No offense, but you don't know what you're doing.
Since coming to terms with the fact that my skates are a bit too big, I've spoken with many of my teammates about skate fit. It turns out an alarming number of them spent a painful couple of years cinched into skates that were too small or sloshing around in ones that were too big. It didn't ruin their derby, but it did make things difficult and uncomfortable. It is possible to start a successful derby career in ill-fitting skates, but why do that to yourself?
Hear me now. Most people will recommend you not buy skates "until you know for sure you will stick with derby." This is good advice, but if you are joining roller derby then you are probably the type of person who will be more determined to buy expensive skates when told this. I am not assuming you will fail. I assume you will work hard, love derby, play for years, and have a Facebook fan page with thousands of followers. I am still telling you not to buy.
In an ideal world, your league will have an impressive collection of discarded skates you can borrow. Although you may feel dorky in the borrowed skates, I think you should spend a few months using them. Spend 2-3 weeks in a pair that feels good. Then go up or down a half size, or choose a different style of skate and wear those for a few weeks. See what the difference is. Get a feel for what you like and what you don't like. When you know the feeling of well fitting skates, it will be easier to make the right decision when buying.
Now it's time to leave fairy tale land.
You and I both know that if you can afford new skates (and perhaps even if you really can't) that you are not about to use the loaners for the next 3-6 months. Here's the second best option. Find a skate shop with EXTREMELY knowledgeable and helpful employees, and take a senior team member with you. Most of your teammates love skate shopping and will be glad to go with you. They will use it as an opportunity to buy themselves some new wheels. With their help, you can find the right skate for you. Please note: a knowledgeable skate shop owner will probably try to dissuade a freshie from buying skates. They see a lot lot of girls trying to return scuffed skates after a month. Don't be offended.
I know not everyone has access to a good skate shop. Also, you may not feel comfortable asking someone to come with you. At the very least, you should ask everyone's opinions before you go to buy skates. Pick a couple of people who seem to really know equipment and ask them about the fit of your loaners. Ask everyone what kind/size skates they have, what they had in the past, and why they chose that. Everyone loves talking about their skates! Some will talk your ear off. Try to find someone with similar feet to yours, and find out what they wear. Derby players know everything about their feet. If you have wide or narrow feet, tall feet or flat arches, weird toes, weak ankles, etc., someone on your team will have the same thing and will tell you how that affected their skate decision.
The girls will also be full of hints about lacing, insoles, socks, wheels, toe stops, and toe guards. They will know if your league has a discount arrangement anywhere. Some girls may have a special store or person who puts together custom skate packages.
My final piece of advice is to not get carried away by all the fancy options. I needed aluminum plates instead of nylon because of my size, but I did not need the leather boots I insisted upon having. This is your first pair if derby skates, not your last. You will be falling, sliding, and generally tearing up the skates for a while. As Fresh Meat, you will be harder on these skates than you probably will be on any other pair of skates in your life. You don't want to cringe at every scrape.
Your league probably has a particular skate that they generally recommend for new girls. With us, it's the Reidell R3. It's a great skate. It has nylon plates and vinyl boots which makes it relatively economical, yet it is a well-made, well-fitting skate that will serve you well. Ask if your league recommends this skate or a similar one.
Do NOT research some skates online, go to the sports shop, find a great, expensive skate, try on a pair or two, and buy a pair that "feels okay."
Learn from me!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Thou Shalt Not Skate in Slippery Socks
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.
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.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
I Am a Roller Derby God!!!
Today is the same drill as last practice. We take the track two at a time, the person in front hitting with her hips. This is perfect, because my hitting needs a LOT of work.
I jump in the drill without waiting for an invitation, taking hits very well and giving hits not so well. But I'm trying. This time, I hear the buzz about me first hand. As I'm going around the track, I hear the coach say to someone else, "Ramona is just so solid. It's like hitting a brick wall."
My heart skips a beat. Tears of pride prickle my eyes. Such a small comment but it means the world to me.
Throughout practice, I hear more people talk about my solidity. I get knocked down, but apparently not as much as one would expect. Then I find myself paired up with Haley. I consider her to be a good friend. I suspect, however, that she feels we coddle the new girls too much. (I tend to agree, actually.) Haley PUMMELS me. I assume she is holding back some, but not nearly as much as the others. She doesn't bump, retreat, let me recover, and then bump again. She slams into me and keeps pushing, shoving me towards out of bounds, pushing, pushing, pushing me. I struggle to push back against her, to stay in bounds, to stay on my skates. When I do fall or go out of bounds, there is no recovery time. Before I even see where she is coming from, she is there. Her rock hard shoulder digs into my side with a constant force. She slices her skates in front of mine to hold me back. I focus on the line around the edge of the track. I dig my skates in, lower my body, desperate to stay in bounds. My ankles scream. My bad hip seems to have given up and gone numb. Again and again I lose the fight, tripping out of bounds or getting thrown to the ground. I keep getting up. She keeps coming. I'm spent, but I honestly believe that if I do not fight with all I have left to stay up that I will die. She will knock me over with enough force to kill me.
