Minimum skills assessment is this Saturday. I’m starting to think there’s at least a glimmer of hope that I will pass. In the last week or so, I have seen a big improvement in my speed and endurance (I mean, of course it didn’t happen in the last week … ). I think if I don’t pass, it will at least not be by a huge margin. If I can just manage the jump, do a good enough crossover, and skate 25 laps in 5 minutes … I pretty much have everything else.
Tonight at practice we did 25 laps in 5 minutes as a pace line. I was feeling like I would be able to keep up, but then during the first or second lap I hit a slick spot on our track and my skate slid out, and down I went. I’m not proud of this, but I was so frustrated that I went to the wall and had a bit of a cry, for about 30 seconds. Then I decided to shake it off and at least skate around the inner track and try not to let the pace line lap me.
Well, to my vast surprise I found that I was catching up to them, and keeping up. So I rejoined the pace line (for the last three minutes), and I finished the drill. I asked Bruiser if it would be OK if I skated around the inside of the track on min skills. I know I can do 25 laps in 5 minutes if I can do that, instead of the way the pace line does it (where they go out to the outside sometimes). I said I assumed that would not be good enough, and … yeah, I started crying again. Bruiser was really sweet about it, and she also said that sticking to the inside track would be OK!!
So, like I said, a glimmer of hope. Either I will pass minimum skills on Saturday (and that would be AMAZING), or I will pass in July (which will be my next chance to take it). There is one more practice before Saturday. One more chance to figure out the crossover, and get past my fear on the jump (because that’s all it is. I can jump high enough to clear the obstacle. I have done it).
On Saturday from 2-4 (Pacific time), if you think of it, send me good derby vibes!
TALES OF A 40-YEAR-OLD DERBY GIRL!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Awesome practice!
Last night's practice was *fantastic*.
Last Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, I didn't have to "sit out" of any of the drills. (I put "sit out" in quotes, because what that means to me is skating as fast as I can around the outside of the track. There's no sitting involved.) Last night, during one of the pace lines I took about a one-minute break to stretch my legs, but then I joined right back in. So I'm on a pretty good streak.
Cruel Anne was our trainer last night. She's awesome. She's a super-nice lady, really friendly and encouraging, but she can also hit like a freaking freight train. She worked us really hard. Here are some highlights:
- We did a 10-minute pack drill, basically seeing how many laps we could get in 10 minutes. It was the "no derby girl left behind" thing again. For the first four minutes, I didn't get any help. I didn't need it. I just stuck to the inner track line, and skated (I wasn't even pushing my speed that hard, honestly -- I was definitely going fast, but I wasn't sprinting). I skated 20 laps in 4:08. I need 25 laps in 5:00. At that point, I took a bit of help, but I didn't start really taking assists (whips and self-assists) from the other girls until we had passed the 5 minute mark. I got through the 10-minute drill just fine, though I definitely needed water at the end.
OK, so 20 laps in 4:08 is not 25 laps in 5:00. But it's REALLY close. 20 laps in 4:00 would be right on pace. And *I* was setting that pace, folks.
I don't know if I will pass minimum skills on Saturday; I don't know if I will be able to do 25 laps in 5 minutes (especially since we will be doing it as a pace line, so my strategy of sticking to the inside track line will not be an option). But I *know* I will be able to do it in July, if I keep training at my current rate (and I will).
- We split up into two groups, fast and fastest (because none of us is really slow, at this point -- not even me). The two groups took turns doing pyramid sprints around the track. We did one lap, they did one; we did two, they did two; we continued that up to six, and then worked our way back down to one.
My personal victories for this drill: no one lapped me except Bruiser (the only team member who was skating with the "fast" group), and that was only on the six-lap sprint and only barely. AND ... this is the big one ... on the last two sprints, the two-lap and the one-lap at the end, I wasn't last!! There were people who came in after me. Unfortunately, on the two-lap sprint I got pretty excited about that fact and called out, "I beat Raynee!" Eep. Raynee, if you read this, I'm sorry for crowing about that, and please know, if I get to be as fast as you I will consider it a huge achievement. I think what may have helped me put on some speed at the end is that I worked really hard on getting into good derby form, nice and low.
