Sorry I haven't been posting as much. I have a couple of drafts that I haven't touched or posted. For that, I'm sorry.
I've been thinking some about my blog. I feel like it's grown kind of stagnant. I don't have the same struggles I did when I was trying to pass assessments. I don't know if it's as interesting anymore. I'm trying some new things, so please feel free to let me know what you think.
My first actual topic will be: accepting praise in derby.
6 months ago, I had just passed assessments. We were nearing the end of the season. The B*Dazzlers had just 2 more games. I could hit a little, but my hits were feather-light. I didn't know jack about strategery.
When you start at the bottom, you have a long way to go. From there, I've become one of the top skaters on my team. I'm a frequent jammer (go figure) and apparently a blocker who knows what's going on. I've gained a lot of speed. My 25 in 5 time dropped 30 seconds or so from June to September of last year.
So I've gotten a lot of positive feedback. It's sometimes difficult to deal with. We get critiqued all the time. A coworker tells you that you forgot something. A teacher tells you to be more in-depth with an answer. Your team's coach tells you to get lower, hit harder, and pay more attention. Critique happens daily. In the world of theatre, you say "Thank you" and fix it. Elsewhere, you nod or say "OK" and make a note to fix it.
Derby is not something that any of us grew up doing. About a decade ago, some women in Texas brought the game back to life. They learned mostly through trial-and-error. Since then we've formulated some ideas about how to train for and learn the game of derby. At first, you're always doing it wrong. Eventually, you don't cry or vomit as much, and get yelled at less.
But praise is something totally different. Even writing this blog I'm second-guessing some of the things I'm saying about myself. I had a long battle with self-esteem, so I'm better able to accept the positive things people say, but it's never easy. I just try to step back, say thank you and tuck it away. The same thing goes for when I'm in practice and doing some kind of drill and somebody says "Damn" (or something to that effect) when they have to try to get around me as a blocker or something.
I try to keep these things in mind for days when life gets me down. I keep these things for days when I'm jamming against the strongest blockers in the league. These little bursts of nice can really help out. When I get down and I think I suck, I think about the time I juked one of our most aware players. Or the time that I scored 20 points in a scrimmage and my team all high-fived me.
This is a tough sport, and you'll never get anywhere being down on yourself all the time. So cheer up, get lower, and thank someone trying to compliment you!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Tooting My Own Horn
I just thought I'd point out that I have written a book review of Down and Derby and it's on the Charlotte Roller Girls website:
http://charlotterollergirls.com/2012/03/cltrg-book-review-down-and-derby-the-insiders-guide-to-roller-derby/
I'd love for you to check it out!
http://charlotterollergirls.com/2012/03/cltrg-book-review-down-and-derby-the-insiders-guide-to-roller-derby/
I'd love for you to check it out!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Some Thoughts
A highlight of the was after a particularly exhausting jam, I collapsed on the floor in front of our bench and one of my teammates gave me the advice to dig in when I take big hits. She said I keep moving my feet sometimes. BUT this is huge progress because I've been working on moving my feet and not stopping skating when I hit the pack. So yay, I've managed to make my feet move, now I need to reign it in.
So I played some derby last Saturday. I was slightly more jittery for this bout but maybe that's due to my involvement. It was phenomenal to go to Charleston and not have to worry about whether or not there are tickets at willcall and whether people are trained in their various tasks. Not only did we have a bout, we skated in the St. Patty's Day Parade. It was a day full of derby.
The B*Dazzlers were playing the Triad's Camel City Thrashers. I enjoy the Thrashers. I recently skated in that co-ed Invitational with most of them. It was a lot of fun. They're a great bunch of ladies. And they skated their hearts out and were great sports about the score.
As a jammer, I was pretty useless. I was all over the floor. Seriously, in all the pictures, I am on the floor when I'm wearing the star. I took some good hits, but I was probably the least effective jammer. I'm much prouder of my blocking skills. I was often sitting on the jammer and holding her back. That's a good feeling. I worked with many of my teammates, and seldom was it the same ones. Alley Capone has a great sense of what speed to maintain when you're holding the jammer at the back of the pack to stay in play.
I had a really great time and I wore shiny pants. I apologize for being so late on this post. I started it Sunday, but it has been an open tab on my browser since then. So I also apologize for not having much to this post. Happy Friday!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Cleaning Wheels And Bearings
Disclaimer: This is how I clean MY wheels and bearings. This is not the only way, it's just what I do. If you do something different, you are not wrong.
With that out of the way, I'd like to talk about something really important for all skaters. When you maintain your equipment properly, it lasts a lot longer and improves your skating performance.
