Monday 21 July 2014

The times, they are a-Changing

Loads of stuff is going on at practise right now.


We're moving venues again

...which means that there will be no more midweek practices for the Level 1s (me) until September.  We still have our regular Sunday practices but since we're in the summer 'off season' there's going to be a lower attendance as people go on holiday, attend wedding etc.  I will be one of these people, missing two weeks to do a long-anticipated walk of Hadrian's Wall, followed by a festival.  Obviously that means missing skating for a fortnight.  It's amazing to me how desperate I am to be skating at least once a week now.  I found it a struggle coming back after a month away, and I really don't want to lose any of my skills now I've started to get them back.  Seriously, I lost my transitions for about three weeks and I only just found them again.  I don't want them to go away!!!

I've got outdoor wheels now, so there's the potential for outdoor skating while I'm at home.  We went up to Bradgate Park the other day to try them out, and while the pavement surface isn't the best for doing anything super clever or tricky, as the bumpiness makes your feet vibrate like ... something very... vibratey... it's not bad for an endurance run.  And honestly, after skating on that stuff, anything smoother feels super easy.

We've got new Newbies!  

We are no longer the Fresh Meat, which is strange and bizarre.  It's funny having the perspective on them that the previous intake had on us.  Like our group, some of them have arrived fully fledged skaters, returning from injury or maternity leave or just switching sports while others can just about stagger round the track while staying upright, but all of them trying their hardest and making little advances week by week.

It's also encouraging for me to have a proper understanding of where I started.  When we're in midweek sessions with the advanced skaters, everything we do is incredibly hard and scary and exhausting.  You feel like you're the weakest link in the wall (you are), the slowest in the pace line (you are), the last to complete a drill (you are).  Because you are the worst -and statistically, someone has to be the worst!- it's hard to see when you're making progress because no matter how much you make, you're still not as good as the next person up.

On top of that the first person from my intake has passed the physical part of their minimum skills!  I am both extremely happy for them and slightly demoralised for me, but I've recently realised that the old cliche they tell you is true...

Everyone has their own derby journey

The path we take to becoming our own derby superstar looks different for each of us.  Some of us were sporty before we skated, some hated PE with a passion.  Some of us had skated before, others has never strapped on a set of wheels.  Some of us bring old injuries or mindsets that we have to work through.  Some of us work full time jobs and have families, others are single students living five minutes away from a skate park.  There really is no point comparing yourself to anybody else, because nobody's circumstances are quite like yours.  Their struggles will be different, their successes will be different.  Your derby journey is your own, and it will happen at it's own pace.

Yesterday someone asked me how long I'd been skating.  I had to think about it.  It's been six months.  

Six months.  

And that includes a month out due to the broken toe.  I couldn't quite believe it.  When I arrived, I was that Bambi-like person, wobbling round on skates, never low enough for derby stance, falling constantly, scared by everything.  I wasn't sporty, I'd never skated.  I started this blog in April, and I think the first week of intakes was in March.

Since then I'm now at the point where I can start passing some of my practical minimum skills.  This week I was in the with the new newbies, going over stuff I'd done before.  
  • After slaving away on the awful Grammar School floor, my laterals are now almost at Mins Skills level on the Parklands floor.  If I keep them tight and have enough speed going in I reckon I'll get them when I'm next tested. (Note to self: You don't have to reach the edges of the track.  It's the number of laterals that are counted, not the length of them).
  • My transitions are smooth and work far more often than they used to, and although I'd still like some more speed on them I feel a lot more stable doing them than I used to, and happier to roll backwards coming out of them.  I can also pull off a semi-decent derby stop in at least one direction.  Sometimes both!
  • My jumps are good.  I like jumping, once I've had a few goes and remember how to do it :)
  • I'm starting to use my toe stops to get around and push off.
  • I can do knee-taps where I pop straight back up rather than sliding to a halt first.
  • I can do laps consisting solely of crossovers.  
  • I can very nearly T-stop on both feet. (Note to self: when standing on left foot to T-stop, make sure your weight is central in your skate.  Standing on your inner arch produces that turn-in you hate so much)
  • JOY OF JOYS, I CAN and HAVE skated a whole half-lap standing on one foot.  And I can do it on both my left and right feet too.  That alone shows me how far I've come, from the person who could barely stand on her left foot for more than two seconds, and who couldn't hold a straight line on her right.  I thought I'd NEVER be able to do this, but the hard work and frustration has paid off :D
  • Skating in a slow pack, in close proximity to people no longer scares me like it used to.  The advanced pack is still terrifying, but that'll come in time.  I also have found my pack-voice, which means speaking up to instruct the pack if I need them to go slower, faster etc.  When I'm in the pack doing nothing, I tend to sing, which is very me :)
  • I can take a push from behind (which I love!), and a whip if I need to.
  • I've re-mastered my plough stops and done a few good ones.  (Note to self: WIDE legs and weight on your inner wheels).
  • Chomping, dead wheels, and side-surfing are all on the horizon.
And let's not forget that to fully pass Mins means knowing enough of the rules to play a cohesive game.  I did the written test last night and passed (barely, but I passed) on my first attempt!  I have NSOed at four live games in two different positions (Penalty Box and Penalty Tracker) and not made a horrendous mess of it!  This is all flippin' marvellous!

My derby journey is my own.  And, on the whole, I think it's going very well :)

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