Okay so maybe I'm not a god.
Towards the end of my second lap, the end of this delicious torture in sight, I hear it again. I'm pulling myself up off the floor for the 125th time. My skates hit the floor and I take off again. Haley heads for me. I steel myself. From the center of the track I hear, "When Ramona passes her test, I want her on my team!"
Yess!
I only get knocked down about twelve more times on the last quarter of the track.
Next we do something called Continuous Jammer. Everyone gets on the track at once. One person wears the jammer panty for two laps, then passes it to the next person. Everyone skates the entire time. I know I won't be able to keep up for long, but I jump in to try. I stay at the back of the pack. I don't try to block the jammer or do anything fancy. I'm just trying to keep up.
I'm doing it!
Jammer after jammer takes the pantry, and I am still skating. It gets toward the end of the drill, I realize that I'm going to be able to make it through the whole thing. Victory! I skated through a whole drill!
Then the unthinkable happens. I hear the call, "Who hasn't jammed yet?". Then I hear the reply, "Ramona hasn't!"
Beg your pardon?
I don't want to be seen hanging back, so I proclaim my terror but grab the panty. I spend a lap and a half trying to push and shove my way through the pack, bolstered by the yells of encouragement from my teammates. Everyone is telling me when to push, when to relocate, and how to find the hole. The term 'wall' takes on new meaning i don't see the individual girls in front of and beside me. They blur into a solid mass of spandex and tank tops. Hands behind my back, I throw my body this way and that, slipping on sweat and locking wheels. Panting through flames, I am determined to make it through my two laps. Coming close to the end of my second lap, however, the world is swimming and I know I am going to puke. Tossing the panty to the nearest girl, I shoot off to the bathroom followed by the sound of applause.
I don't vomit. I hitch a couple of times but reign it in. Good thing, too. I had frito chili pie for lunch, which in retrospect wasn't the best choice. I wash my face and emerge from the restroom, planning to watch some scrimmaging. Perhaps once I've had a rest, I'll skate 25 laps and see how long it takes me.
There is no scrimmaging, though. Everyone's taking their gear off. Practice is over. I had thought Continuous Jammer had taken 20 minutes. It turns out in actuality I had been skating for over an hour solid. Seriously. I can't believe it.
The girls cheer me again. Everyone congratulates me, and they all seem genuinely excited for me. I don't feel like I'm being pitied. I feel like it won't be long before I can hold my own. I really feel like part of the team.
I jump in the drill without waiting for an invitation, taking hits very well and giving hits not so well. But I'm trying. This time, I hear the buzz about me first hand. As I'm going around the track, I hear the coach say to someone else, "Ramona is just so solid. It's like hitting a brick wall."
My heart skips a beat. Tears of pride prickle my eyes. Such a small comment but it means the world to me.
Throughout practice, I hear more people talk about my solidity. I get knocked down, but apparently not as much as one would expect. Then I find myself paired up with Haley. I consider her to be a good friend. I suspect, however, that she feels we coddle the new girls too much. (I tend to agree, actually.) Haley PUMMELS me. I assume she is holding back some, but not nearly as much as the others. She doesn't bump, retreat, let me recover, and then bump again. She slams into me and keeps pushing, shoving me towards out of bounds, pushing, pushing, pushing me. I struggle to push back against her, to stay in bounds, to stay on my skates. When I do fall or go out of bounds, there is no recovery time. Before I even see where she is coming from, she is there. Her rock hard shoulder digs into my side with a constant force. She slices her skates in front of mine to hold me back. I focus on the line around the edge of the track. I dig my skates in, lower my body, desperate to stay in bounds. My ankles scream. My bad hip seems to have given up and gone numb. Again and again I lose the fight, tripping out of bounds or getting thrown to the ground. I keep getting up. She keeps coming. I'm spent, but I honestly believe that if I do not fight with all I have left to stay up that I will die. She will knock me over with enough force to kill me.
Okay so maybe I'm not a god.
