This lady has been in contact with me since I started this blog early December (her name alone brightened up my day!).Anyway, she wrote me last night and asked me to give her some advice. I usually do not answer emails like this, but hers, I felt, warranted a post since all of these issues are present for majority of skaters at any level. Below is her letter split into three parts.
[1]. “I’ve been really frustrated with myself b/c I don’t feel like I’ve been improving in my speed but I’ve got a lot of endurance
[2] “I’ve been bouting with my league for 3-4 months now and with no signs of improvement, I’m frustrated with my performance.”
[3] “I have a bit of performance anxiety issue b/c I perform really well at practice and then flop at bouts. I’ve sought professional help but I don’t feel like it has been helping so I stopped. “
-Chinese Take-Out
[1] Why am I not getting faster?
There are a few factors that could be hindering your ability to go faster.
A. Floor- If it’s winter, the floor becomes cold and much more slick. Or, the floor may be extremely dusty and your wheels (no matter how soft they are) will not find grip.
B. Skates- Your skates are basically shoes with wheels on them. If you constantly run around in them and do sprints and stops and suicides and jumps, they’re going to start adjusting to your wear and tear and are going to need some upgrading.
Somethings to check/adjust on your skates:
-Your trucks- may be a lot looser than you can handle, tighten them to your liking.
-Your wheels- have lost their grooves/grip (especially if you’re on a cement floor); clean them with soapy water (be sure not to get the bearings wet), rotate them, or get a new pair if none of the above seems to be helping.
-Your boots- may have stretched to a larger size, try to start wearing thicker socks (or 2 pair) or simply tie the laces tighter. If none seem to be working, try using 2 sets of laces for extra enforcement or 3 pairs of socks. If all these fail, buy new (leather) boots.
-Your bearings- may be filled with guck and need a little cleaning. If you do not know how to clean them, please do not do so! (you could ruin them) Wait and perhaps a post about how to clean them might pop up. Or, ask your coach or captain to find out to clean bearings correctly and then ask them to hold a workshop to teach all skaters.
-Your insoles- could be worn out (making it hard to keep the boot in place when skating) and may need to be replaced (try a thicker insole).
C. Technique-You may be losing speed by skating too much. Meaning, you might be over exerting yourself (trying sooo f’n hard to get faster) that you’re simply ignoring the limits of your ability. I am still learning new ways to get faster, so being on a league for 3-4 months, you’re just beginning to scrape the tip of the iceberg (though, global warming is in full effect, so this statement may be a little outdated).
Somethings to work on during endurance practice or open skate:
* Knowledge- Knowing how to skate effectively. Doing effective crossovers and power glides save you from wasting energy trying to ‘run’ on skates. This isn’t something that can be taught in a blog on the internet, but rather on a rink over a few months time.
*Getting low- though it may hurt in the beginning, squatting while doing endurance is the fastest way to strengthen your thighs. Bending at the knees rather that the waist is key. Strength equals power equals speed.
*Arm control- Start skating with your arms either behind you or strictly to your sides. This helps build up balance and makes you understand how dependent you are on those swinging arms (which is a HUGE waste of energy not to mention could cause penalties).
*Sprints- do them over and over again. Each time you’ll realize there is something new to learn in doing them. (I’m referring to duck walk sprints, not toe-stop starts).
*Breathing- A big issue in being able to skate faster for longer is your ability to control your breathing. When I started back, I would have the hardest time figuring out how to breathe correctly. One thing I did to help control my breathe intake was I started chewing gum. It helped me condition myself to breathe through my nose rather than my mouth. I also talked with a lady who does breathing classes and she told me to breathe from my whole torso rather then the top of it. Taking in a deep breathe that reaches to the bottom of my stomach which expands it, then exhaling until I could exhale no more. The first few times I did it, I became lightheaded. However, I use this technique now whenever I start having breathing problems.
I hope this begins to show the many factors in why you (or anyone else) isn’t getting the full effect they feel they deserve.
[2] Why is my skating not improving?
From my experiences this is what usually happens (especially after the 3-4 months):
-You start out stupid excited about derby. You take your first 20 lap time trials. Again, you’re just excited to be able to skate all 20 laps, much less worry about what your time is. A few weeks have passed and you are gaining speed, skills and most importantly, you begin to find where you fit in with the league (peer wise).
So you do the next time trials, you see that you literally shaved off 10 seconds from your previous time. Whooo hoooo! Man, let’s go have a few beers and celebrate.
How exciting.
So you push and push and push… you keep coming to the same amount of practices, you keep the same diet and you still have the desire to keep getting better, but you seem to be stuck. You have the same lap time (after 3 months of trying) and the other skaters are getting better.
What has happened?
My theory: Your body is adjusting. Your body is taking in all of this intense training from the past few months and is beginning to condition the muscles to their expected use. This has happened to every skater I’ve skated with and we all get so damn discouraged, we wanna throw our hands up and yell to the derby goddess to free us from this hell. (whoo.. that’s the coffee talking). Without having any type of physical training knowledge (well, I did get C’s in PE during high school) this is my answer. If you’re reading this and you have the ‘right’ answer, please do chime in.. It would be much appreciated.
[3] Performance anxiety- Yes. Yes. This is something I deal with constantly. I have sat on the bench right before games asking myself, “why in the hell do I do this? I hate this game!” (Seriously!)
I know a lot of the girls I skate with (and against) have issues with anxiety as well. So what I have done is asked a few girls on my league to answer a couple of questions. Having skated with all of them for a few years, I knew they would have the widest range of answers that could hopefully help someone out there.
