while can forget where we started. Instead of finding joy in the small successes, we get upset or frustrated when something isn’t clicking. We can forget that at one point, we were happy to half nail a skill instead of mentally beating ourselves up when we take on a jammer one on one and make contact but lose them quickly (which the fresh us would have been ecstatic just to feel the wind of the jammer as they blew by). We can forget what it was like to be fresh, and forget that we are actually still learning too.

 

 

You may be looking to us vets for the moves and the strategy and the experience, but freshies, I look to you to keep me grounded. I am learning from you, too. And someday, if you stick around, you’ll be in my shoes, working with fresher freshies, and hopefully learning as much from them as they are from you.

 

So, dear freshies, remember. When you nail that plow stop. When you get the courage to run on your toe stops. When you hit 27 laps the second the whistle blows to end 5 minutes. When you put your butt on someone and slow them down. When a strategy makes a lightbulb flick on for you. I’ll be there to cheer you on and high five you in celebration of your progress.

 

And when I finally succeed at my one foot transitions, both ways, on both feet…I’ll be thinking of you.

Part 2: I Didn’t Make the A Team, but I Made the B Team, and That’s Badass

So, if you were here for Part 1 of this post, you’ll know that I tried our for, and did not make, Steel City Roller Derby’s charter team, the Steel Hurtin’. You’d also know that I still had one more tryout to go for the B team, the Steel Beamers.

I showed up at tryouts early, ready to go. My body was pretty sore from the three days of derby I already experienced this week, with only a day break between A team and B team tryouts, but I planned to give it everything I had left.

Everyone was enthusiastic and ready. We went through much of the same stuff we did at A team tryouts with slightly lowered intensity. We did pair drills, 1 v 1, 2 v 1, 3 v 1 with an offense, and a scrimmage. It didn’t take the leadership long to put the list out, and I was very excited to see my name on the list of those who made it.

I am very excited to start this season and begin getting to know my new team. I think we have a strong group of skaters with a lot of different skills and skating styles, and I greatly anticipate seeing how our season plays out! We will be playing games farther than I’ve traveled for derby before, with games scheduled in Boston MA, Charlottesville BA, Baltimore MD, and a B team tournament in Bloomington IN. 

The hardest part is over, but the work is not done. 20 people do not fit into a roster, only 14 do, and I came here to play. This is where the real work kicks in, and I plan to increase my cross training and hone in on my skills to make sure I make rosters and get to play as much as possible! 

I Didn’t Make the Team, and That’s OK: Part 1

When I transferred into the Steel City Roller Derby league, I knew that my ultimate goal was to one day skate for the Steel Hurtin’, the league’s charter team. I had been a fan of the team since not long after I started playing. I admired the skaters’ strength and tenacity, and I aspired to play at this level someday.

Travel team tryouts began last week. I spent two days with 45 other women being observed doing skills, drills, and high energy scrimmage. 

I then got something I truly wasn’t expecting:  an invitation to try out for the Hurtin’. 

I’ve been involved with derby for nearly 4 years now, with 16 months of it spent off skates for pregnancy and injury. I sustained a wrist break in March last year which had me taking 5 months off right as I was transferring to Steel City. I began attending practice in August and have worked hard to try to bring up my game to match what I’ve come into. The invitation alone felt like a real accomplishment. If I didn’t have potential, I wouldn’t have been considered! I promised myself that I would stay as mentally positive as possible. I would be coming into tryouts easily one of the least experienced, least skilled players attending, but I planned to give it what I had regardless.

Hurtin’ tryouts happened last night. I took the track with 24 others competing for 20 spots. I put out so much sweat I could have mopped the floor. I had to put my still not quite perfected (and still one sided) hockey stops on display. I had to block one on one skaters who were barely catchable and jam against skaters who were barely movable. Several times I struggled to catch my breath. Several times my legs felt like noodles ready to bend at anymore pressure. Several times I made a move that wasn’t the right one. 

But also, I got to work with women I have looked up to and been a fan of for several years. I got to see how I fit in blocking with strong blockers. I got to jam against some of the strongest defense I have encountered. I got to encourage and motivate other women who were kicking so much ass and leaving it all on the track. I had several notably good blocking moments. I even got lead jamming the first jam and scored several points; that alone felt like a great physical accomplishment for the night. I got to truly challenge myself. Most importantly, I had an immense amount of fun doing it all. 

