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Collected Bout Advice Dump

[When I started roller derby last year, as the time moved closer to the first scrimmage, I collected advice from where ever I could get it..and there it sits in a txt file on my desktop...Welp...somewhat obviously, I will not be needing this information so I thought I'd just dump it here...Not sure from whom I received this info. so take that into consideration....Feel free to add you own advice as well....maybe it will help some scared shitless new derby girl now or in the future...]

2 days before... drink lots of water up til bout time. get really hydrated.
eat small meals the day of bout.. so you don't throw up on the track.
apparently its been done a lot. ick.

drinking dehydrates you. so avoid it.

before you go out on the floor have a time in lockerroom where you all close eyes,focus and
and walk thru the game.. visualizing what you will do .. etc
positive stuff!!

when going out to the rink.. do not make eye contact with the crowd except when doing your warm up.
too much attention to the crowd messes with your head she said.

jitters are normal. she still has them every bout for the last 3 years, don't worry that you are losing your mind.
just focus on the game

when on the bench WATCH the other team to catch on to their behaviors

look behind you
talk to your pack
point out where the other jammer is
know when the other jammer is outta the pack and then help your jammer
be able to stop on the drop of a dime
then work on your sprinting to chase her down in 10 feet
bridging is fucking stupid
get your girls good at sprinting then & bring someone with you
gotta slow down the jammer with one then BAM w the other
do more hitting drills in practice groups of 4
line up in shape of cross girls front back on 1 team girls right/left on other team girl in the middle has to turn around & call out the number that the back girl is holding up while the girls on right/left are dive-bombing swooping in/coordinating when the girl has her head turned

Boy Eats Drum Machine's "ABQ," featuring members of the Rose City Rollers

[Since my bullshit knee is still awaiting repair, I have jack shit to blog about here...Who wants to hear about the trials and tribulations of a derby girl turned NSO? Not me....but...]

Music video for Boy Eats Drum Machine's "ABQ," featuring members of the Rose City Rollers. Includes footage from "Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City Rollers" where the song made its debut.  

Music video for Boy Eats Drum Machine's "ABQ," featuring members of the Rose City Rollers. Includes footage from "Brutal Beauty: Tales of the Rose City Rollers" where the song made its debut.

Category:  People & Blogs

Tags: 

ABQ  MASTER  update  Youtube  HD 

Commemorative Stat Panties, by aoife96 - 2007

Phew...as my new NSO goddess Talon says: "Your welcome. now your bout cherry has been popped. funtimes- derby love. "

Where to begin on such a night as this...?

How about with the last thing I remember, which was Friday night trying to get to sleep and thinking how if I can't sleep, no one who is playing tomorrow can sleep...(Turns out, most people slept....some didn't but most did)...I woke up about 7:30am Saturday and proceeded to get the E-stuff done first as usual....Next, I had Husbot call the Inns of Sonora to find out about getting down there asap and start preparing for the day...I started printing the forms but not before being stuck on if they should be printed in color or not and asking the yahoo stats group about it..a debate ensued and I had left the house and lost my wireless connection at the hotel...which brings me back to where I started this sentence, the hotel...Inns of Sonora had no idea what we were saying with the reservation...So I called RevRa..hoping I wasn't going to wake her up at 8:30 and mess up her derby sleep...Ok so we called the wrong hotel...innocent mistake...it was actually Days Inn in Sonora that the reservations were held....which brings me back to my wireless connection...the connection that I did not have in my hotel room....Anyways...I could get it in the lobby and didn't really need it too desperately because of the Sweet-Booger slumber party....but I'm getting ahead of myself.... :)

There I was with three unfilled NSO positions, but thankfully Talon was able to come up and omg..I would have died without her...not to mention Buck N Krazy, All Nate Long, Graves, Tripp Hazard, Doc Sinister (who had the room next to ours with Mrs. Sinister), Hurtz O Good, Split Decision, Refer B, Mermad, Bill Boyd, Cody and Cody's girlfriend (she's kind of denying this girlfriend thing but whatever she was great),  Red Hot Ta Molli, Allison Blansit, Steve Harrigan, Shawa "Pirahna" Cavendar, Amanda Sexton from Atomic Assault, (oh did I mention the score? 162-59 Atomic won...), & Jayleen Bullock the Co-Head NSO...

Got to the room and dropped off my stuff and my husband and went to the arena to help setup. Sheeda Bomb was not only the MVP Pivot of the night, but also kicked ass making the Atomic Assault comfortable in the locker room. Nice decorations.Did some work here and went back to the room to figure out what to wear. 

Next I remember seeing Talon like a desert mirage and me and her getting our stuff together for the 7pm NSO meeting which coincided with the Refs meeting...it was cute when we came downstairs and the refs were just coming out of the Zebra Locker Room (Tripps term), and we met in the middle and marched out to work the bout. During my meeting I giggle now thinking of what I told my first group...Write legibly, Concentrate, Don't have any blank spots and clear any weirdness with the ref BEFORE the next jam starts, hmm what else did I say..let me look at my notes. Ah, a false start is not counted as a new jam, and above all DO NOT CHEER! :) I must have zinged off a thousand questions to Talon, each time my face more and more weighted with concern...(Ugh...the players must have been freaking out!)

