Aloha!
Apologies for the delay. My life is busy right now :)
On Saturday we again contended with intermittent rain showers, but we used that time to go over important policies and procedures and the PRD bylaws that our league adheres to for operations. It is important to remember that being a skater is not just about skating, but also about helping to run the league smoothly so that we can continue to develop and build a fan base. Bouts are way more fun when we have a crowd watching! Running a league takes a lot of work outside of our training. Although training should be your top priority, most league girls put in at least a few additional hours a week for their committee obligations. Keep all of this in mind as you transition into league practices. Our league practice requirements vary based upon how many practices are offered in a current month (rainouts don't count), so that usually ends up being 6-7 practices in a month. Not too much, but as you begin to balance life/family/career and derby, remember that teamwork happens on and off the track! If you did not get a copy of the Policies and Procedures manual or our current PRD Bylaws manual, please let me know and I'll bring you a copy.
Our practice started with off-skates conditioning as usual, slightly extended to deal with the rain drying up. We hopped on skates and did a dynamic warmup, working on our balance and getting our legs ready for our practice. We launched into some review of stops, then moved on quickly to our new skills involving Intro to Packwork. We did a "spokes" drill, where in a group of 4 people, we skated across from another group of four that was on the exact opposite side of the track from us. We tried to maintain the same speed as them while staying in arms distance from our 4 pack buddies. We then introduced how to "collapse in" around the corners" and how to "fan out" on the straightaways, to increase the likelihood of stopping an opposing jammer from getting by us in a realtime derby jam situation. We will continue to work on this, as it can be a little tricky to comprehend at first, but basically the idea is to clog the magic circle so that an opposing jammer has a hard time getting by you.
This is the beginning of POSITIONAL BLOCKING. You will hear a lot more about that term in the practices to follow. We did some large pack work as a giant group, sticky skating to avoid wheel locks, and worked on getting familiar with the four lanes on the track. I called out a lane (1,2,3 or 4) and the entire pack moved to adjust to that area. Get accustomed to fast response to where to be, as game situations often get chaotic and teammates may call to you to cover a specific area. In derby as blockers, we use our body to block first, without going for big hits. Using the mentality of making yourself big like a bear, you are trying to take up as much of the track as possible to prevent the opposing team's blocker from passing you and scoring points. But you already knew that, since you've been diligently studying the rules of derby on the wftda rules site, right? ;)
We wrapped things up with some transitions work on the whistle, working on fluidity of moving from frontwards to backwards. Please continue to work on this throughout the week and get comfortable keeping those eyes up.
Please start getting super familiar with the WFTDA site outside of the rules page to learn more about what is happening in roller derby throughout the world. This last weekend was the Championship tournament, and Gotham (of New York) won it again in a narrow margin over Texas. WFTDA level derby is super exciting, and there is a TON you can learn from watching the best teams. Don't be intimidated... we don't expect you to skate like Suzy Hotrod straight away. But she's a damn fine role model!
There is a rules clinic lead by our head referee, Bacon, on November 17th. Please see the Fresh Meat facebook page for more details. If you can't make it, find a buddy to take notes for you! I will try to get access to his powerpoint.
If you have not yet signed up for a mentor and would like one, contact me right away! Everyone in the current Fall intake that requested one has been paired up so far and should be hearing from their Mentor to get together. Remember, it isn't necessarily about skating. Make a friend out of your mentor! Learn about them and how they got into derby, and what challenges they faced when they became a league skater. This will help all of us become better leaguemates.
See you Saturday!
Calamity
Apologies for the delay. My life is busy right now :)
On Saturday we again contended with intermittent rain showers, but we used that time to go over important policies and procedures and the PRD bylaws that our league adheres to for operations. It is important to remember that being a skater is not just about skating, but also about helping to run the league smoothly so that we can continue to develop and build a fan base. Bouts are way more fun when we have a crowd watching! Running a league takes a lot of work outside of our training. Although training should be your top priority, most league girls put in at least a few additional hours a week for their committee obligations. Keep all of this in mind as you transition into league practices. Our league practice requirements vary based upon how many practices are offered in a current month (rainouts don't count), so that usually ends up being 6-7 practices in a month. Not too much, but as you begin to balance life/family/career and derby, remember that teamwork happens on and off the track! If you did not get a copy of the Policies and Procedures manual or our current PRD Bylaws manual, please let me know and I'll bring you a copy.
Our practice started with off-skates conditioning as usual, slightly extended to deal with the rain drying up. We hopped on skates and did a dynamic warmup, working on our balance and getting our legs ready for our practice. We launched into some review of stops, then moved on quickly to our new skills involving Intro to Packwork. We did a "spokes" drill, where in a group of 4 people, we skated across from another group of four that was on the exact opposite side of the track from us. We tried to maintain the same speed as them while staying in arms distance from our 4 pack buddies. We then introduced how to "collapse in" around the corners" and how to "fan out" on the straightaways, to increase the likelihood of stopping an opposing jammer from getting by us in a realtime derby jam situation. We will continue to work on this, as it can be a little tricky to comprehend at first, but basically the idea is to clog the magic circle so that an opposing jammer has a hard time getting by you.
 |
| This shows a red team fan formation coming out of a corner. Notice that the outside blocker is alerting the inside blocker that the black jammer is right behind her! She's telling her, "hold that line!!" Black team jammer is Death By Chocolate of Houston Roller Derby. |
This is the beginning of POSITIONAL BLOCKING. You will hear a lot more about that term in the practices to follow. We did some large pack work as a giant group, sticky skating to avoid wheel locks, and worked on getting familiar with the four lanes on the track. I called out a lane (1,2,3 or 4) and the entire pack moved to adjust to that area. Get accustomed to fast response to where to be, as game situations often get chaotic and teammates may call to you to cover a specific area. In derby as blockers, we use our body to block first, without going for big hits. Using the mentality of making yourself big like a bear, you are trying to take up as much of the track as possible to prevent the opposing team's blocker from passing you and scoring points. But you already knew that, since you've been diligently studying the rules of derby on the wftda rules site, right? ;)
We wrapped things up with some transitions work on the whistle, working on fluidity of moving from frontwards to backwards. Please continue to work on this throughout the week and get comfortable keeping those eyes up.
Please start getting super familiar with the WFTDA site outside of the rules page to learn more about what is happening in roller derby throughout the world. This last weekend was the Championship tournament, and Gotham (of New York) won it again in a narrow margin over Texas. WFTDA level derby is super exciting, and there is a TON you can learn from watching the best teams. Don't be intimidated... we don't expect you to skate like Suzy Hotrod straight away. But she's a damn fine role model!
 |
| Suzy Hotrod of Gotham Rollergirls. Tyler Shaw Photography Check out that underpush in her crossover! |
If you have not yet signed up for a mentor and would like one, contact me right away! Everyone in the current Fall intake that requested one has been paired up so far and should be hearing from their Mentor to get together. Remember, it isn't necessarily about skating. Make a friend out of your mentor! Learn about them and how they got into derby, and what challenges they faced when they became a league skater. This will help all of us become better leaguemates.
See you Saturday!
Calamity
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