Tuesdays for Teams!

Tonight was team (B-Dazz) practice. It was interesting and diverse. Our captains have worked super hard to come up with drills that challenge all of us, since many of us are at different levels. And I'd say they were successful.

We started out with some simple drills. We did banana peel and partner weaving.

At some point, they broke us off into jammers and blockers. Guess who's a jammer! Me? Me! Rita is a jammer. They told us that we are people who will probably end up jamming for B-Dazz at some point this season. Now I know it's not a final list, as only half of the team was present at practice. BUT STILL! I'm considered a jammer. I mean I do it at scrimmages thanks to some very wise advice from my derby wife. One Devlin Syder told me before I passed assessments, "Always volunteer to jam." It makes you seem reliable to teammates. It improves your endurance. And it makes you a better blocker. And hey, maybe you'll rock at it.

Enough incredulity. We worked on some jammer starts. We ran from the jammer line to the pivot. Aside from my shoulder killing me, I did my best. Although I did come down real hard on my toe stop once and it shook my leg. Snatch kept telling me to look up so I can map the pack, and I did, but she kept telling me to. I promise I was looking up.

We did Holly Wanna CrackYa's "Bait and Switch." I did a lot of turning toe stops and kept my agility going. I'm working on doing turning toe stops at higher speeds. I'm working up to a sprint, but I am not there yet. I busted every part of my body doing one recently.

We did a lot of skrills. We did something kind of like Pick a Chick. We even did some straight scrimmaging at the end of practice, which I respect and feel we need.

Unfortunately, some ballsy crap is going on with my shoulder. My chiropractor told me that my AC joint is slipping. Apparently I injured myself sleeping. That was the start of it. Last night, I got hit. HARD. And I tried to take it easy and ice it today, but I mucked it up again tonight. And since my chiropractor's out of town, I think I'm gonna put in a call to Dr. Peters.

Oh hey, who's that jamming?

Photo: Gene Lazo

Furthermooooore, we are working on setting personal goals for this year. I have come up with my 3 goals.

1. I wanted to be less afraid of the pivot panty, including being more knowledgeable in strategy and when to employ what strategy, HOWEVER it seems that I've gotten better, UNTIL I put the pivot panty on. I don't talk when I'm wearing the stripe. So I'd like to be a go-to chick. When the plan gets fucked, I wanna be the one who's coming up with a new strategy and employing it.

2. I'm a decent blocker, but I think when I jam, I don't make the most of it. I am not a tall thin jammer like some. You're not likely to see an apex jump outta me, but I can definitely hit my way through a pack also.

3. And finally, related to #2, I would like to be better at breaking through walls as a jammer. Well, as a blocker too. I spend a lot of time lagging behind a wall, assessing its weaknesses. I would like to get better at legally breaking through walls.

Scrimmaaaaaage

Scrimmage tonight was...interesting. We beta-tested a potential ruleset. There is consideration for rules involving a Rear Blocker Line as well as a pivot line. Blockers must line up in front of the rear line, but cannot block until they pass the pivot line. Also, the jammers are released at the same time as the blockers. It's an attempt to stop everyone's enemy, SLOW DERBY.

I was on a team with Snatch, one of my captains. And she gave us positive feedback. I felt effective. There were only a couple of times my pivot yelled "WTF Caitlin?" or something to that effect. I was recycling, I was being aware of jammers, I even jammed pretty effectively.

In the second half, we switched to some A vs. B jams. We were told recently that the B team should take advantage of these scrimmage times. The A team does not get the chance to play teams better than them in our warehouse facility. We, the B team, have that opportunity. I generally feel more positive about these times when I'm not getting my ass handed to me.

We formulated strategies, play with advance lineups, and rocked it. We held back some of the strongest A-team jammers. Our jammers got through and scored. I magically broke through a wall of Angel, Bo, and Drew, some of our strongest blockers. However Drew also hit in my bad shoulder real hard. That took me out of most of the second half, but I did still stay for endurance practice.

I'm hoping to schedule an appointment with league chiropractor Dr. Tony, as my chiropractor is leaving town this week. My shoulder feels awful. I've got team practice tomorrow, let's hope I feel up to skating!

Easyriders Demos

Whoo. Today was brutal. Almost 3 hours of derby spread out all day.

Sin sent out an email this morning about the floor. She told us it was polished concrete, but slicker than our warehouse and to bring our grippiest wheels. HO-LY crap. It was like ice skating.

And our demos were up against lingerie fashion shows, so while we drew crowds, it was difficult to keep them.