Roxy Rockett
1. What do you do on bout day?
The night before, I take it easy. I have a nice healthy dinner (no dairy) and a beer to help get me relaxed; drink lots of water; do it with my G man; then lay in bed (in silence) and think about all the possible bouting scenarios and how to deal with them. Bout day: I start with water and coffee before practice; come home around 2:30, eat a high calorie protein bar then take a nap with my man; after arriving at the venue I try and skate around and get my body warmed up and get use to the crowd noise. After our team meeting, I mediate to myself and think about what I need to do and who my partners are and how to maintain control over my skating throughout the bout. If it’s too much to handle, I usually ask one of the following ladies for their help to talk me down and help me relax. I am usually unapproachable and less likely to show a friendly face.
2. What (if anything) do you do to relax your nerves right before the bout and/or the first jam? (waiting for that whistle to blow.. ugh!)
Once I’m on the floor, and especially after the first lap, everything settles. I see my team and know that everything will be OK.. win or loose!
Teflon Donna
1. What do you do on bout day?
I start w/ a big glass of OJ and a banana. If I feel like my nerves are getting the best of me, I sometimes go for a skate to get some of the jitters out. I eat a turkey and ham (no cheese) sub on wheat from _____ [unnamed sub shop] before every game I play. And I start drinking lots of water the night before and all day prior to the game.
2. What (if anything) do you do to relax your nerves right before the bout and/or the first jam? (waiting for that whistle to blow.. ugh!)
Pep talks….they don’t work for me. In fact all the pregame meetings just make me jumpy. In the 15-20 minutes I take to stretch before the game, I’m usually telling myself “go out there and give it 100%, nobody can expect anything more”. I also try to keep a light hearted attitude prior to the game. Share a few laughs with some teammates as I’m warming up bumping people around.
Leadfoot
1. What do you do on bout day?
I try to ALWAYS get 8-9 hours of sleep before the game, which means NO drinking and/or partying for me beforehand. The day of the game, I always have sex (no joke, ask Major!) followed by pancakes and bacon for breakfast. I try to drink LOTS of water and gatorade, have a turkey sandwich and some chips for lunch and then nothing else until after the game. I also ALWAYS say a prayer before the game (just ask Busty; I prefer a group prayer, but if no-one’s up for it, I just say one silently to myself). Usually I pray for a safe and enjoyable game for all the players and fans. I pray that I do well and don’t let my team down. I pray that no one gets hurt and everyone has a good time. I pray that we make some new fans and friends. :-)
2. What (if anything) do you do to relax your nerves right before the bout and/or the first jam? (waiting for that whistle to blow.. ugh!)
As weird as it is, I usually NEVER get nervous before a game…I don’t know why, I just don’t (the only exception being TX during Dust Devil; I was TERRIFIED!!!). I just try to think of it as an extended practice or scrimmage. Since I really don’t know all the people in the audience, I just think, “if I suck, I don’t know these people and will probably never see them again” and if I do well I tell myself, “self, you just made a new fan/friend”! Knowing that I’ve practiced as hard as I could and have trained hard for weeks/months/years, usually calms me down. Also knowing that I have some of the best skaters in the league (hell ANY league for that matter) looking out for me helps too. Someone has your back and you have their’s…that’s comforting!
It also helps during the game to look out in the crowd and find someone that’s smiling and cheering for you. If my son is there, I look for him. If not, I smile and wink to Major, or Marco or Seth (from Tattoo Devil or Progress) or my friend Andy. Knowing you have friends there to support you helps.
Kitty Crowbar
1. What do you do on bout day?
Sex (with or without someone else…hahahaha!)
2. What (if anything) do you do to relax your nerves right before the bout and/or the first jam? (waiting for that whistle to blow.. ugh!)
I make sure I have everything (outfit, gear, whatever) ready two nights before so I can just chill with Olivia the night before and do nothing (unless we have a meet & greet with the other team…). On game day, I get all giddy and goofy so I like jokes…I also like when we could get to the rink early and skate around and be goofy.
Shirley Temper
1. What do you do on bout day?
I sleep in as late as I can, then go to practice for a light warm up, then go to ____ unnamed sub shop (cuz it’s convenient and it won’t upset my stomach). After eating, I try to just “be normal” for a couple of hours … lay down on the couch and watch some TV, etc. Then I get dressed and ready. Then it’s on ;)
2. What (if anything) do you do to relax your nerves right before the bout and/or the first jam? (waiting for that whistle to blow.. ugh!)
Right before that first whistle, I literally look at the ground (I don’t look at any opponents or listen to anything they say) and I remind myself that I know how to play this game! I tell myself that the huge girl next to me has weaknesses and I’m going to figure them out and use them against her. And I tell myself that these girls have no idea what I’m capable of and probably don’t expect much, so I’m gonna show them.
Eva Lye
1. What do you do on bout day?
Traditions include: eating small proportions, and several of them, rather than one or two large meals. I normally can’t stomach lots of food on game day anyway due to nerves. I eat hard boiled eggs or peanut butter toast, a protein shake, and if I can do it, a tofurkey sandwich on hearty bread. I also meditate and stretch the morning of the game. If there’s time, I try to get some nookie. Supposedly it makes women feisty, as opposed to the man
who falls asleep. Also it helps me relax a little. It hasn’t not worked, so for now I do it.
2. What (if anything) do you do to relax your nerves right before the bout and/or the first jam? (waiting for that whistle to blow.. ugh!)
My nerves are generally calming down right before the game (finally). I like talking with teammates and just keeping it real. I know those nerves are all in the head and if I try to trick myself out of being nervous, sometimes it works.
Feel Free to answer the 2 questions in a comment. Who knows, you might end up helping another lady relax before a game!
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