My magical elixir is simply Isopropyl Alcohol. Some girls prefer to use vinegar on their wheels because alcohol will break down the polyurethane. I personally believe that I will have worn out the wheels long enough any breakdown occurs.
I clean my wheels pretty regularly. I usually do not even remove them from my skates. I take a rag, soak a corner in alcohol, and rub until the dirt is gone. With light-colored wheels, it's easy to tell. I used to have black wheels and it was way harder to see the dirt globs.
Some people swear by cleaning wheels with soap and water. I just had the opportunity to do that. I had the water left over from washing my pads. I dunked the wheels, agitated, and then rinsed. Since the bearings were already out for cleaning, this was really helpful. It got the dust out of the hubs that I usually spend 20 minutes with a q-tip scrubbing. But this isn't something I'll do that often since it does require removing the bearings. And it didn't do much for the dirt on the skating surface of the wheels.
Now my bearings I do not clean as often. These bearings were purchased in December, so they're not super dirty, but I thought I'd give 'em a cleaning before the next bout. I skate on Mini Logos bearings. They have one plastic shield and the other side is sealed metal.
So the first step is removing the bearings from the wheel hubs. You can do this with a bearing tool or carefully using the axle of the skate. Once that's done, it's time to remove the plastic shield. I had a safety pin laying around, so I used that. All it takes is a gentle pry.
So now you've got 16 bearings and 16 shields. Some skaters throw away the shields, but that makes cleanings necessary more often and I'm too lazy for that, so I soak them in hot water, dry them, and put them back on the bearings. To clean the actual bearings, I put them in a tupperware container. I pour in some alcohol and agitate. I put the lid on the container and shake it, stir it, and otherwise encourage the dirt out. After a bit, I drain the alcohol, spin the excess liquid out of the bearings and leave them on a towel to dry. I put the shields onto a paper towel.
It's necessary to lubricate your bearings after cleaning. Just because they roll fine un-lubricated does not mean you should leave them that way. I use Tri-Flow brand lubricant. It was on sale for $3.97 at Dick's. Most any sort of lubricant will do, a lot of people recommend sewing machine oil. A couple drops will do. Then spin a few times to spread it. Replace the shields and you're good to go.
I promise to update this post with pictures when I next clean my bearings.
With that out of the way, I'd like to talk about something really important for all skaters. When you maintain your equipment properly, it lasts a lot longer and improves your skating performance.
My magical elixir is simply Isopropyl Alcohol. Some girls prefer to use vinegar on their wheels because alcohol will break down the polyurethane. I personally believe that I will have worn out the wheels long enough any breakdown occurs.
I clean my wheels pretty regularly. I usually do not even remove them from my skates. I take a rag, soak a corner in alcohol, and rub until the dirt is gone. With light-colored wheels, it's easy to tell. I used to have black wheels and it was way harder to see the dirt globs.
Some people swear by cleaning wheels with soap and water. I just had the opportunity to do that. I had the water left over from washing my pads. I dunked the wheels, agitated, and then rinsed. Since the bearings were already out for cleaning, this was really helpful. It got the dust out of the hubs that I usually spend 20 minutes with a q-tip scrubbing. But this isn't something I'll do that often since it does require removing the bearings. And it didn't do much for the dirt on the skating surface of the wheels.
Now my bearings I do not clean as often. These bearings were purchased in December, so they're not super dirty, but I thought I'd give 'em a cleaning before the next bout. I skate on Mini Logos bearings. They have one plastic shield and the other side is sealed metal.
So the first step is removing the bearings from the wheel hubs. You can do this with a bearing tool or carefully using the axle of the skate. Once that's done, it's time to remove the plastic shield. I had a safety pin laying around, so I used that. All it takes is a gentle pry.
So now you've got 16 bearings and 16 shields. Some skaters throw away the shields, but that makes cleanings necessary more often and I'm too lazy for that, so I soak them in hot water, dry them, and put them back on the bearings. To clean the actual bearings, I put them in a tupperware container. I pour in some alcohol and agitate. I put the lid on the container and shake it, stir it, and otherwise encourage the dirt out. After a bit, I drain the alcohol, spin the excess liquid out of the bearings and leave them on a towel to dry. I put the shields onto a paper towel.
It's necessary to lubricate your bearings after cleaning. Just because they roll fine un-lubricated does not mean you should leave them that way. I use Tri-Flow brand lubricant. It was on sale for $3.97 at Dick's. Most any sort of lubricant will do, a lot of people recommend sewing machine oil. A couple drops will do. Then spin a few times to spread it. Replace the shields and you're good to go.