I did not make the cut. Expectedly, I had a tiny pang of bummer, but it didn’t last long. The list of women who did make the cut are strong, athletic, deserving skaters who will make an amazing team that I can’t wait to cheer for. I received helpful and motivating feedback from leadership that I will talk with me both into B team tryouts and the season in general.

If your league has an A/B team, and you have an opportunity to try out, no matter what your skill level is, take the opportunity. It will only help you grow as an athlete, and you never know; your coaches may see something in you that you didn’t realize, and you may surprise yourself. 

Tomorrow I spend one more day putting my best on the track this week for Beamers (B-team) tryouts. Once again, I’ll go in positive and come out positive no matter the outcome. Can’t wait for another intense day of challenging fun!
–to be continued, after B team tryouts!

Derby Turtle

I’m a derby turtle. What in the world is that, you ask? Well, when you think of turtles, usually the first thing that comes to mind is their speed…or lack thereof. 

I come from a background of late night video game binges and marathon runs (the TV show kind) and internet forum trolling. None of those things is a good base for athletic pursuits. What made me decide to start playing a team sport well into adulthood with zero previous sports experience? I desired a challenge, and oh what a challenge derby has been.

When I first began skating to prepare for tryouts, I was holding onto walls. I fell on my ass so hard the first time I went to the rink that I almost quit right then. Then I bought some gear and my own skates, and that helped some. I started skating in January of 2012. I attended two boot camps and was skating 2-3 days a week at the rink and at an adult skate held in a local community center. It took me two months just to get steady enough to barely scrape my way past fresh meat tryouts. Once I passed tryouts in March, I spent the next two months attending the only weekly practice I could with my work schedule and using open gym time to skate 2-4 other days every week to try to not suck so much. I passed my first skills test in May 2012, but this was not a pass fail skills test — everything was ranked 1-5, basically absolute failure to doing the skill perfectly. We needed a 75 or 80 to pass and I just barely made it. I skated my first game in which I was only in two jams (and spent those two jams as a goat, ha!) and then found out I was pregnant, so I had to take this giant 10 month chunk of time and not skate.

By the time I was back in skates I nearly felt like I was back at square one, but it came back to me fairly quickly. At this point, I still couldn’t do turn around toe stops, I couldn’t get anywhere near being able to mohawk, and backwards skating seemed like a far away dream. I realized that I had the ability to learn these skills, but that very often I learned them at a much slower pace than many other skaters. Often a drill is run as explanation given, demonstration, start drill. Much of the time, most of the skaters at practice will not necessarily have mastered it but will at least have gotten pretty decent at whatever goal the drill was aiming for. Not I. The majority of the time, I will not be able to perform a skill properly the first time it’s introduced to me…or maybe not even the second, or third. It often requires me taking a bunch of extra time outside of practice to repeat the skill over, and over, and over, until my body finally decides to cooperate. It’s not a matter of not understanding; I usually understand very well what I should be doing. Getting my body to agree and cooperate is where the problem lies. My muscle memory builds slowly. If it took you 60 tries it’ll probably take me 200.

This used to frustrate me to no end. A drill would commence, and 10-15 minutes later, many of my league mates would be happily chattering about what’s working for them and what isn’t, and how they’re excited they’ve learned this new thing, and I’m somewhere in my own head wondering why things just don’t click for me that fast and frustrating myself to a point where I’d lose motivation to keep trying for that moment. It took me nearly three years of derby to get out of my head and just accept that I am not a natural athlete, and what comes easy to others will not usually come easy for me, but will come from many hours of sweating and failing. I’ve had to learn to embrace my inner turtle instead of wanting to stomp on it like it’s a spider on fire. 

I passed the full WFTDA skills test 100% for the first time in February of 2014. It felt like a monumental success. It was the thing for which I’d been sweating and striving. The previous two times I’d taken it it was the scaled version, so I still passed, but was a little shaky on certain skills. Passing the actual pass/fail test was a milestone I’ll always remember, because that’s when it truly felt like “Ok, I can do this, I do belong here, I CAN be good at this game.”

