One main thing in blocking to avoid is being sucked into revenge hitting. Blocking has to come from a productive, positive vision, not from your desire and ‘need’ to get back at a skater that just got one over on you. Recognizing you have a problem is the first step. The second, third and forth is learning how to fight that urge and teach yourself how to turn negatives into positives.

Losing Focus
Are you the type of blocker that, when hit very hard, returns the favor by hitting back that same skater?
If so, you probably realized that when doing so, you loose focus of the game and all energy goes into targeting that skater and putting her on the ground, no matter the repercussions (which usually entail: penalties; injury; angry/desperate/out of control blocking).
What are some ways in fixing this problem?
1. Take that negative energy and target it towards something positive.
For instance: You just got knocked out of the way when trying to block the opposing jammer, from one of her blockers. Instead of knocking the shit out of that blocker, turn that energy (she just created in you) from anger into a positive move for your team. One way of doing so is, if your jammer is still in the pack, use that energy to get beside her and effectively accompany her through the pack. This in turn will create a feeling of accomplishment rather than a feeling of anger and self loathe.
2. Get use to the idea of being hit every second your in a jam. Practice getting hit when looking the other way and without warning. This will help with stability and balance, as well as, strengthening your ability to regain pack awareness when taken off guard.
3. Take sometime to read about anger and self-control and begin to practice it in all aspects of your life. Use some scrimmage time to get use to the idea of being knocked off guard, not always making the shots you intend and being knocked down. This would be the time to practice restraint on revenge blocking. Get use to that feeling and learn how to successfully deal with it during game play. Have one of the opposing skaters knock stick to you like lice on the head of a hippie. Even if that skater doesn’t knock you down, fall anyway. Fall when you’re needed to the most from your team. Not only will this help you gain attitude adjustments, it will also create a situation for your team to learn to adjust to a fallen skater.

Losing Energy
Are you the type of skater that will go after a skater and try and perform the ‘hit of the night’ on her, trying desperately to knock her 4 rows back, just because she got one on you?
If so, then you are doing a number of wasteful actions.
1. Thinking, first of all, you’re in the right by going after her takes energy off of how and why she blocked you in the beginning. Learning why YOU were in the wrong would better your performance and prevent off guard hits.
2. When you target just one skater, the rest of your team unknowingly plays down a blocker. Though all bodies are on the rink, your body is on a mission (a stone cold mission) only focusing on one of (at most) 10 skaters on the rink. Selfishly sprinting after that skater, exhausting yourself to feed thy ego, rather than being a part of a unified team.

3. You perform over committed blocks. Nine times out of ten your ass is too out of control to make an effective hit once your reach this skater. Either you go flying into the crowd, or fall onto the ground, or trip the skater (gaining a penalty), or fly into a Ref, or… the list goes on. Ways to fix this issue (in all cases) is to learn to use your ass and hips. Not all blocks have to be with the shoulder. Learning to maneuver your body to get in front of a skater is a hellva lot more effective than bull rushing a bitch into wonderland.

Losing Respect
If you’re a skater who tends to do a lot of revenge blocking, it won’t be long until your bench coach/captain pulls you from line-ups. Ways you can help is by telling a skater that they need to take a deep and regain control of themselves.

Telling them, “So what you got knocked down… So what it was illegal… So what the refs didn’t call it. The only thing that matters from this point forward is that you are in control and focused on the positive things you can supply to our team. If you’re unable to switch from anger mode to productive mode, you’re useless to the team.”

So don’t be surprised when your ass is warming the bench on a cold day for the mindful skaters on your team that can relax in the heat of the moment.

Comments(0)

Starting out on skates after being off of them for some years is a confusing and humbling process. You have this mindset that you were a kick-ass skater back in middle school and it’s going to be really easy for you to strap your skates on and start playing derby in a matter of days. WRONG!

Unless you come from a speed skating background (and even that is outdated), a figure skating background (which has different balance priorities), or even a hockey background (flailing arms galore!), you were never really taught how to skate. You have self-taught tendencies that will have to be erased in order to learn the derby style of skating.

Coming from a speed skating background, I had the basic skating form. I know how to get low and my legs are thicker than Russian bread during the cold war era. However, when on the speed team, my coach never focused too much on my basic skating form (crossovers, power glides, arm control, timing), all he was concerned with was that I could skate fast. Coming back to skating, I had to relearn these basic skating skills:

Getting low

Getting low is key for leg strengthening, which in turn, becomes the main source of power for sprints, power glides, blocking and dodging.