I actually did not have as much of a problem with the floor as some. Some of us were all over the floor. During the first demo, I stayed upright mostly. But when I went down, I went down HARD. My first fall had me sprawled out on the floor, and both elbows still hurt. A fall in the second round had me landing on the top of my shoulder.

As the day went on, I got more tired, but more used to the floor. There was a corps of skaters who were there for all 3 demos. I pushed myself. Past my breaking point. I jammed when I didn't feel up to it. I jammed in all 3 demos, I'm pretty sure. I kept my feet moving. I made smart calls and mostly executed good blocks.

I only went to the penalty box twice in the three demos. And both were as I was getting tired. The first was at the very end of the second demo. I think it was a backblock. And sometime in the third demo, I went to the box on a cut major. That was strictly because I was tired. Psy*Ren hit me out around Turn 3 and when I tried to come back in, I thought she was with the pack, I didn't even see her waiting for me.

Later one of the refs told me that it was actually a cut minor and he apologized for calling it a major. I was also told there was a jam where it was reported I scored 0 points, when I'd actually scored 5. I forgot what it's like to play derby in a warm environment. I was sweating. I couldn't see straight at times.

I tried to take hits to the best of my ability, I broke up walls whenever possible, and I found reserves of strength in me to get through the pack. Many times I saw holes and just ran for it. I'm pretty proud of what I did today and only hope I can apply that in the coming weeks.

Easyriders

Today is a big day for me. We are doing some demo scrimmages at a motorcycle show. The Easyrider folks have asked us to put on 3 separate demos throughout the day.

So this will be my first chance to play roller derby in front of the public. Got my uniform all ready, my spandex nearby, and hopefully I won't fall on my face. More to come later!

I Haven't Been Posting...

...And I apologize. I've been to like 16 practices in the last week (obvious hyperbole), and haven't blogged. Our practices are getting harder, I'm pushing myself more and when I come home from practice, I usually pass out for an hour on the couch, wake up, take a shower, and go to bed. We've had some really good practices lately. We (the bodacious B*Dazzlers) set our goals for 2012. That was a pretty empowering little session.

We've also been doing a lot of great drills lately. I'm seeing a lot of improvements in my skating, even just from a month ago. My turning toe stops are improving too! Still working on doing them from a sprint speed, but I can successfully pull one off in a drill. I'm also actively working on breaking through walls. That will help me not only with jamming, but with being goated. The other teams often try to goat me. While I'm not a strong fighter to be able to bust through these walls, I have made some strides blocking back there. I remember one scrimmage in particular, the other team attempted to goat me virtually every time I was on the track. Instead of fighting, I just hit their jammer. I remember hitting CalQ out once and my jammer was able to call off the jam before CalQ scored any points.

I'm working on my pivot skills. The other night, at team practice, I noticed that the other team had lead jammer and also the track advantage, so I hollered for my team to get to the front. Unfortunately, either they did not hear me or were unable to get through the pack. So I just sat on the jammer instead.

Also I have a new mouthguard, so I'm more able to communicate!

I had something else to mention about one of my goals. But I forgot. So instead, I'll tell you about how Devlin Syder hit me really hard last night. My dear derby wife was in kind of a crappy mood last night. She said she was gonna hit someone really hard if we did any hitting. We did the drill that Rye calls Sharkbait, but some called Great Wall of Gina. You have a prom date, you're skating in a double paceline. When the whistle blows, the pair at the back takes action. The outside partner takes a knee and then sprints on the outside of the track. The inside partner waits and when the moment is right, skates on the diagonal to land a big hit on her partner. I partnered with Devlin because I knew she was feeling off. So I let her hit me. And she about hit me into the wall of the warehouse. Twice. The other pairs applauded and cheered for us. So naturally, when it came time for me to hit her, I did my damnedest.

That's all I got for now. Please be looking for my next post soon: Why Roller Derby is Better Than a Gang!

Roller Girl Gift Guide

Since we're still on break from practice, here is a break from my usual posting. It's a little after the holidays, but still works for birthdays, derbyversaries, Cinco de Mayo...

This is by no means a comprehensive guide, this is based on my own personal experience and what I've observed from the roller girls around me. Also, this is mostly for Significant Others of Roller Girls (SORGs), but it applies to other relations as well.

If you really love her, two words, Rollercon tickets. Has she got those? Plane tickets to Vegas would be a great companion gift. But, if your lady can't get the time off work or whatever, here are some other ideas.


Wheels make a great gift, but there are as many kinds of wheels as they are roller girls. So what do you get her? Do you know what she skates on? If not, I know this is counter-intuitive, but open the gear bag. Can you see the skates? Can you get them out or are they tetris'd in there so tight that only she can get them out? If you can get them out, look at the wheels. Can you read the manufacturer on the wheel? It could on the outside of the wheel, or the inside near the truck. Has it worn off? Well, at least remember what color they are.

