Weaknesses and Strengths

At practice yesterday, Hanna showed us one of her weaknesses and followed it by telling us some strengths. She then pointed out how we all have strengths and weaknesses, using me as an example. As a group, we took a moment to mention a weakness and then a strength. After an injury with the contact ready group, they came over and joined us. Everyone could easily and quickly come up with a weakness and almost everyone struggled with a strength.One skater had to be told to find a strength without qualifying it. We all could see the strengths in others than in ourselves. It was comforting to hear some of the skaters that I look up to saying their weaknesses because it means that we will always have our weaknesses no matter how awesome others think we are on our skates.

At the end of the last session, I know I had to be told my strengths because I was so focused on what I couldn't do yet and what I needed to work on that I didn't take the time to celebrate the small strengths that I was developing. So I've decided to make two lists. First, my weaknesses, areas that I want to improve on. It's more of a goal list in some ways. Second, my strengths. All of them and as I get new ones, I'm going to come back here and update them (or maybe make another post, I don't know. It makes more sense to just have it all in one place though).

Weaknesses or Things I'm Struggling With or Things I Can't Do Yet

• Tomahawk stops
• Stopping fast
• Leaning too far forward
• Thinking too hard
• Psyching myself out
• Transitions
• Duck walk sprints
• Hockey stop
• Consistently staying up
• Endurance
• Knee taps
• Upper body strength

Strengths or Things That I Know I've Gotten Better At or Things That I'm Proud Of

• T-Stops (these took forever!)
• Cone Weaving
• Falling and Getting Back Up
• Pushing Myself
• Toe stop starts
• Not Throwing Up Even When I've Felt Like It and Still Pushing Hard
• Crossovers
• Speed
• Endurance
• Lifting up my front wheels while skating
• Single knee turn stops
• Trying the new Scary Thing
• Skating on one leg
• Not caring how stupid I look
• Transitions

You may notice that I've put things on both lists. It's because while I still struggle with them, I know how much I've improved on them and how proud I am of those improvements. It's all about the small steps. One of the biggest lessons I've learned in derby is to celebrate the small victories. When I started to learn transitions, I couldn't even do them standing still. Learning how to move my body to face the other way while standing still meant I could learn how to do it while moving slowly. I'm building a beautiful mosaic out of seed beads or grains of sand that will look amazing when it's completed. Right now, it kind of looks funny and a bit awkward at times but knowing that I've placed a bead and that it's in the right place is a huge deal. I'm starting to see the outline and I know the potential of what I'm doing. It doesn't matter that it's not perfect yet. So long as I don't get cocky and think I know everything and am okay with looking stupid (Tiki told us that we all look stupid because we're learning and that it's better to look stupid and try than to be worried about not looking stupid and not try), I will continue to celebrate the small victories and strengths that I gain.