The key thing to keep in mind is that your journey is yours and yours alone. No two progressions will look alike. Your buddy in fresh meat who passed the skills test with flying colors on the first try,  who landed an apex jump in their third game, who made roster the first time they were eligible, their progression is their own, and you should never compare your journey to someone else’s. It’s bad juju for your mental state! You have to accept that everyone learns at their own pace, and the only person you should compare yourself with is your old self, your yesterday self, your last year self.

It’s ok to learn slowly. It’s ok to fail a lot, because that’s the path to success. Try 10 times, try 50 times, try 500 times…as long as you keep going. If you can relate, if you’ve been here too, it’s ok. We are doing great. Slow and steady wins the race. Embrace your inner turtle, and be patient with yourself!

No One Parties Like a Derby Girl?

Ever since I first heard of derby, I’ve been seeing and hearing this saying, “No one parties like a derby girl!” 
I never played a team sport before derby. I did spend four years bartending, which made me quite apathetic towards partying and the bar scene. So you can say I was personality referee of the bar. How many whistles would I need to blow before Joe Schmoe accepts he has been cut off and accepts my offer to call him a taxi? How many warnings before Sally Shortstack quits peeing all over the bar toilet once and for all? Will this be the last time Betty Blowtorch tries to give me sweaty boob money before I permanently eject her from the bar?

For some of us, previous life experience means that we are not comfortable in bar environments, or just don’t party, and this makes the “derby party girl” image uncomfortable for us. “Are you coming to the after party?” is a question we dread, because it’s not that we hate you and don’t want to hang out with you, we just don’t feel it necessary for those hangs to happen in a bar. Now, I haven’t skipped every single after party. If my team mates are going to a restaurant instead of a bar, I am happy to tag along to celebrate the win (or loss, whatev) while we shove food in our face and talk. TALK. Something you can do in a restaurant, but not so much in most bars, which are usually loud. And filled with drunk people…something I am very easily annoyed by. 

Some derby folks are recovering alcoholics. Some are straight edge, or have just never drank and never plan to and they prefer to avoid environments charged with alcohol. We are still derby folks like you. But for us, the after party isn’t what we look forward to. Your post game high may lead you to want to roll out to the nearest watering hole and dance and guzzle beer. My post game high leads me home to my couch where I can let the bruises rise to the surface and the heating pad work its magic on my old back while my kids crawl over me excitedly inquiring about my game night.

I don’t want this to seem like I think it’s wrong to go out and party. If that’s your idea of a great time, more power to you! Go have a blast. I, however, don’t have that on my list of things to do that are enjoyable…unless there’s a drag show happening. Is there a drag show? Sweet, I’ll go. And I’ll even DD. But I’m not gonna “party.” I’m gonna hang out with my friends and team mates, enjoy the show, and make sure they get home safely. 

If the party girl image is what you’re going for, cool. Go do that. Embrace it. But keep me on speed dial for when you’re seeing double and can’t make it home. Cuz nobody parties like you, and no one moms like me and your other sober pals. 

Outdoor Skating Tips

Skating outdoors is fun and can help you improve many skills. Skaters are often nervous about skating outdoors for the first few times, and I was certainly in that group myself. To help ease your outdoor skating fears, I’ve put together this list of tips to help make it a little less scary for you.                                                                                                    

  
First, let’s start with what you’ll need on your body:
Plenty of outdoor skaters, whether trail skaters or skate park shredders, wear little to no gear outdoors. It’s a personal choice! However, we all know that wearing as much of your protective gear as possible, especially in the outdoor-noob stages, will help keep you safer. I personally wear all of my body gear (knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards). I wear my helmet, but it also depends on the weather. I’ve gotten to a point of overheating with my helmet on and had to remove it. Use your best judgment, and be as safe as possible!               