- Pace lines, with weaving and hitting and weaving in pairs and all sort of difficult stuff. For a while we had two pace lines going, one on the inside track and one on the outside. I was actually wishing my line (the inside one) would speed up!! (A lot of times the pace lines go fast enough that I have to really bust ass to keep up.)
Will I pass minimum skills on Saturday? The three barriers are crossovers, jumping a three-inch-tall object, and skating 25 laps in 5 minutes. Other than that, I can do everything. We'll see. If I had to make a guess, I'd say it will be a near thing either way -- I'll either squeak by and pass, or I will get really close but not quite make it. If it's the latter, I *will* pass in July.
That's still a hell of an improvement from what I was thinking in January -- that it would probably take me a year to pass minimum skills. Honestly, the credit for that goes a lot of places: the trainers, the other intermediate girls, the team, Charlie, and, yeah, me.
Last Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, I didn't have to "sit out" of any of the drills. (I put "sit out" in quotes, because what that means to me is skating as fast as I can around the outside of the track. There's no sitting involved.) Last night, during one of the pace lines I took about a one-minute break to stretch my legs, but then I joined right back in. So I'm on a pretty good streak.
Cruel Anne was our trainer last night. She's awesome. She's a super-nice lady, really friendly and encouraging, but she can also hit like a freaking freight train. She worked us really hard. Here are some highlights:
- We did a 10-minute pack drill, basically seeing how many laps we could get in 10 minutes. It was the "no derby girl left behind" thing again. For the first four minutes, I didn't get any help. I didn't need it. I just stuck to the inner track line, and skated (I wasn't even pushing my speed that hard, honestly -- I was definitely going fast, but I wasn't sprinting). I skated 20 laps in 4:08. I need 25 laps in 5:00. At that point, I took a bit of help, but I didn't start really taking assists (whips and self-assists) from the other girls until we had passed the 5 minute mark. I got through the 10-minute drill just fine, though I definitely needed water at the end.
OK, so 20 laps in 4:08 is not 25 laps in 5:00. But it's REALLY close. 20 laps in 4:00 would be right on pace. And *I* was setting that pace, folks.
I don't know if I will pass minimum skills on Saturday; I don't know if I will be able to do 25 laps in 5 minutes (especially since we will be doing it as a pace line, so my strategy of sticking to the inside track line will not be an option). But I *know* I will be able to do it in July, if I keep training at my current rate (and I will).
- We split up into two groups, fast and fastest (because none of us is really slow, at this point -- not even me). The two groups took turns doing pyramid sprints around the track. We did one lap, they did one; we did two, they did two; we continued that up to six, and then worked our way back down to one.
My personal victories for this drill: no one lapped me except Bruiser (the only team member who was skating with the "fast" group), and that was only on the six-lap sprint and only barely. AND ... this is the big one ... on the last two sprints, the two-lap and the one-lap at the end, I wasn't last!! There were people who came in after me. Unfortunately, on the two-lap sprint I got pretty excited about that fact and called out, "I beat Raynee!" Eep. Raynee, if you read this, I'm sorry for crowing about that, and please know, if I get to be as fast as you I will consider it a huge achievement. I think what may have helped me put on some speed at the end is that I worked really hard on getting into good derby form, nice and low.
- Pace lines, with weaving and hitting and weaving in pairs and all sort of difficult stuff. For a while we had two pace lines going, one on the inside track and one on the outside. I was actually wishing my line (the inside one) would speed up!! (A lot of times the pace lines go fast enough that I have to really bust ass to keep up.)
