True story.
Practice is buckets of fun today. We do some blocking drills, and we do continuous jammer again. At this point I clearly have a reputation for being hard to knock down. :)
Today I'm not. I fall during warm -up; I fall when anyone comes near me; I fall when I try to speed up or to slow down. Something's up. I feel like my skates are wobbling every which direction.
At first I think my wheels have come loose. I check them, find one a bit loose and tighten it, but that doesn't appear to be the problem and it certainly doesn't help. My skates wobble. My ankles buckle. I hit the floor again and again. I am the sole cause of at least three pile-ups, feeling four or more girls fall over top of me as I ball up as small as possible.
Finally I realize what is happening. My skates are not going all over the place; my feet are. You see, my skates are a teensy bit too big. My wonderful, beautiful, EXPENSIVE skates that are my best friends and worst enemies, are too roomy. I have developed my ways to compensate for this. I tighten the laces around my toes so tight that my little piddies fall asleep during warm-up. I have extra cushion insoles. I wear neoprene booties that add traction and keep my heels in place. I wear thick socks.
Today I lost my head. I selected a very adorable, very thin, very slippery pair of plaid socks. I don't know what I was thinking or why it took me so long to realize the issue. Once I figure out what is happening, it is obvious. Whenever I move my skates sideways, to push off or to change direction or to stop, my feet slide sideways to the edge of the skate, turning my ankle and dropping me to the floor. When I'm skating, my feet slide every which way inside my boots, making it much harder work and throwing me off balance.
Someday little things like this won't throw me off so much. The other girls skate with no socks sometimes, on blisters and swollen feet, without toenails. For now, however, I must accept that a little thing like socks can totally ruin my game.
Everyone has their 'off' days, and I've located a cause for some of mine. I have a blast, though, even with all the falls.
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