1/3 of the Way Through New Skater Training

On Thursday, our practice got rained out, so we did some derby talk about hip positioning and most people went on to get tacos. I think our group name may very well be Team Taco. So then, today we were invited to practice with the Hotrods.

Hotrods Practice 

So many people who have played a pivotal part in my training are Hotrods: Lethal, Sum, OJ, Nine. I also skated in rec with Grace and cheered her on as she got drafted into Texas Rollergirls, made Travel B team, and then Travel A team. Many of our league's leaders are also Hotrods. 

During mid-season try-outs, I attended a small Hotrods practice because the travel team was away. At that time, I had decided that the Hotrods were an 8 on the enneagram. Well, I'd also like to add 3 to the mix: The achiever. The way they set up their practice shows just this. They got down to business, and were very efficient with their time. Practice was intense.  

At our social hour after practice, there were some icebreaker-type questions and a big topic was food and then we ended with the Hogwarts house question. Surprisingly, maybe not so surprisingly, but many of the hotrods are fittingly Griffyndor or Slytherin. 

It's so interesting how the league is made up of a conglomeration of people, but then when you get down to the teams, there's really distinct personalities that fit in each. 

We focused much of the practice on wall work: catching the jammer in various situations. My goals coming out of this practice as a blocker is to work on staying low when I am adjusting my body positioning. I'm doing fairly well tracking the jammer, but when I hold her, all it takes is a quick bump and I'm standing too tall to be as strong as I would like to be. 

As a jammer, I want to work on more explosive juking and changing of directions. It's very difficult for me to get around a group of 3-4 blockers especially when I have no O to help me through. I also need to work on line work so that when people push me out of bounds, I can maybe use their momentum to propel me forward on the track as I do a fancy spin move or something. 

I'm going to continue to strengthen my legs and I'm going to start doing some footwork/toestop work on the days I don't have practice or a chance to get to the gym. 

This coming week we have 2 more practices and then we skate with the final team: the Honkeytonk Heartbreakers. Then, after that we have 3 more weeks of practice, followed by the draft party. 

Hips Don't Lie

My awesome "Big" Trigger noticed that I was carting my gear around in a laundry basket. She got me this rad skate bag! Thanks Trigger! 

In the past 11 days, I have put on skates and skated for 7 of them. My pads definitely need a good washing. Currently, I have bac-out, which is an enzymatic cleaner soaking through the foam, working its magic against the funk, and then I'll put them through the wash and let them air dry before practice on Tuesday. It's still pretty hot outside, so I'm pretty sure they'll dry up really quickly.

Skating with the Hells
Today, we skated with the Hell Marys. Despite what others have told me, I found their team environment to be super friendly and I really like that they focus their practices on drills -- because in the long run, that's just going to make you that much better. We worked on tracking and hitting a person rolling--something I am very nervous about doing. I know what you are thinking, you play derby, you hit people...but the protective instinct in me doesn't want to hurt them, so I think it makes me extra focused on executing the hit just right, so it's not done in a dangerous and reckless way. Basically, I over think it. We have not spent a lot of time on hitting, so this drill today was super helpful. A few things to remind myself when I'm tracking and hitting another player:

• Look at their hips and get in front of them just a little. 
• Make contact with your hips and side meat. 
• Swoop down low, and drive with your outside leg, up and out. 
• Position yourself to contain. 

As I'm typing this, it seems so easy. But when you throw skates and moving feet into the mix, things get a little complicated. You have to stay low step up and in at the right time, come in a good angle, and all the things. 

We also did a drill where as a team, you have to travel either to the front or back of the pack while the other team is preventing you from doing so. This was the ultimate test for me because I committed so many penalties, (mostly directional and then leaving the track so I can join my pack in the back). 

This is another reason why I love derby it's definitely a complicated sport and it keeps me on my toestops just thinking about it. 

Scrimmage against TFR

October 11th 2019

When I first found out that Fifi-nomenon and Jackie Daniels were on TFR, I basically had heart palpitations for a few moments. Grit, along with others reassured me that it will be just fine.

And then I lined up with Fifi-nomenon on the jam line. 