Towards the end of my second lap, the end of this delicious torture in sight, I hear it again. I'm pulling myself up off the floor for the 125th time. My skates hit the floor and I take off again. Haley heads for me. I steel myself. From the center of the track I hear, "When Ramona passes her test, I want her on my team!"
Yess!
I only get knocked down about twelve more times on the last quarter of the track.
Next we do something called Continuous Jammer. Everyone gets on the track at once. One person wears the jammer panty for two laps, then passes it to the next person. Everyone skates the entire time. I know I won't be able to keep up for long, but I jump in to try. I stay at the back of the pack. I don't try to block the jammer or do anything fancy. I'm just trying to keep up.
I'm doing it!
Jammer after jammer takes the pantry, and I am still skating. It gets toward the end of the drill, I realize that I'm going to be able to make it through the whole thing. Victory! I skated through a whole drill!
Then the unthinkable happens. I hear the call, "Who hasn't jammed yet?". Then I hear the reply, "Ramona hasn't!"
Beg your pardon?
I don't want to be seen hanging back, so I proclaim my terror but grab the panty. I spend a lap and a half trying to push and shove my way through the pack, bolstered by the yells of encouragement from my teammates. Everyone is telling me when to push, when to relocate, and how to find the hole. The term 'wall' takes on new meaning i don't see the individual girls in front of and beside me. They blur into a solid mass of spandex and tank tops. Hands behind my back, I throw my body this way and that, slipping on sweat and locking wheels. Panting through flames, I am determined to make it through my two laps. Coming close to the end of my second lap, however, the world is swimming and I know I am going to puke. Tossing the panty to the nearest girl, I shoot off to the bathroom followed by the sound of applause.
I don't vomit. I hitch a couple of times but reign it in. Good thing, too. I had frito chili pie for lunch, which in retrospect wasn't the best choice. I wash my face and emerge from the restroom, planning to watch some scrimmaging. Perhaps once I've had a rest, I'll skate 25 laps and see how long it takes me.
There is no scrimmaging, though. Everyone's taking their gear off. Practice is over. I had thought Continuous Jammer had taken 20 minutes. It turns out in actuality I had been skating for over an hour solid. Seriously. I can't believe it.
The girls cheer me again. Everyone congratulates me, and they all seem genuinely excited for me. I don't feel like I'm being pitied. I feel like it won't be long before I can hold my own. I really feel like part of the team.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
There's No Loneliness in Roller Derby
Today at practice I put my new (if slightly forced) attitude to work.
First I must swallow my panic as I realize the other new girl is not skating. Will they pull someone out of practice just to work with me? Do I want them to do that? I'll feel guilty if someone has to miss out on drills to work with me, and frankly I don't know what I'd work on. Does this mean I have to run drills with the other girls? What if I can't do it? What if I cry again, or puke? I don't think i can do it. Suddenly I realize I haven't even started anything yet and I'm already frustrated to the point of tears. Time for an attitude change.
Mental slap. Ramona, what have we been discussing with ourselves? I am here TO DO things I cannot do. This is exciting. i look forward to seeing how well I can hang in there.
The drill we are working on today is about a certain kind of block. For those of you in the know, I can say it's kind of like a J-hook with your hips instead of with your shoulder. When someone approaches you from behind, you get down real low, and then pop up as you hip check her. It's kind of awkward. To practice the technique, we are to take turns getting on the track two at a time. One girl comes up behind, and the other girl tries to use this block. Each pair goes for a lap, and then the next pair goes.
Can I attempt this? It's not sprinting or endurance. It is, however, a full contact drill. Intimidating. What if I wind up in the rotation with someone who doesn't play nice with the new girl? I really have been wanting to work on taking and giving hits, though. I failed that part of my skills test. At home, I daydream about getting in there and doing some hits. Am I going to chicken out now that the opportunity has arisen? No way. I'm going for it.
What if they don't think it's a good idea for me to do this drill? Who cares? I'm going for it. Instead of hanging back and waiting for someone to either invite me to the drill or suggest it may be too much for me, I jump into the middle of the track. If they feel strongly that I shouldn't do this, let them come to me.
I do admit, however, to starting at the end of the line. I don't jump right to the front. I'm not crazy.
As I watch the girls ahead of it perform the drill, I realize something I had forgotten. They are all here to learn new things. Even though they are all much more skilled than I am overall, this specific maneuver is new to almost everyone. I watch as they help each other, fall, laugh, cuss. I hear girls who have been skating for years say things like, "Wait, I don't get it. Was that right? Can I try that again?" I see the other newer girls asking for help from the person they're paired with.
