Sock Derby!

It's amazing how exhausting an off skates day can be. Today I was reminded that running is so much more work than skating! Due to the wacky spring schedule, we were shuffled up to the meeting rooms for practice which meant no skating for us. However, our ever clever trainers came up with a very full and exhausting day.

We were suppose to bring all our gear except our skates. I, in a rush this morning, grabbed my skate bag after pulling out my skates. Sadly, I had forgotten that my helmet wasn't stored in there at the time....I realized that once I opened my gear bag for practice. Thankfully we were being split into groups and someone lent me their helmet for the one section we needed it.

That's where I started. We played sock derby! Okay, it was really shoe derby as we wore our shoes which was a much better plan than sock derby. Fewer toes get stepped on that way. As we are a mix of experienced Debs and those who have yet to go to a bout, we went over some of the basics. It was a lot of fun. No hitting was allowed, only positional blocking. One thing that was pointed out was how easy it is to use your forearms and elbows and why this is a bad habit. I got the chance to play as pivot, blocker and jammer. When I was the jammer for my team, the other jammer got lead and then promptly got a plenty for track cutting. This meant a power jam for us! (We weren't keeping score) This was fine the first pass and I think on the second pass there was a "no pack" call made. By the end of that one and into the next one (or two, I don't remember), I really wanted to be on skates. Running is a constant movement where I have momentum from skates and get a bit of a breather. As there was no lead jammer, I think we went a full two minutes. The coaches may have called it early. I don't know. I just thought I was going to die. I can definitely skate fast for that long, but running wasn't fun at all. The coaches then used the group on the track to explain cutting and then the no pack situation and how blockers can drop back to reform the pack.

After that, we went to see Mischief, who is the current head of Debs. We went over safety stuff again (who are our safety people; what has to be there before we skate; when do you fill out a form) and then got into one of my favorite things. Writing down goals. I've not always been at the practice where we do this but I really like it when I am. It means that at some point I'll get to look back at that card and remember what I thought was important today. We also filled out the other side with our name and skating background and how we got into Debs. I started to write it out and I realized that I started 5 years ago. While a lot has changed (especially in derby; one whistle start instead of two, small plows instead of large ones, no minors), there's still a lot that is the same. I'm still in Debs. I'm no longer in the pink/beginning group but I still miss enough practices that it'll probably be a while before I move up. I'm really thinking of doing some of the NSRG and MNRG clinics this spring so I can get some of the contact work/experience and more time on my skates so that I can eventually move up. Not that I don't like being with the intermediate group, but some day it would be nice to scrimmage.

Finally, we moved to see Nasty for some muscle memory work. This one was harder for me as I was still trying to catch my breath from the crazy jamming. I also may have knocked something back out of whack in my back in all the jostling of pack work. I'm sure my chiropractor will be amused. We worked on balance and foot placement for small snow plows. It's amazing how difficult balance becomes when you close your eyes. The best part of this session was hearing a skater say how the snow plows are really hard for her but the opposite action is really easy. It's affirming to be reminded that some skills will be easier simply by the way in which our bodies are made.

I'm excited that this is the start of a 5 week, uninterrupted practice time for me! I'm working some early mornings so I can make Sunday practice. In fact, the only reason there's an interruption is because of Easter. Looking forward to it!

First on skates practice for the year and looking back

Wow! It's been so long since I've written on here! This fall was a blast! There have been a lot of changes in how Debs is run as the group has grown. Today was the first on skates practice for the session. The trainers decided to eliminate the wait list and invite everyone on it to sign up. There are so many new skaters! It's amazing how many people have decided to join us.

I was greatly reminded of my first practice. Or at least the feelings of the first practices. Except, I wasn't the one who didn't know anyone. I can imagine how overwhelming it must have felt for some of the really new skaters. I wanted to give them all hugs and tell them that they would survive the first day and start to thrive! There was also this desire to tell them to get lower and to not look at the floor. The floor lies and if you squat down as much as possible, you don't fall as far. In the end, I kept quiet as I'm not a trainer or a draft pool member. Instead, I've come home to blog about that desire. To be able to tell them that it's alright that it all seems scary because we've all been there! I never imagined when I was there that I'd one day be not there as I was such a bad skater. Never did I think I would improve to the point that I could see things and know better to hold my tongue at the time. I remember how intimidating it was to have other skaters who weren't trainers trying to offer me advice.

There was another way that I was reminded of my early days on skates. Today was a day of falling. The awesome part was that I wasn't falling because I was struggling to stand up. I was falling because I was doing really hard things. Hockey stops and I are yet to become friends. I decided that instead of taking it slow and easy, I would use some speed and see if I could get them to work. I almost succeed at them, kind of. We also learned a new stop to use while skating backwards. I believe it was called a power stop or something like that. That was also rather awkward. I'm pretty sure that there were a few times when my body decided that it wasn't happy with me for not getting around to skating or working out since the end of the fall session. As we were skating backwards, there were a few times that I went down. Every time, I managed to get back up! Recoveries have gotten so much easier! Trainers tell you that it's all about muscle memory but it's completely different when it actually happens!

One of the "new" skaters this session is actually an old skater. She was involved in the very first session of Debs and it's wonderful to be skating with her again. After practice, we chatted briefly. She commented that she went away for two years and suddenly snow plows are suppose to be narrow and there and single sided plows and power stops. My response back was that I remember when Wet Spot was also a trainer and not just a track maintenance guy and that there were two whistles to start every jam. This made me feel a bit old, almost like a grandmother of sorts. There are now skaters who have only just seen their first out last night. I've known about derby since 2006 (sort of; I knew people doing it and heard them speak strange things about practice) and I've been actively skating since 2010. In a week, it'll be my 6th anniversary of going to a roller rink for the first time. It's amazing how much has changed in 6 years. I'm really happy that I've kept up with Debs. There was the one year I took off because life got too crazy but it was never far from my dreams. I'm okay if I never make a team and only do derby as a recreational member. I've made so many new friends and finally found my sport. And maybe, one day, I'll be skating low enough that a trainer tells everyone to get as low as Ferret. And I'll be able to dance like Gene Kelly or Ginger Rogers or Fred Astaire in roller skates.