Will I pass minimum skills on Saturday? The three barriers are crossovers, jumping a three-inch-tall object, and skating 25 laps in 5 minutes. Other than that, I can do everything. We'll see. If I had to make a guess, I'd say it will be a near thing either way -- I'll either squeak by and pass, or I will get really close but not quite make it. If it's the latter, I *will* pass in July.
That's still a hell of an improvement from what I was thinking in January -- that it would probably take me a year to pass minimum skills. Honestly, the credit for that goes a lot of places: the trainers, the other intermediate girls, the team, Charlie, and, yeah, me.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Great practice tonight!
Tonight was a *great* practice. It ended two hours ago and I'm still kind of pumped.
The travel team invited Cherry City (the Salem derby team) to come down and scrimmage, which meant that intermediate girls were not allowed to scrimmage. The OGs didn't want us scrimmaging with Salem girls, because minimum skills assessment is a week and a half away, and it would *suck* for one of us to get injured and not be able to test. It's not that the Salem girls lack control or anything like that. It's just that it would be a lot to ask of them, to remember that they can't hit Dixie, Raynee or Lux at full force. It can be hard for our own teammates to remember (understandably). To ask it of a visitor who doesn't even know us? Too much to ask.
I think it's probably also good for the OGs to scrimmage with just advanced girls. Well, actually, I think either way can be good for them. If they are scrimmaging with me on their team, then helping me keep up (or if I'm jammer, playing offense for me and getting me through the pack) is probably a worthwhile challenge. But on the other hand, when they play with only OGs, they can probably play at a higher level. So it's probably a trade-off, really. And I don't mean to imply that I'm totally useless in a scrimmage; I have moments where I'm actually helpful to my team. :-)
So anyway! I didn't get to scrimmage, and when I realized that earlier today I will admit that it put my mood in the toilet for a little while. But then I talked to Claudia about it and she said she was going to go to practice. That helped a lot. Having someone else to train with is infinitely better than training alone. I printed out my minimum skills spreadsheet and made a list of drills that we could work on. I sort of took charge of the intermediate practice (with a lot of help from Claudia). It was us two, plus Raynee and Teri. We worked pretty hard for an hour and a half, on endurance and skills, and then after the scrimmage the OGs called us over to join their practice. (Claudia had been up for like 22 of the last 24 hours, so she very understandably went home at that point, along with Teri.)
Raynee and I joined the OGs for the rest of the practice, and it was awesome. The best part is that I did not have to drop out of ANYTHING. Not the pace lines, not the "sprint through the two lines of derby girls who are moving in and out like sliding doors" drill, NOTHING. That felt wonderful.
Honestly, I'm probably not going to pass min skills on April 17, unless the Speed Fairy comes down and smacks me with her wand. (Please, Speed Fairy?) But practices like tonight's give me total faith that I *will* pass in July. (I am going to be a huge pest to Bones -- training chairperson -- to have another skills assessment before RollerCon*, if I don't pass this month. There are skating events at RollerCon that I won't be able to participate in if I haven't passed min skills; and it would suck to have to sit on the sidelines while my friends skate in the open scrimmages and stuff.)
I think if I keep training as hard as I am (four derby practices a week plus my body conditioning class), I should definitely be able to pass min skills in July. And that? Will be fucking awesome.
* Rollercon is an international roller derby convention/training camp that is held every year in Las Vegas. Several of us Sick Town girls are going. I'm nervous and excited about it. :-)
The travel team invited Cherry City (the Salem derby team) to come down and scrimmage, which meant that intermediate girls were not allowed to scrimmage. The OGs didn't want us scrimmaging with Salem girls, because minimum skills assessment is a week and a half away, and it would *suck* for one of us to get injured and not be able to test. It's not that the Salem girls lack control or anything like that. It's just that it would be a lot to ask of them, to remember that they can't hit Dixie, Raynee or Lux at full force. It can be hard for our own teammates to remember (understandably). To ask it of a visitor who doesn't even know us? Too much to ask.
