Fresh Meat Weeks 1 and 2! From the Top!

ALOHA!! WELCOME TO ROLLER DERBY!!

I start up this blog every 3 months and run it in conjunction with Pacific Roller Derby's Fresh Meat training program for incoming roller derby hopefuls so that they can have a running log of the skills taught. Sometimes I include visual aides and links to helpful online resources that assist with learning skills. If you are with another league outside of PRD, you are of course welcome to this material. I am dubbed the "Safety Queen" because I try to emphasize best practices with training and gear, and that starts at the very beginning. Start with proper fitness and always consult your physician before starting a new training regimen if you have health conditions you are worried about. You know your own body better than your derby trainer and I am not a certified personal trainer. I don't know your medical history and if you drop to the ground at a practice I will do okay because I'm good in crisis situations and had you sign a waiver that you hopefully put down a valid emergency contact name for, but beyond that, you will get no money if you sue me because I have none. I was a lifeguard for 10+ years, however, and I can do CPR and first aid purty dern good. That said, please try not to get hurt. It makes my heart hurt, and I die a little inside when it happens  :)

I love you all and want you to enjoy this wonderful sport as much as I do, and so do all of the other skaters that skate for this league. They will all happily assist you with as much feedback as they can give you... with varying degrees of accuracy. Be sure to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. If a skill does not feel good or you feel really unsafe, you may not be ready or you may not be doing it right. GET MULTIPLE OPINIONS. Some girls have been playing for 8 years (me), some girls have been playing for 3 months even though they love the sport and they are super amazing and helpful. Some girls know a ton of stuff about gear and have a lot of it, and some people use gear until it dies a painful death (me). Every skater has a skill they are great at, and that skater has a skill they are terrible at, too! We are ALL working to improve on something and so it's super important to build each other up. The competition starts later, and even then we still have beers together afterwards. It's not like other sports. Now is the time to support each other. We don't tear each other down. Reach out, get together, carpool, have lunch after, do group orders on your gear. These are your teammates!

Week 1:

Basic Stops: T-Stops, which look like an "L," really. Your stationary leg knee is slightly bent, your other leg picks up off the ground, then you apply all four wheels of that leg to the ground until the heel of that leg come to the heel of your standing stationary leg. Try it while holding onto a wall to start. Keep your eyes up. Keep your arms in. Plow Stops, or Snow Plows, starting with "Watermelons." Rolling forward, knees point out, toes point out, knees point in, toes point in.With this motion your inside edges should dig into the ground and your heels should feel like they are "kicking" out. Your butt sticks out with this. As tempting as it is, your elbows do NOT stick out with this.

Basic Falls: Single Knee Taps are kind of a fall, but really they are more of a balance check. Don't put your hands down on the ground if you can help it.We think of this fall as, "just kidding! I was thinking about falling, but I changed my mind!" In derby, if you can avoid falling, it's a great idea. If you are on the ground, you aren't helping your teammates and you are not helping score points. Therefore, you should spend as little time down there as you possibly can. The faster you get up, the better. Hence, a knee tap. Double Knee Taps, same concept. Tap one knee, then the other. In both cases you are gently touching the ground with your knee but not slamming into it because you don't want to dislocate your kneecap. Right? Right. We talked about Falling Small. Falling Small is falling as small as you possibly can in a teeny tiny ball to avoid being run over or avoiding any sort of collision or pileup on the track. Why would you want to trip all of your teammates? That's right. You wouldn't. RULE #1 IN ROLLER DERBY: DON'T BE A DOUCHEBAG.

Basic Jumps: We jumped over some cones. We talked about sitting in our invisible derby chairs, engaging our core muscle group to stay low and tight, and bringing our knees up to our chest as we jumped. We worked on keeping our arms in as we jumped. When anyone felt unstable, they got lower and leaned forward so that they could regain control of themselves. Everyone was able to jump over at least 2 of the cones, which was totally awesome for the first day of derby practice!

Basic Weaves: We weaved around cones. They were about 10 feet apart and we learned how to use our body and our knees to veer around an obstacle without using our arms as an aide. Everyone got better at keeping their eyes up and looking towards the next obstacle, like when driving a car; you never look straight down  in front of your bumper when you're driving a car...you look ahead.