When getting low, be sure to bend at the knees (not the waist) and keep your weight balanced on both skates. Be sure not to lean too far forward and keep your feet shoulder width apart. Keep your arms in. Don’t get used to holding your arms out for balance, as it could cause problems in the future with penalties and general imbalance. I would suggest your league do some type of ongoing squatting exercises, on or off skates.

Sprints

Sprints come from the balls of your feet, your inner thigh muscles and your stomach muscles. Think of running up a wet, grassy hill. You use the ball of your feet and dig down into the earth and push down and out using your thighs. Your arms are positioned in a runner’s stance, close to your sides.

The first six or so steps are very short and powerful. Your glides shouldn’t be long and drawn out but rather quick, run-like pushes. There shouldn’t be a lot of noise coming from your skates. If it sounds like you’re busting holes in the rink, then you’re more than likely going in an up and down motion rather than pushing down and out.

Once your sprint speed has surpassed the short quick steps you will progress into power glides. Again, keep your arms in and stay low while doing sprints.

Power gliding/pushes

When getting speed from power glides (mainly used on straight-aways) be sure you’re pushing from the balls of your feet. You want to push down and out while bending at the knees for power. Your arms are going to be close to your body and in a runner’s stance. You do not want to have your arms going side to side, rather you need to have them going back and forth. This will help pull in power from your arms rather than having your arms work against you. Not to mention, swinging your arms may cause penalties in the future and exhaustion due to the fact that you’re literally working against yourself. To incorporate derby into all this, be sure you’re looking behind you while gliding.

Crossovers

Crossovers are essential in derby. Well-balanced crossovers are even more essential. The power in crossovers comes from the top, inside wheel of your right skate and the top, outside wheel of your left skate. Those are the wheels you push from. It should be an equal push from both feet, meaning the strides should be evenly timed and powered from stroke to stroke.

Some ladies have a weaker left leg, resulting in a “plopping” motion when doing crossovers. You can fix this by doing one foot glides on the corners. Simply push off at the beginning of the turn and hold that position for the whole corner. Make sure your arms are in and you are in a squat position, keeping your torso turned into the corner.

When pushing off with the right skate (top inside wheel), be aware of how you’re pushing. Feel through the skate and understand where that power needs to come from in order for you to get the most out of your strides. When pushing off with the left skate (top outside wheel), make sure your left leg is placed behind your right knee and you hold it there for the whole corner. Again, be aware of how you’re pushing and recognize the power points on the skates, as well as the muscles in your legs. Understand what doing a full crossover looks and feels like.

Comments(0)

“If such and such doesn’t happen, then I’m going to quit!”

First off, never pose the threat of quitting. Saying that one word shows the level of commitment you’re willing to give unless you receive the demands you feel are owed. When I hear ladies say such things I merely respond (in my own head of course), “go!”. No one is making you stay and do something you hate.. something that makes you miserable. If you get to the point where at every practice you leave on your pity raft floating down the river of your own tears, then my friend, you might want to rethink your decision to remain in derby. If you’re coming to practice only to bitch and complain about things that should be happening rather than getting on the rink and making them happen for you, then you might want to call a travel agent and take yourself on an extended vacation to some place that doesn’t house a derby league.

The first time you threaten to quit, the response may be a nice loving beer fest after practice where everyone tells you everything you do right and how important you are to the league. The second time you might get those 2 people that actually care about you and want you to stay because they believe in certain aspects of your personality. Aspects that fueled devotion in times past. The third time, do everyone a favor and just quit.

Crying derby wolf doesn’t make the league care. Communication about your concerns and demonstrating your efforts to change your mood and take charge of those concerns, that will show that your intentions are true. In return, you’ll gain support from skaters on the BOD to those that just made try-outs, all wanting and willing to help you overcome these feelings of helplessness.

“Damn, I hate coming to practice… I can’t stand going to all these meetings… I can’t make money cause I’m traveling so much for derby… My body hurts from all these unhealed injuries.. my family misses me/I miss my family. I think I need a break”

Now, if you have gotten to a point in a conversation where one of the above has been inserted, then the steps to recovery definitely lead down a different path. If you have been in conversations with ladies who have muttered those lines, then take it upon yourself to suggest a break from derby. Giving all you have over a long period of time leads to ladies getting burned out. This is the time where I say, tell the training committee, tell your captains, heck, even tell your close friends and folks you see walking down the street; “I’m going away for a few weeks. I will not be at practice. I will not attend any meetings. Do not ask me to do last minute shit you always burden me with.. I’m taking a break from derby!”. Ahhhhhhhhhhh…. That simple.