Just before we got out on the floor though, I found out that the Jam Timer, the position I chose, is normally a Refs Crew position, and that I was also to START the jams. Well see that is not something I knew, planned for or learned how to do. So THANK THE DERBY STARS that Buck N Krazy was kind enough to start the jams, and as he did he taught me so many new things...Here's the deal with my jam timer position, not in the order I learned these facts: I need two stop watches, one for the 2 minute jam, and one for the 30 seconds that the teams have to line up on the track, When the 30 seconds starts at 20 seconds I am to raise my arm up like one of the hand turn signals for a car without lights, forget which turn now though, and say SKATERS READY, something like that ...and then at 30 seconds put my arm down and then Buck N Krazy, the Head Ref blows the jam starting whistle, but I guess I do that now, gotta clarify that with him. Also part of this position is the team time out timer, one minute. The team time out is different than an official time out, I stop the watches when that happens.

Ok so YES I admitted openly that I owe my team and Atomic Assault 2 minutes. The first jam an Atomic Assault player called off the jam, but then was sent to the penalty box..or so it seemed to me..I guess what happened was that she was sent to the box before she called off the jam and so the jam did not in fact end when I thought it had..there weren't four whistles blown and the jam continued...the Buck N Krazy came over and asked me if it was 2 minutes yet, first I said No, then it dawned on me what happened..THEN the ref blew the whistle and I had in fact blown my first timing... :) so I owe them....

The bout...might be a good time to mention that Atomic Assault has played 6 bouts and the High Country Hellcats  have played zero as of the start of this bout so in my own opinion now..that is not quite fair, but also must have shown the Hellcats that they are strong and can do more than they think because Talon tells me there have been way worse losses at first bouts...one she mentioned was like 100 something to 4.. That made me happy to hear even though I couldn't even tell the score from where I was so I thought they were doing spectacular..not winning I guess, but were playing like winners. 

I saw one of my co workers and her very nice son at the bout, another lady that I and a lot of people in town know was there..my friend Nick from the library and hmm....I think that's all I knew well or saw of people I knew in the crowd...knew by name anyway...that was nice to see them there. I didn't see Mark Truppner from KVML there tho, that worries me. Hope he didn't come and go or something worse. 

First thing after the bout ended and the place was emptying I went to get my first St. Stans beer of the day...I mean I even bought the Hellcats plastic cup and sticker so I could get the 7.00 St. Stans in it...not to mention I bought one of every shirt we were selling in the proshop...(Thanks Regina and Sirena! - And Sirena had to seal with the crowd outside and some people were hassling her..not cool. and neither was our door setup but we'll fix that next bout.) The beer tap was either empty or stopped working so no after bout beer for me until the after-party..which turned out to be held at Steve's Place down the street because Logger's power was out...The same person owns both places so it was like that Seinfeld episode where the lady owns Putamayo and Cinco De Mayo 

Here comes the track rope story....so I went to pick up the track rope behind Coach Quad Queen as she pulled up the tape....as I wound it around my arm I saw Buck N Krazy coming towards me with the other end of the rope wrapping up on his arm (and in much better order than my rope too I might add), and it was like the start or end of a derby romance I could write...how they met with the track rope ends in hand and fell in love (imagine the Disney 101 Dalmations is it? Where the dogs meet in the middle with the spaghetti in their mouth..), it was cute and cracked me up...thanks for that Buck N Krazy..funny.

Steve's was packed and awesome and fun and every other word I'd have to consult a thesaurus to find to describe how much fun that was there! Thanks to the bartenders, Monica and the lady from Loggers who came over because they were overwhelmed busy...

Then it was near last call and now we near the end of the bout and the start of everything else....I had thought that Nicki Spitts and other girls would get rooms but no....it was me and Husbot and a lot of the Atomic Assault...so Booger Dawson, me and H-bot went back to the room and had the best time yacking until like 4am....first we raided a gas station snack shop and me n Booger bought Husbot a cool hat... We took all the food and as I said..yacked the night away...great time...We went to sleep and of course had to be back at the arena by 9am to clean up, or we would not be participating in the next event. I guess the people who didn't show up to clean up know who they are....

We got up cleaned the arena, some of us went to breakfast, (Sheeda Bomb, AMMO, Mighty AFROdite and AMMO's family and Hurtz O Good, a way cool ref. Then we went to unload Mighty's truck full of chairs at the Sheriff's Posse (thank you to them) and we were all done by about 2pm I guess it was...

I'm sure I'm forgetting all the fun parts...oh like Booger this morning, autographing the trashy novel we brought to read in bed last night...but we couldn't stopped talking about the day, and the last year and everything else under the sun....