I am not alone. I do not battle the gods of heat and endurance wrapped in my own personal blanket of misery. I am part of a team. My teammates are struggling and fighting and sweating with me. We are at different levels, but we all strive to improve.
I have so much fun skating this drill! I get knocked over some but not always. The girls I skate with talk me through it the whole way. At one point I skate against the coach. She comes in for a hit, and falls! Obviously nobody's coming at me full force, and she's going easy on me. Still, she wouldn't have fallen if I hadn't been steadier than she expected.
Later in line, Marnie says to me, "I heard a compliment about you. I overheard coach saying how solid you are."
I am elated. The pain in my legs and feet diminishes as I am now lighter than air. Solid? Hell yes! Awesome.
Scrimmaging starts and I cannot join in so I spend some time watching and some time walking on my toe stops. I wish I could do laps, but Wednesday is the day that the other track is unavailable. I am itching to try to do 25 laps. Toe stop work is good too, though.
What would have otherwise been an excellent practice is marred by a huge pile up in the scrimmage. Three girls get hurt pretty badly. Scary. I think of injuries as happening in bouts, but the thought of injuries during practice scares me a lot. For now I concentrate on well wishes for the hurt girls and the glory of coach saying I'm solid. I feel so close to everyone today. I love it here.
First I must swallow my panic as I realize the other new girl is not skating. Will they pull someone out of practice just to work with me? Do I want them to do that? I'll feel guilty if someone has to miss out on drills to work with me, and frankly I don't know what I'd work on. Does this mean I have to run drills with the other girls? What if I can't do it? What if I cry again, or puke? I don't think i can do it. Suddenly I realize I haven't even started anything yet and I'm already frustrated to the point of tears. Time for an attitude change.
Mental slap. Ramona, what have we been discussing with ourselves? I am here TO DO things I cannot do. This is exciting. i look forward to seeing how well I can hang in there.
The drill we are working on today is about a certain kind of block. For those of you in the know, I can say it's kind of like a J-hook with your hips instead of with your shoulder. When someone approaches you from behind, you get down real low, and then pop up as you hip check her. It's kind of awkward. To practice the technique, we are to take turns getting on the track two at a time. One girl comes up behind, and the other girl tries to use this block. Each pair goes for a lap, and then the next pair goes.
Can I attempt this? It's not sprinting or endurance. It is, however, a full contact drill. Intimidating. What if I wind up in the rotation with someone who doesn't play nice with the new girl? I really have been wanting to work on taking and giving hits, though. I failed that part of my skills test. At home, I daydream about getting in there and doing some hits. Am I going to chicken out now that the opportunity has arisen? No way. I'm going for it.
What if they don't think it's a good idea for me to do this drill? Who cares? I'm going for it. Instead of hanging back and waiting for someone to either invite me to the drill or suggest it may be too much for me, I jump into the middle of the track. If they feel strongly that I shouldn't do this, let them come to me.
I do admit, however, to starting at the end of the line. I don't jump right to the front. I'm not crazy.
As I watch the girls ahead of it perform the drill, I realize something I had forgotten. They are all here to learn new things. Even though they are all much more skilled than I am overall, this specific maneuver is new to almost everyone. I watch as they help each other, fall, laugh, cuss. I hear girls who have been skating for years say things like, "Wait, I don't get it. Was that right? Can I try that again?" I see the other newer girls asking for help from the person they're paired with.
I am not alone. I do not battle the gods of heat and endurance wrapped in my own personal blanket of misery. I am part of a team. My teammates are struggling and fighting and sweating with me. We are at different levels, but we all strive to improve.
I have so much fun skating this drill! I get knocked over some but not always. The girls I skate with talk me through it the whole way. At one point I skate against the coach. She comes in for a hit, and falls! Obviously nobody's coming at me full force, and she's going easy on me. Still, she wouldn't have fallen if I hadn't been steadier than she expected.
Later in line, Marnie says to me, "I heard a compliment about you. I overheard coach saying how solid you are."
I am elated. The pain in my legs and feet diminishes as I am now lighter than air. Solid? Hell yes! Awesome.
Scrimmaging starts and I cannot join in so I spend some time watching and some time walking on my toe stops. I wish I could do laps, but Wednesday is the day that the other track is unavailable. I am itching to try to do 25 laps. Toe stop work is good too, though.
What would have otherwise been an excellent practice is marred by a huge pile up in the scrimmage. Three girls get hurt pretty badly. Scary. I think of injuries as happening in bouts, but the thought of injuries during practice scares me a lot. For now I concentrate on well wishes for the hurt girls and the glory of coach saying I'm solid. I feel so close to everyone today. I love it here.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
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