You owe no one a detailed, hand written letter explaining why you need this break. If you’re league is so damn stern and doesn’t allow this type of ‘behavior’, then you might want to organize a derby union and start advocating skaters rights!

Damn if this isn’t a volunteer sport. Decide not to volunteer for those 3-4 weeks. Or if you volunteer, decide your limits. Say, “I will go to endurance practice but I will not scrimmage.” Have limits for yourself and stick to them.

Having said all that, I do, however, suggest you communicate with your training committee, coach(es), and/or captains about your decision to take a break. Knowing when the right time to take a break is an important subsection that needs to be added into the equation(ie. not during the interleague season. But if you need too, by all means, do it). Also, make sure you know about any/all policies your league has in place about leave of absences and what you may be required to do upon returning (ie-attend so many practices before you’re able to scrimmage again). Just leaving with no communication whatsoever is not an effective way to take a break. First off, your league will be wondering if they need to rearrange teams and secondly, you’ll be stressing cause you don’t know what the response will be on your return. Communication is key ladies.

Also, training committee, take it upon yourselves to mandate a break during an month that allows it. It’s your job to train these ladies to skate well and be healthy. Taking time off would fall under the “staying healthy” category.

“You bitch, you’re always trying to tell me how to skate when you don’t know yourself”, or “If you hit me again with your elbow, I’m going kick your fat ass!”

Ugh, I’m sure we all have overheard tidbits like these during/after practices. This is what we call anger management. Knowing when and where to let yourself go. In my experiences, some ladies just don’t see eye to eye. Or better yet, they are way too much alike and both refuse to give an inch and end the madness. I’m to the teaching, “let it out!”. You’ve got something to say, say it. I hate yelling and being yelled out. But, what I hate worse is, someone repressing their emotions for so long that it comes barreling out in its unoriginal form and aimed for the unintended skater. As of late, I can hear ladies talking during scrimmages. Folks getting pissed and belching out ‘thank you’ letters while in the pack. “Nice forearms”, “nice back blocking”, “wanna try to hit me instead of trip me?”. Believe it or not, this is a form of derby therapy. Communicating to that skater what issues are present at the time of administration, allows you to release the anger and move on. If you happen to be the one receiving these poetic one liners, take it and keep skating. Watch those forearms. Be careful about the back blocking. Try keeping your legs in when you give a hit/fall. If it pisses you off cause this one skater is constantly bitching about something, give it back to her. 9 times out of 10, most people don’t eat the shit they spurt. Go ahead and politely give them a spoonful of their own medicine and be satisfied.

I’m not encouraging a full out league brawl, but rather, opening the door to ‘bitching and be done’ philosophy.

Coming back from the break

After a few weeks of movie watching, beer drinking, book reading days, it’s time, once again, to dive head first into the derby pool. Saying hey to all those bitches you miss and asking them about the kids and family is a nice heart warming experience. It showed me the depths of my connection with this group of women.

When you return skating, the first thing you need to realize is, you are out of shape. Knowing that returning to the level of intensity you left at isn’t a wise decision (especially if you didn’t do anything active on your break). I would suggest to come back and do basic endurance and fall drills for the first few hours on the rink (just to get the body back into that mode of a high impact workout). Then, my readers, it’s derby boot camp 101. Put yourself in every jam possible. Exhaust yourself during skills practice and go to open skates and dodge falling kids. Also, work yourself back into meetings with a renewed fuse. Bring new ideas and energy back to the folks that didn’t leave. Make them love it again.

Comments(14)

Keeping your skates clean and dust free is a grave concern to us all. Sturdy skate laces and wheels that have some life left in them are also just as important. Yet after all that bullshit about cleaning bearings and saddle waxing your leather skate boots has lost its scent, the most important item of business to keep tip top is the skater herself.

Knowing when to come to practice and knowing when to leave.

The next section of this blog will be all about rollergirl maintenance. Things I have experienced in my years of derby and things I am still trying to grasp.

Posts to be expected (but in no particular order):

-Rollergirl AWOL

-A rollergirl time-out

-Role’s of a rollergirl

-Derby bitches- loving the ones that love us

Comments(1)