I promise to update this post with pictures when I next clean my bearings.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Firstly
Congrats to Bets On Bruises for passing assessments earlier this eve!
Secondly, I made roster and am out of my mind with excitement. But also one of my teammates will be moving soon. She will have the chance to skate with the Carolina Rollergirls, so that's excellent for her.
Practice was interesting. It always is when CalQ leads. The first thing she had us do was skate an enormous figure 8 on the track. That was awesome, because it forced us to transition from derby direction to non-derby direction in quick succession.
Also, let me mention that I was skating on different wheels. I finally decided to try out some harder wheels. I am comfortable with my Poisons, but apparently I started out on roughly a 95a durometer. So tonight, I skated on Rollerbones Snake wheels. They are a 96a. It was really interesting. They are the same width as Poisons, so it was less of a harrowing transition than the Speed Rays AND they are also plastic hubs. It was a bit like driving without shocks. I definitely felt more of the floor beneath my feet.
Back to the drills. I thought CalQ gave us a varied and interesting practice. There was skating in packs, which was unfamiliar to some of the newer skaters. They rose to the challenge well. There was a bit of endurance for the grannies. There were some skills and plenty of opportunity to work on awareness.
On a slightly less related note, I will have Antiks before the year is up. I found a customizer thing where you can see all the different colors. I desire them much!
And good luck to Tasty Murder on her redos!
Secondly, I made roster and am out of my mind with excitement. But also one of my teammates will be moving soon. She will have the chance to skate with the Carolina Rollergirls, so that's excellent for her.
Practice was interesting. It always is when CalQ leads. The first thing she had us do was skate an enormous figure 8 on the track. That was awesome, because it forced us to transition from derby direction to non-derby direction in quick succession.
Also, let me mention that I was skating on different wheels. I finally decided to try out some harder wheels. I am comfortable with my Poisons, but apparently I started out on roughly a 95a durometer. So tonight, I skated on Rollerbones Snake wheels. They are a 96a. It was really interesting. They are the same width as Poisons, so it was less of a harrowing transition than the Speed Rays AND they are also plastic hubs. It was a bit like driving without shocks. I definitely felt more of the floor beneath my feet.
Back to the drills. I thought CalQ gave us a varied and interesting practice. There was skating in packs, which was unfamiliar to some of the newer skaters. They rose to the challenge well. There was a bit of endurance for the grannies. There were some skills and plenty of opportunity to work on awareness.
On a slightly less related note, I will have Antiks before the year is up. I found a customizer thing where you can see all the different colors. I desire them much!
And good luck to Tasty Murder on her redos!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
A Compendium
So...I failed to post about scrimmage last night. It was largely underwhelming. I jammed a bit, and then we played against the A-team. I received a backblock penalty when I was hit into another skater. But alas. I stayed for endurance. Also, there were ref assessments. They all passed. Yay Zeebs!
Tonight was better. Our captains incorporated some of Bonnie's teachings. It was good to try to employ it again. We also split up into jammers and blockers and blockers worked on v-walls while jammers worked on shielding.
We did a lot of scrills tonight. We did some during the new granny clinic. We did some 4 corners. We did some five-on-five, it was all valuable. I had a really good moment where I juked someone. I noticed she was all over me, and I figured, "Ok, I been working on this, time to try it out." I don't remember if I faked in and went out or vice versa, but it worked. I got around one of our strong blockers who was giving me trouble.
I enjoyed practice and can't wait for Thursday. Also the roster comes out tonight, whoo!
Tonight was better. Our captains incorporated some of Bonnie's teachings. It was good to try to employ it again. We also split up into jammers and blockers and blockers worked on v-walls while jammers worked on shielding.
We did a lot of scrills tonight. We did some during the new granny clinic. We did some 4 corners. We did some five-on-five, it was all valuable. I had a really good moment where I juked someone. I noticed she was all over me, and I figured, "Ok, I been working on this, time to try it out." I don't remember if I faked in and went out or vice versa, but it worked. I got around one of our strong blockers who was giving me trouble.
I enjoyed practice and can't wait for Thursday. Also the roster comes out tonight, whoo!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Blech
Today was long. My manager kindly scheduled me at 1, so I was able to go to practice. I woke up and did not want to. But I knew that my derby wife would tell me to (even though she was asleep at that time, because it was like 5:30 where she was). So I got up and put on my leggings on.
Well then, I never got back to this blog post yesterday. Allow me to recall.
