Scrimmage vs. Chainsaws

I got lead jammer once (and scored points) tonight when the Homies scrimmaged against the Chainsaws (TXRG's travel B team).

How did I do it? Well, first of all, my blockers did an amazing job and holding the other team's jammer. And second of all, I imagined that the Chainsaws took my baby. In a video on how to be more aggressive, Miracle Whips suggested that you imagine that the other team has your cat and you need to get it back. Well, I hate have a strong aversion against cats, so I imagine that my baby was on the other side of the blockers and that I had to get to her. You think I'm joking...

Haus the Boss complimented me on my smart playing, specifically times when I would pass the panty or call off a jam. Haus the Boss y'all. She has been so encouraging and I am sad that she's retiring.

Overall, I need to still sit lower. I think I did an OK job of tracking the jammer, but when push comes to shove (haha that's a pun), I still am not strong enough to contain her by myself.

Another thing I need to work on is getting low and pushing up and out when playing offensive.

I had to privileged of  playing with Freight Train, Nine Lives, and Peace War. Freight brings a sense of calmness on the track. Nine plays smart and is great at communicating, and Peace War ups the intensity in the game.

BTW: I changed out my toe stops to some super gumballs. Oh my, I love them! I feel more confident and I feel like I can really just bounce back after getting hit out. But bad news is that when I was tightening the hex nut to hold them in place, my plate got cracked a bit, right at the front where the toe stop is.

Why I Derby

I thought it would be fun to flex the brain muscles, or would it technically be fire the brain neurons...anyways, I wanted to really reflect on why I derby. So here it goes.

1. I love skating. I started skating in the second grade. My dad put a pair of skates on me and I learned on top of a bomb shelter in a Taiwanese military village.

2. Derby is hard. Thinking back, picking up a new skill or hobby has always been relatively easy for me. I'm a quick learner, but I really love the challenge that Derby is providing me. Being able to stand firm as a 150 pound skater accelerates towards you, all this while on 8 wheels, is definitely no small feat to accomplish.

3. I'm facing my fears and finding my identity. All my life, I've been a people pleaser, and I've changed my personality to fit with others. I'm using this stage in my life to finally figure out who I am. I am a 9 on the Enneagram, which explains this behavior, but I want to do better. I am so inspired by my children as they fearlessly jump into the swimming pool, or attempt a jump on their scooter. I want to face my fears of insecurity, safety, and failure; overcome them; and come out the other end a better person. I also want my children to see me do all the tough things and be able to persevere through the tough times. Life will be tough.

4. I love the community. Derby community is probably the most encouraging and inclusive group of people ever. Once you get past the tough girl persona put on by many of the colored-hair and tattoo covered women, you find someone so loving and accepting inside.

Well, that's it for now. I'll think of some more and add it to the list.

Boot Camp

Today I was able to attend the pre-tryout bootcamp with the league. First of all, I didn't think I was going to be able to go because I had no one to watch Hailey during the camp. I posted on the board last week and got no replies. Then, this morning, Zook messaged me and asked me if I still needed childcare. I replied with, "sure!" and then I asked her what her rates were and then she said, "Don't worry about it." I was completely surprised, speechless and so grateful for the love and support that came from this gesture.

The boot camp was pretty much what I expected: we ran through the basic minimum skills and ended with some jam starts with different twists. One scenario, we added an O and then another scenario, random people were assigned to go help out or defend against the jammer.

After 4-5 months of officially skating with the league, I feel like my confidence level and skill level have improved so much. I no longer feel like Bambi on skates and usually, I have a pretty good idea of what is going on, on the track. This is a good feeling.

Official try-outs are on October 13th and then there's regular new skater training for about a month and right before Thanksgiving, we find out whether we get drafted onto a team or not.

Bout #1 Homies vs. Bandidas

This game happened 8-17, so about 4 weeks ago. I was a bit nervous, but mostly excited to play my first game.

I set the following goals for myself:

Jam at least once during each half. (This didn't happen, but I did jam 3 times in the second half) 

Get lead jammer once: check 

Sit on the jammer while tracking them closely. [mostly check, but in derby, you can ALWAYS get LOWER!] 

 In the picture below, I'm pivoting with the jammer penny in my hand. What I could've done better was get lower to create some space between the blockers in front of me. They are basically standing straight up (I am too) :P

 So I got out, and as I was making the turn, my skate started to slip from under me, I put down my toe stops and prevented myself from falling. Whew, that floor at the venue is slick!

Again, way too high up. Get lower!

 So, this lady, is the person who got me into this mess. She's currently preggo with her 3rd child, but I have a feeling that she will be returning to derby at some point.

 Get lower to block. I'm basically standing straight up.

So in the end, I need to get lower, and tonight's practice with Gypsy helped with this immensely. I think I've done a pretty good job with my previous 4 goals, (of course I still could use some work) but I think its time to set some new goals.

1) I want to get lower and to do that, I need to develop those muscles.
2) I want to be more explosive and quick with my sprints and hits. I know I have sprinting and speed in my back pocket, I just need to release it and be comfortable with releasing it while on 8 wheels.

I have a month before try-outs so this will be a good time to develop muscles so that I can be a stronger blocker and a more explosive jammer.

That's it for now!

Miso