I think it's probably also good for the OGs to scrimmage with just advanced girls. Well, actually, I think either way can be good for them. If they are scrimmaging with me on their team, then helping me keep up (or if I'm jammer, playing offense for me and getting me through the pack) is probably a worthwhile challenge. But on the other hand, when they play with only OGs, they can probably play at a higher level. So it's probably a trade-off, really. And I don't mean to imply that I'm totally useless in a scrimmage; I have moments where I'm actually helpful to my team. :-)
So anyway! I didn't get to scrimmage, and when I realized that earlier today I will admit that it put my mood in the toilet for a little while. But then I talked to Claudia about it and she said she was going to go to practice. That helped a lot. Having someone else to train with is infinitely better than training alone. I printed out my minimum skills spreadsheet and made a list of drills that we could work on. I sort of took charge of the intermediate practice (with a lot of help from Claudia). It was us two, plus Raynee and Teri. We worked pretty hard for an hour and a half, on endurance and skills, and then after the scrimmage the OGs called us over to join their practice. (Claudia had been up for like 22 of the last 24 hours, so she very understandably went home at that point, along with Teri.)
Raynee and I joined the OGs for the rest of the practice, and it was awesome. The best part is that I did not have to drop out of ANYTHING. Not the pace lines, not the "sprint through the two lines of derby girls who are moving in and out like sliding doors" drill, NOTHING. That felt wonderful.
Honestly, I'm probably not going to pass min skills on April 17, unless the Speed Fairy comes down and smacks me with her wand. (Please, Speed Fairy?) But practices like tonight's give me total faith that I *will* pass in July. (I am going to be a huge pest to Bones -- training chairperson -- to have another skills assessment before RollerCon*, if I don't pass this month. There are skating events at RollerCon that I won't be able to participate in if I haven't passed min skills; and it would suck to have to sit on the sidelines while my friends skate in the open scrimmages and stuff.)
I think if I keep training as hard as I am (four derby practices a week plus my body conditioning class), I should definitely be able to pass min skills in July. And that? Will be fucking awesome.
* Rollercon is an international roller derby convention/training camp that is held every year in Las Vegas. Several of us Sick Town girls are going. I'm nervous and excited about it. :-)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Scrimmage, etc.
Last night was the third week in a row that intermediate girls were invited to join in the team’s scrimmage practice. I don’t want to get spoiled; I am positive there will be weeks when the Wednesday practices will be team-only (that is how they are listed on the schedule). But getting to scrimmage with the team is so awesome!!
On Monday night I had my outdoor wheels on my skates (we had had a fundraiser at a bar on Sunday night, and I was skating around there, so I thought my grippiest wheels would be a good choice. But I should’ve taken them off in time for practice on Monday). It was very frustrating, because I am the slowest skater in the intermediate group as it is. I still had some good moments on Monday, especially in a booty-blocking drill we did. I think toward the end I was starting to really get it!
Last night, though, was much better. I had my indoor wheels on, so I got that speed boost. I was able to keep up in the warmup pace line. And in my first time out as jammer during the scrimmage, I got to be LEAD JAMMER!! It was a perfect storm: the opposing jammer got caught in a pileup, my blockers did a great job of helping me through, and if I may brag just a bit, I think I did a pretty good job of taking advantage of their help. OMG, that was amazing.
Other cool moments during scrimmaging: I managed some effective hits; there were a few moments when I was able to slow down and booty block and be a real pain in the butt to the opposing team; and when I got hit, I fell properly and got right back up. In fact, after the lead jammer thing, I think my proudest moment of last night’s scrimmage was when Queen Bee Yotch (that is her derby name; I’m not insulting her!) nailed me with a very well-placed hit … and I took it, got back up, and kept going.