  
Now, your skates:
Skaters use various types of wheels outdoors. What wheels you choose should depend on the surface in which you’ll be skating. Braving a skate park? Your typical derby wheel should be fine. Most skate parks are smooth and relatively free of debris. I roll my 92A Bones Turbo wheels at the skate park and love them for that surface. Hitting a trail? Hybrids like Atom Poisons or Reckless Envys are ok in a pinch, but you will be much better off in a softer outdoor wheel. Trails are often riddled with cracks, sticks, rocks, other debris, and in the case of where I skate, duck poop bombs. Wheels made for outdoor skating are soft enough to roll over most of the debris and cracks without tripping you up. I use Atom Pulse wheels; they are 78A and roll over just about anything I encounter! Other popular outdoor wheels are Atom Road Hogs, Sonar Zen, Sure Grip Boardwalk, and Krypto Route. For bearings, use your junkiest ones, or buy a really cheap set just for outdoor use. Skating outdoors is dirty (obviously) and you don’t want to gunk up your nice bearings with dirt and grime.

  
Ok, you’re geared up and ready: what now?

  
For trail skating, these are things I learned through tips from friends, and from my own outdoor adventures:

  
1) Stance/stride tips
Skating outdoors is a great way to really feel out your stride and improve upon it. Trails are often pretty straight and flat, so you have the opportunity to push hard and maintain speed without turning left a thousand times. Your stance and stride will be similar to derby skating. Keep your knees bent; this will help you get the most push from your stride and will help absorb the shock of any cracks or debris you hit. Cross over if you feel comfortable doing so, but it isn’t necessary. I rarely cross over on trails, I stick to good, hard regular strides.

2) Dealing with cracks
Most cracks can be rolled over as if they don’t exist. For larger cracks, stagger your feet slightly apart, one in front of the other, so that your wheels all hit the crack at different points. Keep your knees bent!! If you’re feeling brave, or if they look way too large to roll over without biting the dust, you can also hop/leap over them. 

3) Dealing with hills
There are several ways you can handle hills. If it’s a familiar hill and you know what’s at the bottom, just let the speed take you if it’s safe to do so. If the hill is really steep, or the bottom of a hill is unfamiliar territory or you know you’ll need to be stopped at the bottom, you can handle this several ways. You can turn around and guide yourself down with your toe stops. I personally do not prefer this method unless the hill is pretty steep, mostly because I am not a fan of grinding down a pair of toe stops so quickly. I’ve seen suggestions to use a T stop as well, but keep in mind that this can very easily grind flat spots into your wheels. The way I usually deal with hills is to plow. I do a combination of full plows and single foot plows, alternating feet to control my speed. It’s a great way to really feel your plows, and a hell of a leg workout. 

4) Dealing with debris
As I stated before, if you have on soft outdoor wheels, you should be able to roll over just about anything that isn’t too big. Try to avoid large sticks, large gravel, food, and poop. Also be careful of wet spots; wet leaves can feel like skating on ice, and getting water in your bearings can cause them to rust. 

5) Trail etiquette
If you’ve never been on a trail before you started skating outdoors, they’re pretty simple and don’t require a lot of you. Just like a road, if the trail is busy, skate on the right side. If you come upon someone walking or biking at a slow pace and you need to pass them, announce “on your left” as you approach and pass so that the person knows where you’re going. If you can see the trail for a long distance and it’s clear, no need to stick to the right, skate all over that trail! That’s about it! 

6) Take some stuff along
Any time I hit the trail, I have my fanny pack containing my ID, debit card, car keys, cell phone, and a pocket knife (this was a hot topic when I originally posted this — if you live in an area where carrying a knife is illegal, please don’t do it. This is a thing that I personally like to carry and is not at all a requirement). I also carry a small drawstring backpack in which I pack small snacks like bananas and granola bars, my shoes in case something breaks on my skates, my skate noose (for the same reason; if something breaks I want to be able to carry them easily), an extra bandana, and bottled water. 

For shredding at a skate park:
I don’t have much solid advice here since I am a total skate park noob myself. I’ve only logged 3 hours of timid rolling over the slopes. Check out the Chicks in Bowls Facebook and Instagram pages for videos and tips on how to be a skate park badass. Also, check out these links to their videos on the basics of transition skating and stalls. 

   
So, now that you know what you’re getting into, get your skates and gear on and hit the great outdoors for some fun rolling in the sun!