We did endurance practice, but it wasn't endurance like, "Ugh." It was endurance like, "This is endurance? Ok." K. Rye did it in a fun, self-guided way. The first drill we did was a sprint/core drill. We had whistles at every minute mark and we sprinted until the minute mark and then did either 10 push-ups or 20 sit-ups. This particular drill had my feet screaming. My arches were cramping so bad, I was nearly in tears. But I kept skating. After the drill, I was able to grab my insoles from my bag and that made all the difference. Some days, I need the insoles, some days I can't do it. Such is derby.
After that, we did the school bus/carpool drill. Thank you Rye for doing it in a fair way. She has the first person to get on the bus be the first person off. This means that the first person doesn't have to do all the laps. One of my dear teammates has been having a lot of leg pain, and has been getting treatments to help. They didn't seem to be helping her, so I tried to encourage her through the drill. It made me feel better about my own pain.
Then Rye had us stop, turn around, and do it non-derby direction. It took me a long time to adjust to crossovers with the 187 knee pads reverse-derby direction. In fact, that was the only thing that took any adjustment with them. I didn't know if I'd ever get the ability back. But I did, yay! Also I learned that I lace my left boot a little looser, which is fine for derby direction, but when that leg starts being the one picked up to cross over, it was a little wiggly.
Afterward Rye had us do 25 laps any way we wanted. The idea was clearly to sprint, but she opened up to us doing is backwards or reverse derby direction or whatever. Afterward, we were to do core and then go back out and do more laps. I did 25 staying as low as I could, like a jammer, but still keeping eyes forward so I could "map the pack." I collapsed for a second. Then after doing my core, I skated 25 laps backwards. After that, my poor newbie was leaving practice after a bad fall on her tush, so I went and hugged her. Hope your butt heals, Sonja!
I am glad I went to practice yesterday, but I hope that the next two nights of practice (scrimmage tonight) will not kill me. I think I will go foam roll and drink coffee.
Well then, I never got back to this blog post yesterday. Allow me to recall.
We did endurance practice, but it wasn't endurance like, "Ugh." It was endurance like, "This is endurance? Ok." K. Rye did it in a fun, self-guided way. The first drill we did was a sprint/core drill. We had whistles at every minute mark and we sprinted until the minute mark and then did either 10 push-ups or 20 sit-ups. This particular drill had my feet screaming. My arches were cramping so bad, I was nearly in tears. But I kept skating. After the drill, I was able to grab my insoles from my bag and that made all the difference. Some days, I need the insoles, some days I can't do it. Such is derby.
After that, we did the school bus/carpool drill. Thank you Rye for doing it in a fair way. She has the first person to get on the bus be the first person off. This means that the first person doesn't have to do all the laps. One of my dear teammates has been having a lot of leg pain, and has been getting treatments to help. They didn't seem to be helping her, so I tried to encourage her through the drill. It made me feel better about my own pain.
Then Rye had us stop, turn around, and do it non-derby direction. It took me a long time to adjust to crossovers with the 187 knee pads reverse-derby direction. In fact, that was the only thing that took any adjustment with them. I didn't know if I'd ever get the ability back. But I did, yay! Also I learned that I lace my left boot a little looser, which is fine for derby direction, but when that leg starts being the one picked up to cross over, it was a little wiggly.
Afterward Rye had us do 25 laps any way we wanted. The idea was clearly to sprint, but she opened up to us doing is backwards or reverse derby direction or whatever. Afterward, we were to do core and then go back out and do more laps. I did 25 staying as low as I could, like a jammer, but still keeping eyes forward so I could "map the pack." I collapsed for a second. Then after doing my core, I skated 25 laps backwards. After that, my poor newbie was leaving practice after a bad fall on her tush, so I went and hugged her. Hope your butt heals, Sonja!
I am glad I went to practice yesterday, but I hope that the next two nights of practice (scrimmage tonight) will not kill me. I think I will go foam roll and drink coffee.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
TODAY!
I met Bonnie D. Stroir! Omigod!
More to come later. When I process it all.
Ok, so after several hours of obsessing over derby including:
1. Assessing my next gear purchase.
2. Getting excited about any wheel Atom has ever produced.
3. Shopping for skates I don't need.
4. Reading the blog of one of my new idols, Elektra-Q-Tion
and 5. Being upset that none of the blogs I follow have updated lately.
So, I've decided to stop being a jackass and post for all of you.
I will try to condense the amazingness that Bonnie shared with us. She has a lot of great metaphors, firstly. I love her sharks and seals theory. Basically the inside and outside lines are deep water where sharks (blockers) thrive. Seals (jammers) do best in shallow water, or the middle lane of the track.
She gave us a lot of good advice about energy too. There are a lot of personalities in derby and instead of trying to fit into the mold of what traditional strategy says we need to do, we should complement each other. If you're the anchor in a wall, it's your job to be the calm one.
