Post-Practice Derby Thoughts
I was a little worried earlier today, when I was hauling 5 gallon buckets of water to-and-fro in the garden, about whether or not going to practice would ruin this shiny dream. What if I was too tired after work? What if this group of women was incongruously unkind? What if I hurt myself? But even trying to be realistic and ask myself these questions, I could not counter the sheer joy and anticipation that was shaking in my very bones.
I won't go into the details of the practice, because it reads pretty boring on paper. Everything has a name - sticky-wheels and man-eater are two skating styles. Other things make more sense, like cross-overs (putting one skate in front of the other on turns), or one-knees (practicing falling onto one knee). The borrowed rink skates are called Brownies. Even the stretches had incredible names (hooker stretch, skeleton key, etc).
Roller Derby is unlike any other sport I've ever played on a very basic level: there is no coach. There's a captain of the team (Rock River Rollers' is a woman named L'iterate Her) who took me and Kirsten under her wing and taught us some basics. She checked back in on us every once and a while, and sometimes did whole drills with us (especially the difficult ones, which was gratifying). She encouraged us to push ourselves a little, but stressed taking care of our bodies and making sure we didn't do too much our first time out. She emphasized that we were here because we wanted to be, and only had to do as much as we were comfortable doing (but rewarded us with kind words when we stepped up). The whole experience was so much more communal, and put me on equal footing with her, an experience I've otherwise never had with sports.
And damn! I know I am not fit. But I know I'm strong - I can lift and haul more than other people, and am generally just more physically capable than other people. But I have no endurance, at all, and derby works muscles that I otherwise don't pay much attention to. The fronts of my shins ache, my ass is sore, and my thighs feel like they are made of pain and cedar beams. I can already tell that as my endurance grows, my whole body will become harder, and fitter. We do off-skates workouts beforehand, and those will help tone my core. The skating itself does wonders for my legs and back. Even my arms will get some grit doing push-ups and planks. I am so tremendously excited to be fit and toned, and to get there in such a fun way.
And of course, as usual, everyone involved was very welcoming and encouraging. It turns out that while I am new and therefore pretty bad at skating, there are some things I do surprisingly well for a beginner! Like backwards toe-stops, cross-overs (which I am not good at, just surprisingly advanced for only having skated twice before), and recovering from falls quickly (fun derby fact: skaters have only 3 seconds to recover from a fall while in a Jam). I need to work on being tense - the really good skaters look like they're waiting for the bus even as they execute complicated moves - loose, natural, relaxed. As mentioned, my endurance is terrible. I don't get as low during Derby Downs as I should, because I am not strong nor flexible enough yet.
I also need to get my own gear. Not skates or a helmet yet, because those Cost Serious Money, but I've been told I can get a rookie pack of knee, elbow, and wrist pads/guards for $20. I'm definitely going to keep practicing with the RRR. I don't know if we ever do bouts or scrimmages, being a little rec league in a tiny town, but that doesn't matter so much right now. Incidentally, I'm learning that while there are 500 some competitive derby teams out there, there are literally thousands of rec leagues. Almost everywhere with more than 30,000 people has one. Hell, Delavan, whose population is just 8,463, has a rec team. But regardless, I'll be in Madison in three months, and in four I can join the Mad Wreckin' Dolls. In the mean time I'll be staying involved by supporting the MRD intra-league teams as best I can during the summer, and skating as often as possible with the RRR. I highly recommend getting involved in a rec team in your area. It is an excellent way to get comfortable on skates and with the sport, as well as to meet other awesome people who like derby as much as you. Yes, yes, yes. Yes.
I love derby. That is all.
I won't go into the details of the practice, because it reads pretty boring on paper. Everything has a name - sticky-wheels and man-eater are two skating styles. Other things make more sense, like cross-overs (putting one skate in front of the other on turns), or one-knees (practicing falling onto one knee). The borrowed rink skates are called Brownies. Even the stretches had incredible names (hooker stretch, skeleton key, etc).
Roller Derby is unlike any other sport I've ever played on a very basic level: there is no coach. There's a captain of the team (Rock River Rollers' is a woman named L'iterate Her) who took me and Kirsten under her wing and taught us some basics. She checked back in on us every once and a while, and sometimes did whole drills with us (especially the difficult ones, which was gratifying). She encouraged us to push ourselves a little, but stressed taking care of our bodies and making sure we didn't do too much our first time out. She emphasized that we were here because we wanted to be, and only had to do as much as we were comfortable doing (but rewarded us with kind words when we stepped up). The whole experience was so much more communal, and put me on equal footing with her, an experience I've otherwise never had with sports.
And damn! I know I am not fit. But I know I'm strong - I can lift and haul more than other people, and am generally just more physically capable than other people. But I have no endurance, at all, and derby works muscles that I otherwise don't pay much attention to. The fronts of my shins ache, my ass is sore, and my thighs feel like they are made of pain and cedar beams. I can already tell that as my endurance grows, my whole body will become harder, and fitter. We do off-skates workouts beforehand, and those will help tone my core. The skating itself does wonders for my legs and back. Even my arms will get some grit doing push-ups and planks. I am so tremendously excited to be fit and toned, and to get there in such a fun way.
And of course, as usual, everyone involved was very welcoming and encouraging. It turns out that while I am new and therefore pretty bad at skating, there are some things I do surprisingly well for a beginner! Like backwards toe-stops, cross-overs (which I am not good at, just surprisingly advanced for only having skated twice before), and recovering from falls quickly (fun derby fact: skaters have only 3 seconds to recover from a fall while in a Jam). I need to work on being tense - the really good skaters look like they're waiting for the bus even as they execute complicated moves - loose, natural, relaxed. As mentioned, my endurance is terrible. I don't get as low during Derby Downs as I should, because I am not strong nor flexible enough yet.
I also need to get my own gear. Not skates or a helmet yet, because those Cost Serious Money, but I've been told I can get a rookie pack of knee, elbow, and wrist pads/guards for $20. I'm definitely going to keep practicing with the RRR. I don't know if we ever do bouts or scrimmages, being a little rec league in a tiny town, but that doesn't matter so much right now. Incidentally, I'm learning that while there are 500 some competitive derby teams out there, there are literally thousands of rec leagues. Almost everywhere with more than 30,000 people has one. Hell, Delavan, whose population is just 8,463, has a rec team. But regardless, I'll be in Madison in three months, and in four I can join the Mad Wreckin' Dolls. In the mean time I'll be staying involved by supporting the MRD intra-league teams as best I can during the summer, and skating as often as possible with the RRR. I highly recommend getting involved in a rec team in your area. It is an excellent way to get comfortable on skates and with the sport, as well as to meet other awesome people who like derby as much as you. Yes, yes, yes. Yes.
I love derby. That is all.