I’m still working on getting to the point where I can think during a scrimmage … but I’ll get there. :-)
On Monday night I had my outdoor wheels on my skates (we had had a fundraiser at a bar on Sunday night, and I was skating around there, so I thought my grippiest wheels would be a good choice. But I should’ve taken them off in time for practice on Monday). It was very frustrating, because I am the slowest skater in the intermediate group as it is. I still had some good moments on Monday, especially in a booty-blocking drill we did. I think toward the end I was starting to really get it!
Last night, though, was much better. I had my indoor wheels on, so I got that speed boost. I was able to keep up in the warmup pace line. And in my first time out as jammer during the scrimmage, I got to be LEAD JAMMER!! It was a perfect storm: the opposing jammer got caught in a pileup, my blockers did a great job of helping me through, and if I may brag just a bit, I think I did a pretty good job of taking advantage of their help. OMG, that was amazing.
Other cool moments during scrimmaging: I managed some effective hits; there were a few moments when I was able to slow down and booty block and be a real pain in the butt to the opposing team; and when I got hit, I fell properly and got right back up. In fact, after the lead jammer thing, I think my proudest moment of last night’s scrimmage was when Queen Bee Yotch (that is her derby name; I’m not insulting her!) nailed me with a very well-placed hit … and I took it, got back up, and kept going.
I’m still working on getting to the point where I can think during a scrimmage … but I’ll get there. :-)
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Whew!
Last week I went to four Sick Town practices, plus an outdoor skate. This week I'm shooting for the same.
Monday night was a tough practice. Bones ran it, and she is like a tiny, friendly drill sergeant. She's never mean, but holy crap is she a tough lady! I must have worked different muscles than usual, because my legs were *sore* on Tuesday. I think it might be from all the sprinting we did. Confession time: when the trainer says "sprint," I don't always full-on sprint. It's not that I'm intentionally slacking off; it's just that sometimes when they call for a sprint, I am simply too tired to manage it.
Monday night, I pushed myself, both in the pace lines and in the drills. (I did have to drop out of a couple of pace lines and skate around the outside of the track. Unfortunately, they were hitting pace lines, and hitting is something I need to work on.)
Tonight was scrimmage night, and for the second week in a row the team invited the intermediate girls to join in. Scrimmaging continues to be totally fun and *totally* confusing. I'm trying hard to be useful to my team, but sometimes I just don't know what to do. I did hit some people tonight, and when I was jamming I tried my best to use my blockers' assistance to get through the pack.
The thing is, the girls on the opposing team are not idiots. When they see the weakest member of the team (that would be me) go in as jammer, it's like throwing fresh meat to a pack of hungry lionesses. I kept trying, but I have to hand it to the white team. They *blocked* my ass. For a while there it seemed like I just couldn't stay on the track, no matter what I did.
And then there were the times when I was blocking and the opposing jammer just zipped past me. And I stood there like, "Oh yeah, that's the girl I'm supposed to be stopping. Shit."
It's only my second scrimmage. I *will* figure this out! I did get through the pace lines at the start of practice, which were done with everyone, and at a pretty good pace. So there's that. I kept telling myself, "If you can't get through the pace line, you can't scrimmage."
I feel good about tonight. I tried my best, and I had a couple of moments where I was an effective blocker. Not many, but a couple. Next week (if the team lets us scrimmage next week), I will try to have more.
Monday night was a tough practice. Bones ran it, and she is like a tiny, friendly drill sergeant. She's never mean, but holy crap is she a tough lady! I must have worked different muscles than usual, because my legs were *sore* on Tuesday. I think it might be from all the sprinting we did. Confession time: when the trainer says "sprint," I don't always full-on sprint. It's not that I'm intentionally slacking off; it's just that sometimes when they call for a sprint, I am simply too tired to manage it.
Monday night, I pushed myself, both in the pace lines and in the drills. (I did have to drop out of a couple of pace lines and skate around the outside of the track. Unfortunately, they were hitting pace lines, and hitting is something I need to work on.)