Week 2:

Repeat of week one drills, with a few additions. We will go in a similar fashion and I will be tacking on new drills each week as we progress. Week two included:

Basic Stride: Pushing straight off to the side, not behind you, helps you to gain speed and momentum as you skate forward. The longer your wheels are on the ground, the more traction they get, the more power you get, the more speed you get. This is why a good, strong, push makes all the difference! We practiced this after we had tried crossovers, because I wanted you to get the feeling of the crossover first before you had any momentum. I only did that because some of you are very new on skates and don't know what to do with the speed. :) We practiced the basic push on both sides, both standing still holding onto the wall (to see how far out to the side we could stretch our extended leg while still keeping our wheels on the ground) as well as across the rink. Doing it both ways helps you understand how much more you can get out of it. You must bend the leg you have your weight distributed over for your pushing leg to fully be able to extend. Derby skaters should rarely, if ever, be standing straight upright (doing so usually makes you an easy target for a hit, anyways).
Basic Crossover: We learned crossovers skating both derby and "non" derby direction, or counterclockwise and clockwise. In a crossover motion, the crossover leg is picking up out of the stride and crossing in front of the weight bearing leg. We squared our shoulders to the inside of the circle so that as we crossed over we made a neverending circle. I'm sure everyone got dizzy. With that motion, you then end up distributing all of your weight onto that leg, and the other leg will then do what is called an "underpush." We have not learned about the technicality of that portion of the crossover because sometimes it is difficult to digest in the first few weeks of derby, but don't worry... we will get there soon enough. For now, practice the motion that we learned of having one leg picking up and coming over the top.
Cone Weaves: Tighter, faster. Yeah, baby! Week two! We picked up the pace and got lower, weaved tighter, kept our knees together and our arms in protecting our boobs. This allowed for a faster response in our trucks as we zipped through cones that were 5-ft apart. Woohoo!
Intro To Paceline: We lined up arms length apart and played follow the leader every which way around the rink. If the person in front got too fast, we had to speak up and yell "slow down!" or "speed up" if it got bunchy. We had to use our T-stops to work on speed control. As each leader dropped to the back and a new leader started, I sometimes had them lead everyone with "fast feet" or little foot shuffles to get people to pay attention and work together. When you play derby you must learn how to be a part of a team and communicate as a team. Quiet people aren't effective. Gotta SPEAK UP! haha

Derby Middle School: Week 5

This final DMS practice completes the 5 week DMS course to catch new White Stars up on basic strategy. They tested for Orange Star today, and I'm happy to report that 8 out of 9 passed!! Woohoo, they're scrimmage ready! 

This last practice in the circuit was led by LT SlamHer, a transfer skater who has been playing derby for years at NoCoast Derby in Nebraska. She's a no-b.s. woman who keeps her head down, works her ass off, and takes feedback like a humble newbie despite her lengthy derby history! This is a chick to admire.

Week Five	Saturday July 5	Instructor(s):		Location:	Hawaii Kai	9am-11am
Continue practical application of skill sets, and Scrimmage

Derby Middle School, Week 5:

Fast feet work, inside outside type of stuff. 
We did a single & double pace line having the front 2 people race around the track coming up to the back of the pack using plow or T stops to slow down. 
We worked on form & magic circle for the 27/5. 
We did positional blocking with 2 blockers 1 jammer. 
We did same drill only with 3 blockers 1 O & 1 jammer. 
We did fanning out on straight aways & collapsing on corners. 
We did suicides working on tomahawk stop turning around.

Derby Middle School: Week 4

Practice was again led by Gidget.

Week Four	Saturday June 28	Instructor(s): Gidget		Location:	Hawaii Kai	9am-11am
Jammer-Pack cohesion and incorporation of weeks 1-3

Derby Middle School, Week 4:

Warm Up: Cassetes, Fig 8s, 15 Laps Magic circle, dynamic stretch

Endurance portion:

Groups of two, sprint pyramids with a fall every lap.

Start on jam line on belly, on whistle sprint laps with a fall on every finished lap. Pyramid of 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2

Drill 1 Focus: Proper hitting and swiping

-Against the wall work on swooping down and up using your whole body to hit.

-Pair up on the track take turns hitting each other

-Skating up from behind, timing your hit properly

-Sweeping a group 1 on 2

-Adding in jammer

Drill 2 Focus: Proper spacing on Bridging

-Bridging forward from a stop using the jam line as the anchor

-adding in a pushy jammer

- turning in to rapid fire, endless power jam for 2 min

Drill 3 Focus: Proper spacing and timing to bridge back

-Using the jam line as an anchor, bridge back to recycle jammer

-Add in jammer

Drill 4 Focus: Partner blocking

-Booty Block alley 2 on 1

-3 on 1

Fun Drill: Pace line whipping 

Stretch and Pau!

Derby Middle School: Week 3

This practice was led by Gidget, a woman new to derby but NOT to sports. A beast on the track, this girl is a double threat who blocks and jams like she's been playing for a decade. When we need someone to bulldoze their way through and score a quick 10 points, Gidget is our girl.