She gave us lots of little strategies and then let us go on the track and play with them. In short bursts, we got to try them out. I felt like I had a lot of success implementing her ideas. I can't wait to put them into practice at scrimmage or in scrills.
Bonnie has a lot of ideas that are in direct contradiction with what we've all been taught. She maintains that being low has its time, but derby position is not always appropriate. She gave us a lot of help with juking which is totally awesome, because it's something I desire strongly to work on.
She also spent some time talking about the derby mental game. She talked us through the game From the Bench, On the Track, and From the Box. She had some great tips for calming down if it starts to get overwhelming. Her tips are to regulate your breathing and give yourself simple mental command.
After all this, I came home and read derby blogs and am now looking at gear. I found some used Antik MG-2s in my size. I am seriously considering Revenge plates. I would like to try the Atom Snap wheels.
Anyway, this is all a whole lot of derby and I've got practice in the morning, so I'm going to bed.
Good night, hope dreams of skates come to you!
More to come later. When I process it all.
Ok, so after several hours of obsessing over derby including:
1. Assessing my next gear purchase.
2. Getting excited about any wheel Atom has ever produced.
3. Shopping for skates I don't need.
4. Reading the blog of one of my new idols, Elektra-Q-Tion
and 5. Being upset that none of the blogs I follow have updated lately.
So, I've decided to stop being a jackass and post for all of you.
I will try to condense the amazingness that Bonnie shared with us. She has a lot of great metaphors, firstly. I love her sharks and seals theory. Basically the inside and outside lines are deep water where sharks (blockers) thrive. Seals (jammers) do best in shallow water, or the middle lane of the track.
She gave us a lot of good advice about energy too. There are a lot of personalities in derby and instead of trying to fit into the mold of what traditional strategy says we need to do, we should complement each other. If you're the anchor in a wall, it's your job to be the calm one.
She gave us lots of little strategies and then let us go on the track and play with them. In short bursts, we got to try them out. I felt like I had a lot of success implementing her ideas. I can't wait to put them into practice at scrimmage or in scrills.
Bonnie has a lot of ideas that are in direct contradiction with what we've all been taught. She maintains that being low has its time, but derby position is not always appropriate. She gave us a lot of help with juking which is totally awesome, because it's something I desire strongly to work on.
She also spent some time talking about the derby mental game. She talked us through the game From the Bench, On the Track, and From the Box. She had some great tips for calming down if it starts to get overwhelming. Her tips are to regulate your breathing and give yourself simple mental command.
After all this, I came home and read derby blogs and am now looking at gear. I found some used Antik MG-2s in my size. I am seriously considering Revenge plates. I would like to try the Atom Snap wheels.
Anyway, this is all a whole lot of derby and I've got practice in the morning, so I'm going to bed.
Good night, hope dreams of skates come to you!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Thursday Funday
Tonight's practice was fun. I always love Cal Q's practices because she likes to make up drills or alter existing drills. There's always interesting things. Like tonight she had the newbies hold onto yarn that she'd tied knots in to show them how far apart they should be in pacelines.
She also pulled a few of us to work on hitting with the newbies who are preparing for Day 2. I hadn't done any measured hitting in a while and it was good. I realized I'm a lot better at Johnny Crashes (Can-openers) than I thought I was, and should maybe employ them more often in scrimmages and whatnot. We also were doing this hitting on the track with newbies weaving nearby, so I'm impressed with our awareness of the paceline and our not crashing into them.
We did a lot of the Day 1 skills as well, since Day 1 is Sunday. I really like this approach. I felt like I didn't have much prep for Day 1 the first time I did it. In the practices leading up to, we did the usual sorts of drills rather than more of the assessment skills.
It's also good to get to know the newest newbies.
This was rather a shorter post than I anticipated, so here's out bout poster:
She also pulled a few of us to work on hitting with the newbies who are preparing for Day 2. I hadn't done any measured hitting in a while and it was good. I realized I'm a lot better at Johnny Crashes (Can-openers) than I thought I was, and should maybe employ them more often in scrimmages and whatnot. We also were doing this hitting on the track with newbies weaving nearby, so I'm impressed with our awareness of the paceline and our not crashing into them.
We did a lot of the Day 1 skills as well, since Day 1 is Sunday. I really like this approach. I felt like I didn't have much prep for Day 1 the first time I did it. In the practices leading up to, we did the usual sorts of drills rather than more of the assessment skills.
It's also good to get to know the newest newbies.
This was rather a shorter post than I anticipated, so here's out bout poster:
Please come see us kick ass on St. Patty's Day, both in the parade, and in our doubleheader season opener.
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