It has been so long since I've written, and I sincerely apologize for that. As any of you who are my friends on Facebook know (I hope), I've recently uprooted my life and moved 500 miles away to Tallahassee, Florida. This has meant a number of stark changes for me, including a new roller derby league. I started with the Charlotte Roller Girls in 2010 and have only skated for them.
I intend to do a series of posts about transferring successfully, as I navigate my own way through the trials and tribulations. For most folks who transfer leagues, I imagine there is also a move involved. I will mostly discount that variable, though it's no small feat.
Today's presentation is on managing your expectations. I came from a league where I'd been for a very long time and had truly established my position in. I was Director of Training & Skills and had previously served as Director of Promotions and All-Star Captain. I was known for my aggressive jamming style and my crazy pants. My league had a certain way we did things, which I will not offer any opinion on here. My new league doesn't know me from Adam. I had the opportunity to skate against them, but it was 4 and a half years ago and both league have seen a lot of change. I think I only recognize 2 skaters in the league from that roster, not to mention I only skated 2 jams. I had the benefit of being a WFTDA transfer, which means they probably figure my old league had its shit together (which they did).
But here I am, adapting to new strategies and drills and practice structures (and floors). I'm in a new place, without many friends (I said I wouldn't mention the move factor, but it is important) and it's all very daunting. My new league has a very different strategy for blocking and I'm trying to pick it up as best I can. They've been wonderful with explaining it, and it includes some things I've tried before, but it is a different way to play roller derby.
Tonight, I had a particularly rough practice. My feet didn't do what I asked them to, my body was not as stable a blocking force as I know it can be, and I just felt out of sorts. I went ahead and gave myself a mental pass, because I knew I needed to. It's not that I'm not a good blocker, I just had an off night. It's not that I'm a penalty-heavy skater, I was trying to resist. But there is so much new to me and it can be overwhelming. At times, I feel like I'm re-learning how to play derby, except that I'm already a good skater and everyone expects me to be competent.
For any of you out there struggling with transferring, I'd like to encourage you to take a step back and not beat yourself up about a practice you had difficulty with. There are still loads of things you are good at with regards to derby. Think about those. I felt pretty good about my plow stops. A couple of practices ago, I pulled off both left and right plow stops before I could even remember which was my worse leg. I did some successful jamming tonight, including a pirouette where I stayed in bounds. I'm still pretty good at hopping. Hell, I came back to derby after a potentially career-ending injury.
This is not an easy undertaking, but I don't play roller derby because it's easy. I'm sticking with it and I hope you all are also.
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