Week Three	Saturday June 21	Instructor(s): Gidget		Location:	Hawaii Kai	9am-11am
More pack work and practical game scenarios

Derby Middle School, Week 3:

Warm up:

15 laps magic circle

Dynamic Stretching

Drill1 Focus- fast transitions using toe stops to run out with urgency

- On the whistle transition from forward to backward skating not using your toe stops to balance.

- Fast transitions to mohawk stop skating opposite direction using your toe stops to run out of the stop.

- Group of 2 to 3 Sprinting forward two cones as a group mohawk stop staying in a wall sprinting back one cone mohawk as a group and staying in a wall.

Drill 2 Focus- Learning to avoid hits by changing levels ie. getting low to get in front and getting high to go behind.

- Groups of two scissoring, one skater on inside one skater on outside, skaters are cutting in front of and behind their partner getting as close as possible without touching, skater who goes in front squats low and skater that goes behind gets high.

- Groups of three repeat as above.

Drill 4 Focus- Using your hips and shoulders to squeeze through blockers by turning your body sideways.

- Double pace line 2 feet apart, skater runs up the center of the line turning their body sideways keeping their feet moving and looking up.

- Double pace line every three seconds the skaters will open and close a whole so the "jammer" has to focus on running and slowing to get through still turning their body sideways to get through.

- Take it to groups of three 2 blockers, 1 jammer, jammer is focused on going through the middle of the blockers turning sideways and runing through the blockers.

Drill 5 Focus- Refilling blocker positions when the jammer happens to get around blockers.

- groups of three blockers on the whistle switch positions with your team mates grabing pushing and pulling to stay in a tight wall.

- adding in a jammer 

Drill 6 Focus- Offensive blocking from the front of back by sweeping a wall.

- Groups of 2 sweeping your partner from inside to out or utside to in.

- 3 D blockers 1 O blockers working on sweeping walls from front or back.

Drill 7 Focus- Pack Definition how to make a long pack by bridging.

- Using the Jam line as an anchor make a daisy chain to bridge out to 50 feet.

- Add in a pushy jammer 

Cool down PAU!

Derby Middle School: Week 2

Miss a week, miss a lot!! Make sure to get to as many Middle Schools as possible to prepare yourself for the Orange Star assessment on July 6th.

Trainer this week was Bricks HitHouse, one of PRD's biggest menaces on the flat track. Her strength and agility completely destroys opposing teams. DMS girls were lucky to get a practice in before she leaves us next month for New York!

Week Two	Saturday June 14	Instructor(s): Bricks		Location:	Hawaii Kai	9am-11am
Pack work and Jammer basics.

Derby Middle School, Week 2:

1. warm up and dynamic stretch.

2. demonstration of a wall and different wall variations.
-A.paired up in twos and practiced making a wall and staggered plows together on the whistle.
-B. did the same moving into 3 and 4 man walls until they were able to plow all together in a 4 man wall.

3. gave brief demonstration of blocker lanes and how far each blocker should be covering in a wall.
-A. in a 4 man wall while skating pack speed gave the commands of “inside”,”outside” or “middle”. on the commands the two blockers closest to that area would then close their hips together without leaving their lanes.
-B. sent a dummy jammer through to apply light pressure.


4. demonstration of  a swipe and plow movement to gain position, demonstration of a sweep movement to clear a lane and gain position and demonstration of an effective hip check.
-A. paired them up in twos and had them swipe and plow in front of partner from the outside to inside line and then practiced it from inside to out.
-B.paired them up and had them sweep their partner form the outside to inside line and then practiced it from inside to outside line.
C. had the pairs sweep and then deliver a hip check to the outside line.

5. gave a demonstration of effective pushing and pulling of your partner and why and where it would be useful. demonstrated the correct place to push on your partners hips to make her go in the other direction. talked about communication while moving your partner.
-A.  paired them up and had them push each other from the outside to the inside line and then switched from the inside to the outside.
-B. had them line up in 3 lines. the pusher, the rag doll  and the enemy.  on the whistle the enemy around the track to try to gain position on the pair, the pusher’s job is to use the rag doll to prevent the enemy from getting by so that the pusher can deliver the hit/sweep to the inside or outside.
C. talked about multiplayer blocks and how to avoid them.