Tonight was scrimmage night, and for the second week in a row the team invited the intermediate girls to join in. Scrimmaging continues to be totally fun and *totally* confusing. I'm trying hard to be useful to my team, but sometimes I just don't know what to do. I did hit some people tonight, and when I was jamming I tried my best to use my blockers' assistance to get through the pack.
The thing is, the girls on the opposing team are not idiots. When they see the weakest member of the team (that would be me) go in as jammer, it's like throwing fresh meat to a pack of hungry lionesses. I kept trying, but I have to hand it to the white team. They *blocked* my ass. For a while there it seemed like I just couldn't stay on the track, no matter what I did.
And then there were the times when I was blocking and the opposing jammer just zipped past me. And I stood there like, "Oh yeah, that's the girl I'm supposed to be stopping. Shit."
It's only my second scrimmage. I *will* figure this out! I did get through the pace lines at the start of practice, which were done with everyone, and at a pretty good pace. So there's that. I kept telling myself, "If you can't get through the pace line, you can't scrimmage."
I feel good about tonight. I tried my best, and I had a couple of moments where I was an effective blocker. Not many, but a couple. Next week (if the team lets us scrimmage next week), I will try to have more.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
OMG!!!
Tonight was the Sick Town league party. It was a lot of fun (well, actually it is still going on, but I am a lame-o and left relatively early. For me, I stayed a long time -- got there at 7, left a little after 11 -- but I was one of the first to leave). I lost count of how many Jell-O shots I had (probably around 10. I would've had more but they really strongly tasted like vodka).
They gave out awards, for things like Best Ass in Spandex, Meanest Rollergirl, Sweetest Rollergirl, etc. A lot of times, the girls I voted for weren't the ones who won, but I still agreed with the choices. For all of the positive things, it was hard to pick just one person. (I didn't vote on Stinkiest Pads, and for Meanest, I picked someone who is not mean, but whose hits are scary.)
There was a surprise award -- the training committee chose the Most Improved Skater. I was listening while they announced it, but I wish I'd listened a little closer to all the nice things they were saying, because ... the award went to me!! They chose me as the most improved skater. That was amazing. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but I am still walking on air, and probably will be for a while. Thank you so much, ladies!!
I got a cool award trophy -- an old rink skate that has been painted and decorated with my derby name. It's awesome. I plan to sleep with it tonight. (Maybe not. But it is sitting on my dresser. :-)
I am so happy to be a Sick Town girl!
They gave out awards, for things like Best Ass in Spandex, Meanest Rollergirl, Sweetest Rollergirl, etc. A lot of times, the girls I voted for weren't the ones who won, but I still agreed with the choices. For all of the positive things, it was hard to pick just one person. (I didn't vote on Stinkiest Pads, and for Meanest, I picked someone who is not mean, but whose hits are scary.)
There was a surprise award -- the training committee chose the Most Improved Skater. I was listening while they announced it, but I wish I'd listened a little closer to all the nice things they were saying, because ... the award went to me!! They chose me as the most improved skater. That was amazing. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but I am still walking on air, and probably will be for a while. Thank you so much, ladies!!
I got a cool award trophy -- an old rink skate that has been painted and decorated with my derby name. It's awesome. I plan to sleep with it tonight. (Maybe not. But it is sitting on my dresser. :-)
I am so happy to be a Sick Town girl!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Booooooosh!
OMG OMG OMG!!
Last night’s practice was so awesome, y’all. The trainers had decided there weren’t going to be enough team members to have a full-on scrimmage practice, so they invited the intermediate girls to join in, and we scrimmaged!! I guess it was a lighter-contact version. At least, the “don’t be a douchebag” rule was in place … basically that means that the OGs should not hit the NGs at full power. (OG=old girl, NG=new girl).
We started out with pace lines, and since we had a NGs pace line and a OGs pace line, I did pretty well except for the time when I was in front and wasn’t paying enough attention and left my pace line behind a bit. D’oh!
