Outside of Playing Derby

I am one of those people whose whole life revolves around roller derby. Everyone who knows me knows me that I am a huge Roller Derby nerd. I have posters of roller derby covering almost every single spot on my walls. My friends always have to change the subject because I could go on forever about Roller Derby. I watch archive bouts, I glance over the rules, I try every possible moment to figure out how to do something better when I play.

Roller Derby is a full time sport but you need to do stuff outside of practice and games to become a better skater. Practice and Games are only a small portion of Roller Derby. I know that I struggle with strategy and rules. I hate sitting down and reading a piece of paper of all the rules. I can never concentrate on the words and end up drawing stars all over the paper. For me to learn the rules and strategies I have to sit and watch it in action.

Which is why I love to watch other games. I have watched all Division 1 and Division 2 playoffs. I spent a few moments of every day when I had free time I sat down and watched an archived bout. I watch what works for a team and what doesn't, I compare what works for one team that may not work for another. I love watching the jammers because  that is what I want to get better at. I watch blockers to see what they do to stop the jammers. Not only do I watch archived bouts but I go out and watch games that are in my area. Like tonight I am going to watch the Flint City Derby Girls VS Traverse City Cherry Bombs. I want to come out of that bout with an idea in mind of what I need to work on and maybe something I can bring back to my team. Watching bouts benefits you as a skater. Watching people play at the national level  gives you knowledge of how the derby world is forming and changing. Watching people in your own area gives you an idea what roller derby around is working up to be. Derby is different all around the world. When I moved to Michigan everyone was all about big hits. Back in Colorado everyone was about passive offense and recycling. Everyone has moved more to fast packs and recycling but every state has a different way of playing derby. It's nice to have a wealth of knowledge of how derby teams play.

Now this next one I am very guilty of hating to do. Cross Training. I despise off skates training. Back in Colorado my team was lucky enough to have a personal trainer to help us. He was amazing and I loved the way that he got us in better shape. We did circuits, races, football games, dodge ball., just a whole range of things. I am the type of person who finds it very hard to sit down for a certain amount of time and just do core. I like to move around and switch up drills fast. So what I try to do to cross train is intervals of different exercises. I might do twenty seconds of an exercise.. take a ten second break and do a different exercise. I love sprints.. I love sprinting for twenty seconds and taking a ten second break then sprinting for thirty seconds. I just love running. This doesn't work for everyone because everyone is different. You just need to find what work for you. I know that I hate cross training but it is something that makes me better so I know I have to do it.

My team only practices a couple times a week so I know personally that I have to stay in shape. Everything you do outside of practices and games will make you a better skater. Reading the rules, watching games, cross training, talking about roller derby. Roller Derby is just as much a mental game as a physical game so you need to have the right mindset and be physically ready for anything.

I love Roller Derby and all that it brings into my life. I love the healthy aspect of it and I love that it really is a full time sport. It's more than practice and playing games... It's about being an athlete and trying your best at something that you are passionate about.

Roller Derby Nerd,
Ringer