Practice recap:
Started off with an off-skates warm up and got our heart rates up with Dynomite. Followed that with 50 side step-ups on the picnic table/benches (hips squared forwards) to practice our crossover technique.
We got our gear on quickly and formed a big, tight pack, touching two. On each whistle, we switched to a new position within the pack, making sure inside/outside lines were covered and filling in empty holes. This is the drill my Minnesota team called "slut cars." :)
We then moved as a pack to different lanes, and Weewah randomly fell at the front of the the pack so that we would have to amoeba around her. We skated with tiny steps or sticky feet to keep from tripping each other. After water, we buddied up and did a "mirror-image" drill, mimicking our buddy in a square area to practice agility and maintaining eye contact to track her movements. We switched partners to get a feel of how different everyone was, and had to adjust. Next was the "high five" drill, where we had to shuffle towards our buddy from the opposite side of our square to meet in the middle and slap hands. We stayed low in a derby squat and shuffled towards each other and back again, keeping our hips squared forward and our eyes up at a spot on the fence or our buddy. We did both sides and rested.
From the high-five drill we moved into a full body block, known as "positional blocking." Positional blocking with a buddy involves an invisible magnet that connects you and your buddy's hips and shoulders together when you shuffle next to each other. No grabbing clothing or holding hands! You can touch with Barbie hands, but no grasping.
Next we moved into the "elevator" drill, making two straight pace lines next to each other on the track, in line with a buddy. We rolled around the track in this fashion. On the whistle, you shuffled together to form a tight wall (positional blocking) from shoulder to leg with your buddy. On the next whistle, you shuffled apart and allowed the jammer to pass. We did this for a while and will try it again next week. This is referred to as "closing the door" on a jammer.
We can "positional block" in game play alone, with a buddy, or with a wall of three or four. After we tried it with a buddy, we made groups of three and tried covering the whole track (from inside to outside) with our shuffling and positional blocking, having to move around as a wall, to keep a "jammer" from getting through. We continually "closed the door" on an opposing jammer when she would try to find a hole in your wall.
After we worked on that a while, I noticed that you were catching on. Yay! The idea is always to guard that inside line on the track, but also to pay attention to where it will be most advantageous for a jammer to try to get through. A jammer that uses the magic circle will be on the outside around the straightaways, and the inside around the corners. Likewise, our wall of two or three will want to fan out to cover the whole track on the straightaways, and bunch up tight around the corners to cover the inside line area. Momentum will compel pack skaters to stray away from the inside line on each corner, so as the inside line person, you must be very conscious of that and keep your hips and butt directly over that inside line. Players within a wall might rotate as game play chaos happens, so your "position" within your wall may be fluid. The idea, however, is to maintain a solid wall, with someone always minding that inside line. We will work on that more next week.
Next we did some confidence building, by blindfolding a buddy. We had a non-blindfolded buddy lead the blind around the track by holding onto her hips and communicating what she needed to do. Everyone had the opportunity to skate blindfolded. This was probably pretty scary for some of you, and that's ok. The point is that we must communicate with our teammates and learn to trust them, and also be confident in our own skating posture and balance. I think everyone got that by the end.
We took the blindfolds off and practiced transitions on the whistle for a while, jumping into the direction change without rolling in a half circle. Jumping is way faster and less dangerous to yourself and other skaters. Please continue to practice this during the week so that its easy. Keep your eyes up and pick a spot ahead to look at, or even point to. directions again.
Next we did Mohawk stops on the whistle, where we jumped into the transition, used our toestops to stop (ending in a bow), ran a few paces on our toestops, made another transition/Mohawk, and skated forwards in derby direction again. It's hard to explain this in words, but basically you are skating along, then switch directions a few paces before switching back.
We used the blindfolds again, this time as a rope of sorts, to have one buddy be "deadweight" while the other buddy dragged the deadweight to work on their crossovers. Some found this helpful, some did not. The point isn't to make that right leg work hard to cross over, but rather to encourage the LEFT leg to work harder and give an "underpush." Both the right leg and the left leg are pushing to the outside in a continuous crossover. Watch that Rat City video again to see. Here's the link again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFFu1kY_h0E&feature=youtu.be
We finished the practice with a 60/100/squat drill to work on our form in a fatigued state, when we struggle the most. It is super important to actively work on your technique when you are tired in practice, so that good technique becomes your default in a game situation. We did a dynamic stretch as a cool down.
If you missed today's practice, you missed a very important one filled with beginner strategy and important drills to build up your confidence. I suggest you meet up with girls who attended this practice to talk about positional blocking and get familiar. Next week is the last Saturday of introducing new skills. The following Saturday will be a complete run-through of the Assessment material. Absolutely be at the next two Saturdays, and bust your asses during the week so you can pass that speed/endurance portion!
No comments:
Post a Comment