Okay, so learning to skate ain't that easy. Ellen Page makes it look like it takes seconds to become a jammer, but yeah, 4 weeks in and I'm still incredibly lame at skating.
In my first practice, due to being brand spanking new to the sport and the local skate store being closed, I borrowed all my gear. I borrowed a pair of skates from one of the girls on the team. They were Riedell Grand Prixs and they have absolutely no ankle support. Needless to say, they spent that practice teaching me how to fall. (I'm already an expert, ha!)
A month ago I knew nothing about wheels and bearings, about trucks and stoppers. Now I know enough to say there's a difference in bearings. There's indoor and outdoor wheels and there's faster and slower wheels. I bought a pair of Ridell R3s and replaced the wheels with Radar Flat Outs in an attempt to keep me from falling on my ass. So far, so good. My focus at practice is really just learning to skate. I feel like I'm miles behind everyone else, but I also expected to be.
I think I'm getting better...I guess we'll see next week.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Hello, My Name Is Derby Girl.
Actually, my name is...currently pending. See, I'm brand spankin' new to roller derby. I'm green; super green. The truth is, I could barely skate two weeks ago. I wouldn't say I'm a pro now, but I'm certainly improving. I'm an expert at falling - at least I can say that much.
I suppose I should start from the beginning...
Once upon a time I found an old, beat up pair of Dominion roller skates on the street curb. As they say, one person's trash is another person's treasure. They were my treasure, without a doubt. They might have been a tight fit and maybe they were missing a toe stop, but in the eyes of ten year old girl, my first pair of roller skates were a dream come true. Of course, I knew nothing of bearings and wheels. Hell, I didn't even know that you could replace the beat up orange wheels that I found on them. But none of this mattered. I was smitten. Needless to say, that summer was one of rolling madly down the pavement, carefully balancing and slowing myself on my one stopper so as not to fall on my totally unprotected limbs.
It all ended when the school started back up, swiftly followed by the harshness of a Canadian winter. By the time spring had rolled around again, my feet had grown and there ended my brief albeit passionate affair with roller skating.
That is, until now...
Seventeen years and a random Google search later, I discovered that not only was there a roller derby team nearby, but three leagues within reasonable driving distance. Wow! Awesome! Okay...then what? With a little research and some emailing around, I had suddenly dedicated an entire weekend (and my weekends are extremely precious) driving around and checking out two of the three leagues (I had missed try-outs for the third league). And by the next weekend, I had joined one of them.
So, hello. My name is Derby Girl (at least until my derby name has been registered and approved). I am a proud Freshie, happily falling on my knees, getting up and doing it all over again for the sake of roller derby. I have a lot to learn about skating, derby, and life in general. I hope you'll stick around for the ride.
I suppose I should start from the beginning...
Once upon a time I found an old, beat up pair of Dominion roller skates on the street curb. As they say, one person's trash is another person's treasure. They were my treasure, without a doubt. They might have been a tight fit and maybe they were missing a toe stop, but in the eyes of ten year old girl, my first pair of roller skates were a dream come true. Of course, I knew nothing of bearings and wheels. Hell, I didn't even know that you could replace the beat up orange wheels that I found on them. But none of this mattered. I was smitten. Needless to say, that summer was one of rolling madly down the pavement, carefully balancing and slowing myself on my one stopper so as not to fall on my totally unprotected limbs.
It all ended when the school started back up, swiftly followed by the harshness of a Canadian winter. By the time spring had rolled around again, my feet had grown and there ended my brief albeit passionate affair with roller skating.
That is, until now...
Seventeen years and a random Google search later, I discovered that not only was there a roller derby team nearby, but three leagues within reasonable driving distance. Wow! Awesome! Okay...then what? With a little research and some emailing around, I had suddenly dedicated an entire weekend (and my weekends are extremely precious) driving around and checking out two of the three leagues (I had missed try-outs for the third league). And by the next weekend, I had joined one of them.
So, hello. My name is Derby Girl (at least until my derby name has been registered and approved). I am a proud Freshie, happily falling on my knees, getting up and doing it all over again for the sake of roller derby. I have a lot to learn about skating, derby, and life in general. I hope you'll stick around for the ride.
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