Considering we only had 10 players on our team for this scrimmage, we did Ok.  Our jammers were getting tired/injured towards the end of the game, so I started wearing the star a bit more then. I never got lead jammer, but I learned a lot of offensive strategy from this game. At the beginning, I was constantly being randomly just knocked down out of nowhere. I was also able to plan ahead and track the opposing jammer a bit more. I held Jackie Daniels for at least 3 seconds! 

You can probably tell, but throughout the game, I had several fangirl moments where I would just stand with my mouth basically agape after witnessing greatness from some of the TFR skaters.

And then my friend Jammit skated the entire scrimmage WITHOUT TOE STOPS. She is an amazing skater and probably the most positive person you could ever meet.

It was also super cool to see a few of my buddies from rec league. Railgun and Chile were all friendly faces in the opposing team, which made things a bit less nerve wrecking for me.

At the end, I really felt like I was having fun and at the 4th whistle of the last jam, I was actually kind of disappointed that the game had ended. TFR girls have such a great attitude and I really enjoyed skating against them. 

Try-Outs for the 2020 Season Begin!

On October 13th I started the try-out process again with 9 other women. And out of the 10 of us, we all made it on to the next round. This was great news because I really like all 10 of these women and would've been sad to see any of them to not make it. I technically didn't have to attend the official try-outs, but I ended up going because extra time on skates is always a good thing. 

We went through the basic skills: stops, skating in pack, blocking drills, jamming drills, and ended with a scrimmage. It was a full 2.5 hours of skating. 

Comparing this time around with my previous try-out experience, it was almost like night and day. I can really see how much I've improved in the past 5 months. I feel way more comfortable on my skates, I can do a hockey stop now (still working on going towards the outside) as long as my wheels are hard enough for the surface, and I feel more confident in my blocking and strategic thinking on the track, and I'm getting stuck less when I jam. I felt more confident this time around. 

I used to get knots in my stomach every time I even thought the word "derby." I wasn't sure why I felt those sensations, but I think I was still very nervous. I'm happy to say that I don't get those knots (as often) nowadays. 

The women I skated with have skills that ranged from skaters on Team Texas to a skater whom I skated with briefly in rec. Since then, one of us has decided not to continue, so now we have 9 skaters in the pool. 

We snapped this quick picture before the rain poured down during our orientation/1st practice. We are missing 2 skaters, but this is the 9 of us. 2 people are driving up from San Antonio and 1 person is driving in from Houston for. every. practice. Now that is a lot of dedication! 

Heavy storms joined in on our first practice, so we just had a land conditioning practice. The second practice was back to basics with stops and skating form. I need to work more on my left  outer edge. Lethal suggested that I skate in small circles when I can to get me more confident with that edge.

The Hustlers
Besides our Tuesday and Thursday evening practice, we will be invited to skate with each of the home teams. Today, we skated with the Hustlers who are a very fun, glitter obsessed bunch of women. I finally got to meet the famous PB&J who also happens to be one of the Hustler coaches.

Afterwards we had lunch at a local taco place and on the way there, I spotted this crazy sight...only that the tail was actually sticking straight up into the air. I took this pic on the way back and by then the tail had fallen down more horizontal. It was a crazy sight. Anyways...sorry. Just felt like sharing. 

The lunch was fun. Being a mom I'm pretty well versed in the latest child-raising theories and mom hacks, but I am pretty in the dark about anything remotely related pop culture. I think the hippest thing that I know is the baby shark song... oh, and I know the floss and what it means to be "woke". So, I had a quick crash course to update me on some of the latest things. I now feel just a little bit cooler. 

The captains asked us questions like which Hogwarts house? (Hufflepuff) Dog or Cats? (Dogs) and How do you feel about glitter? (Awesome, as long as it's biodegradable l, because plastic glitter is horrible for our aquatic ecosystem). We ended the lunch with good-byes and hugs. Yay Hustlers! 

Tomorrow we skate with the Hell Mary's. Oh by the way, I never realized that all the teams in the league have names that start with "H." That's just crazy sauce. Hustlers, Hotrod Honeys, Honkey Tonk Heartbreakers, Hell Marys and Homies.