6.talked about the magic circle and the sweet spots on the track. why they are important to blockers as well as jammers. Gave a demonstration of how to “skate at somebody” meaning- how to approach a wall and where to attack the wall to break it up or gain position. talked about going into a wall “pointy” with your shoulders and legal blocking zones to break up a wall. talked about how to approach a wall if you are coming in hot. coming in at an angle.
-A. formed a line and let the skaters practice breaking up a two man wall of cookie and I by attacking the crack and using their shoulders
-B talked about Jam line starts and what you need to be doing as a blocker when you hear the 5 second call.
—a. practiced jam line starts with a 4 man wall. allowed each jammer to break though the wall and approach the pack from the rear coming in hot.

7. stretch

Beyond Fresh Meat: Derby Middle School, Week 1

Once our Fresh Meat cycle of 3 months ends, we begin a 2-hr, 1x a week, 5 week program called "Derby Middle School." This is Pacific Roller Derby's way of transitioning our newest skaters into regular league practices without thrusting them into situations before they are prepared to do them. Each of the five days has a core curriculum that has been determined ahead of time by our Athletics Committee to cover all aspects of beginning strategy and intermediate skills and is echoed into lesson plans of regular league practices throughout each week. The new "White Stars" can now attend regular league practices, but must refrain from any full contact drills. All contact elements are taught within the Middle School, beginning strategy topics are broken down, and minimum skills are refined. By the end of the 5-week period, the White Stars are ready to test for "Orange Star," which allows them to be drafted to a home team and begin to participate in full contact scrimmages. This not only cuts down on our league injuries and helps existing league skaters, but helps with skater retention... as it is much easier to learn over a longer period of time than to learn in a trial-by-fire situation. Long gone are the days of being thrown into a scrimmage against all of the vets, being told to "just get in there!" We have learned over the years that that really doesn't help anyone.

This first session was led by one of our league's best skaters, Phoenix Bunz, and her husband and referee extraordinaire, Great Scott. They just transferred here from Ohio Rollergirls and are casually integrating into the instructional element of our Athletics Committee. PRD is extremely grateful for their contributions. Here is the core curriculum of day 1 along with Bunz' lesson plan.

Week One	Saturday June 7	Instructor(s): Bunz and Great Scott		Location:	Hawaii Kai	9am-11am
Personal skills assessment and strategy basics.

Derby Middle School, Week 1:

Dynamic Warm-up/Stretching-Everything you do on tennis shoes, we do on skates

Squat Cirlce

Merry Go Round (transitions)

Hold your underpush-emphasize the power

Pace-line weaving, weaving tight, partner weave, front to back

Pace-line Speed Changes-Adjust your speed, match the feet of the person in front of your

Line Racing-Utilize the Jammer Line

Pack Skating-Getting Comfortable in tight Spaces

Pack Commands-Moving around the pack, falling small

Pack Indian Runs

Gotham Knee Drags-Endurance, build up your core, Get up quick

Gotham Pushes-Endurance

Covered basic hitting techniques-hip check, shoulder/body check, sheriff, backwards blocking, positional blocking/booty blocking, side-ways blocking

Practiced hitting trainers, slow speeds, stationary target

Push-up Circle-work on strength and core

Weeks 10 and 11: Hiking a mountain, continued skills, packwork

Week 10 was the sort-of surprise hike up Kokohead. By now the rumors of past initiation hikes are starting to spread to the next intake, so it's hard to keep it under wraps. Girls that attended practice were kidnapped, covered in glitter and face paint, and ordered to climb the close by Kokohead Crater. No girl was left behind, and fun was had! Pics were ahhhmazing. This hike helps with overall fitness but more importantly, it helps the freshies bond and learn to be there for each other as teammates.

 

This past Saturday, we started off with some new tricks I learned from a visiting Kiwi, Mr. Justin Lopes,  Physiotherapist, who showed us injury prevention exercises we can do to strengthen important derby muscle groups so that we don't blow out our knees. If you would like more information about the exercises he taught us and that I showed you, you can check out his facebook page where he gives examples. Go ahead and friend him on fb. If you have specific recurring injuries or questions, he is very helpful.

We started out on skates with review of basic agility and lateral movement, then launched into pace lines, double pacelines, single weaves and partner weaves. We even went backwards! We did red light/green light to work on positional blocking with a buddy and ended with the 27/5 trial. Some passed, some made it to 5 minutes, and some figured out that their skates needed more break-in time. Ouch! Hopefully all will be worked out by May 31.

Positional Blocking: if you're doing it right, this is all a jammer sees while she's jamming.

Here is some more helpful info for all of you working on your 27/5 that have not yet been able to conquer it. I hope it helps... I found this to be a thorough blog post and can't say it any better ;)

http://rollerderbytraining.co.uk/2014/05/19/hiit-27-laps-hard-roller-derby-workout-video/

Are you studying for the written rules test???????????????????????????????????????????