But forget that, whatever, because then … SCRIMMAGING! I asked Brick and Bruiser if they wanted me to go over to the off-track area with the beginners, and they said if I wanted to try scrimmaging I could. (I was worried that I would not be able to keep up.)
So I tried scrimmaging. And while I cannot say that I was an asset to my team (though I hope I was useful once or twice), it was incredibly cool and fun to be thrown in there and try it. It’s so chaotic! Well, not really, but that’s the way it seems at first.
I was able to keep up, by the way. My problem, if I had one, was more being able to pay attention to 8 zillion things at once, and know what was going on at any given time.
I made a couple of effective hits, so that was cool. I committed a couple of fouls, so that wasn’t cool, but I know what I did so I can try not to do it again. (I also do realize that in a contact sport like derby, fouls are going to happen; it’s not like I did anything bad on purpose.)
So when we scrimmage, everyone jams, which is cool. Jamming is fun. Scary, but fun. The first jam that I, er, jammed, I did pretty decently, I think. I got knocked out of bounds by a blocker, but I managed to come back in behind her. I think I even scored some points for my team (we were not keeping score). The times that I was able to get through the pack? So. Effing. Cool.
Oh, and when I got knocked down? I did a rock star fall (double knee). Correctly. Boosh!
I was already in love with derby before last night, y’all … but now, I want to marry it. :-)
One more awesome thing. I was thinking I was going to be sucking air after one jam. Nuh-uh. I was able to skate back-to-back jams, no problem. Probably part of that is because we weren’t going full-out; I know these girls can kick my ass, endurance-wise, because they have done it. Recently. But I would like to think that my endurance has also improved. Hell, I know it has. Three months ago, I couldn’t have done what I did last night.
Woo-hoo!
Last night’s practice was so awesome, y’all. The trainers had decided there weren’t going to be enough team members to have a full-on scrimmage practice, so they invited the intermediate girls to join in, and we scrimmaged!! I guess it was a lighter-contact version. At least, the “don’t be a douchebag” rule was in place … basically that means that the OGs should not hit the NGs at full power. (OG=old girl, NG=new girl).
We started out with pace lines, and since we had a NGs pace line and a OGs pace line, I did pretty well except for the time when I was in front and wasn’t paying enough attention and left my pace line behind a bit. D’oh!
But forget that, whatever, because then … SCRIMMAGING! I asked Brick and Bruiser if they wanted me to go over to the off-track area with the beginners, and they said if I wanted to try scrimmaging I could. (I was worried that I would not be able to keep up.)
So I tried scrimmaging. And while I cannot say that I was an asset to my team (though I hope I was useful once or twice), it was incredibly cool and fun to be thrown in there and try it. It’s so chaotic! Well, not really, but that’s the way it seems at first.
I was able to keep up, by the way. My problem, if I had one, was more being able to pay attention to 8 zillion things at once, and know what was going on at any given time.
I made a couple of effective hits, so that was cool. I committed a couple of fouls, so that wasn’t cool, but I know what I did so I can try not to do it again. (I also do realize that in a contact sport like derby, fouls are going to happen; it’s not like I did anything bad on purpose.)
So when we scrimmage, everyone jams, which is cool. Jamming is fun. Scary, but fun. The first jam that I, er, jammed, I did pretty decently, I think. I got knocked out of bounds by a blocker, but I managed to come back in behind her. I think I even scored some points for my team (we were not keeping score). The times that I was able to get through the pack? So. Effing. Cool.
Oh, and when I got knocked down? I did a rock star fall (double knee). Correctly. Boosh!
I was already in love with derby before last night, y’all … but now, I want to marry it. :-)
One more awesome thing. I was thinking I was going to be sucking air after one jam. Nuh-uh. I was able to skate back-to-back jams, no problem. Probably part of that is because we weren’t going full-out; I know these girls can kick my ass, endurance-wise, because they have done it. Recently. But I would like to think that my endurance has also improved. Hell, I know it has. Three months ago, I couldn’t have done what I did last night.
Woo-hoo!
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