Ask the derby wife. She's a valuable resource. Do you know who her derby wife is? If you can look in her phone contacts, it'll be someone with a name like, "boom," "slam," "block," "beat"... and maybe a heart next to it. If not, look on Facebook. On whose page does she post videos of derby and new gear and rules updates? Who is the girl in the league shirt hugging your woman in all her pictures?

Ask the derby wife what kind of wheels your girl has/wants. Chances are good she's said to this individual either:
-"I love my ______, but they're going bald."
OR -"Have you heard about the ________, I'd love to try them."

"But Rita, I just bought her new wheels for Flag Day, now she needs something for her birthday/I can't read these bald-ass things and her derby wife has no clue."
If you answered number one, congrats on being the best SORG ever. If you answered number two, that's ok. If you managed to look at the skate, does she need new toe guards/duct tape? Stocking stuffer! Team colors, please.

OR there's the world of bearings. They're tricky, but every girl could use an extra set. If you girl talks about how fast her bearings are, be prepared to shell out some bucks. She's probably got ceramic. If she talks about how cheap her bearings are, or how quickly she goes through them, get her a set of Mini Logos or Bones Reds for between $20-$30. (It is important to get her 16 bearings, because they are usually sold in sets of 8, for skateboards.)

Again, did you see the skates? How do the toe stops look? They wear quickly, especially if your girl jams or does a lot of turning toe stops. The occasional roller girl skates with just a set of jam plugs. These are fairly inexpensive and she'd probably love to have a spare. If you know what kind of toe stops she has or wants (here's where the derby wife comes in), you could get her a set. But if you don't know if she's got Powerdynes or Gumballs, you might have to do a little research.

Interlude: Be sure to check with the derby wife. It would really suck for you to both buy your skater the same gift.

And what about her safety equipment? If she's doing this any length of time, she probably needs new wrist guards. Next time she washes the pads, look at the brand. Pro-Tec and Triple 8 are common types. A regular set of skate wristguards run about $15. Now if she's got something fancy -- spoon-shaped brace, only one splint, gloved guards...lay off replacing it unless she's specifically asked for something. If she's still skating with her starter elbow pads, spend the $20 to get her a new set. If the derby wife tells you that your girl girl wants the new Atom elbow pads or some 187s, go for it!

Skate tools are important! If your girl has the little silver one that came with her skates, she'd probably like an upgrade. If she doesn't have one at all, she definitely needs one. Powerdyne sells a great combination axle, kingpin, and toestop wrench and it's kind of triangular. If your girl is a little handier, the Reflex Utilitool includes a bearing tool, axle rethreader, pop-out allen wrench...hell, she could take the plates off her boots with this thing. It's like a handheld fairy godmother. (I got one of these for Christmas, I love it!) If she already has the Powerdyne or is happy with her tool, Powerdyne also has a bearing tool that would make a great addition to her skate bag.

Now if you've gotten this far and are either a) so baffled it hurts or b) so awesome you've already bought all this stuff for her -- look at her derby wardrobe. A roller girl can never have enough tights. Double points if they're league colors. Buy her booty shorts, leggings, fishnets, practice tanks, tutus, sports bras... Hell maybe even get her name (in at least 2-inch characters) and number (in at least 4-inch characters) printed on a black and white shirt. Note, if you buy her lingerie, she'll wear it on the outside of her clothing and show all her teammates.

Just remember, the best gift you can give her is your support. Anything more is just bonus. So buy tickets (and sell them to everyone you know), make signs, and cheer your own personal superhero on at the next bout!

Christmas!

So this isn't really practice-related, but it does pertain to derby.

I had an exciting conversation with a friend of mine from church about derby. She's with SDDD, so they flip back and forth between flat and banked track. She shared some of the differences between. Banked track has 1-minute jams, penalties aren't served until the next jam, lead jammer transfers back and forth. I told her about the USARS ruleset. She wound up blocking her brother and getting apple cider all down her back. These things happen.

Also, I just utilized my new skate tool. My boyfriend got me the Reflex Utili-tool (in pink). I also just bought myself new bearings (extremely necessary). So I just spent a few minutes rethreading all my axles and replacing my bearings. If I clean and rotate my wheels, it would be almost like having new skates.

And lastly, I'm hoping to go skating with one Emily Greene, better known as Madcap. It's Christmas. I'm going to bed. Good night, blogosphere. I've got axle grime on my hands, yay!