I'm done, but suppose I'll just apologize for rolling over so many times while sleeping with Booger Gerle...She had some serious track rash on her shoulder and oh man, her hip again...so sorry to her if I woke her up...As I mentioned this morning at breakfast, now that I've slept with Booger I guess she has to be my derby wife... ;) *HEH*!

XOXOX

-Sweet Alyce...a not so sad anymore retired derby girl turned NSO....

Don't forget to check out the pictures, taken by a lot of people, Russell Reno Limprecht, Jasper Boyd and Pierce Jensen (aka husbot) on facebook and the videos on the MDG youtube channel..

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20806&id=1670349459&l=63f372713f

http://www.youtube.com/user/MountainDerbyGirls

P.S. I realized another reason that makes me know that I made the correct decision about not playing roller derby for now, I needed to use Talon and the next time, Mermad's arms to get off my knee when we took a knee for downed skaters... :( *ouch*

Hellcats HELLYEAH!!!!!!! / Chapter 1, The First Bout

Psychedelik Killas - Roller Derby Queen

Joe Buck - The Devil Is On His Way

Click to listen.....

Top ten roller derby nicknames in the U.S.A.

...
10. Demonica Lewinsky, DC Rollergirls

9. Erin Dropabitch, River City Rollergirls

8. Teeny Mussolini, Dockyard Derby Dames

7. Gloria Hole, Brewcity Bruisers

6. Mazel Tov Cocktail, Blue Ridge Rollergirls

5. Joan Cougar Mentstrualcramp, Big Easy Rollergirls

4. Leave it to Cleavage, Sonoma County Roller Derby

3. Risky Bitchness, Syndicate Roller Girls

2. Slaybia Majora, Rose City Rollers

1. Beyonslay, Gotham Girls Roller Derby

From: http://blogs.westword.com

Vegan Derby Skates!!

Vegan Derby Girl

I recently decided to go for it and join the local roller derby league, and I had no idea what I was in for when I did!

If you know me, you know that I try to incorporate my crafty nature into everything I do, so lets just say...keep your eyes open for some awesome derby related crafts in the near future!

So what do you do if you are vegan AND you want to be a kick butt derby dame? Well, you buy vegan roller skates, of course!

If you are just looking to go to an open skate here and there, or dont want to be left out when your friends go and rent those nasty leather skates...these skates would be a great option! They are also VERY affordable.

If you are looking to do roller derby and represent animals and vegans by rejececting the typical leather shoes, Riedell now makes a vegan roller derby skate! I researched online and these skates are pretty new to the market, but all of the reviews I have read have been excellent. They arent much more than most Riedell non-vegan skates, and a local skate shop gives a 10% discount to all roller derby people! It has been about 3 weeks now since I special ordered my vegan skates, a first for the shop I went to, and I am so excited that they will be in early next week! I got the exact ones in the photo, but I opted to upgrade to a metal plate instead of the nylon as I am a bigger woman.

Whether you plan to just go skate with friends, or you want to kick some butt on the track playing roller derby...you dont have to compromise your beliefs or sit it out becuase these days we have options! I have also started a blog and facebook fan page where I will chronicle my journey from uncoordinated bike riding vegan to vegan derby girl! Not interested in roller derby? That's cool, I will also be posting workout tips, pre workout recipes and general healthy living blog posts as well!

Go Vegan, Thrash The Derby Track With Your Veggie Powered Skates!

Posted by: Heather from

Holistically Heather

Training Links

 

From Hannah Grenade....

Yoga for skaters - http://bit.ly/9bDuAa
Off Skates training for skaters - http://bit.ly/9vxENz
Land Training for skaters - http://bit.ly/RDC5C
Dryland exercises for skaters - http://bit.ly/6YpNVy
Getting in shape for next season - http://bit.ly/7ir7J7
Cross-training with bad knees - http://bit.ly/6Pm7il
Get comfortable on your skates - http://bit.ly/cI4f6F
Eating to maximize your workout - http://bit.ly/cmARuD
Basic Line drill - http://bit.ly/bUhcmV
Sarto Start - http://bit.ly/6Ujb0R
Get low - http://bit.ly/9wBFzT
No.. really - http://bit.ly/81LCue
I'm serious - http://bit.ly/3rFJFk
Round or Straight Back - http://bit.ly/aQ3pHB
Eww cramps - http://bit.ly/93K3B1
Game day food - http://bit.ly/bLg0Hn
Skating hangover - http://bit.ly/2QzW53

Val Capone....Married to Derby...

[Val Capone is awesome...also a great announcer during bouts too....Here Geek To Me interviews Val for Chicago Now she talks about what it takes to be a bad ass roller derby girl...

Last night at practice I tried out the NSO situation...I can't remember the last time I felt this sort of sadness...being off-skate stinks like rubber on rye bread.]

The Geek and the Roller Girl

GeekToMe
02.11.10

Last week I shared my talks with former roller derby girl Tequila Mockingbird and returning roller girl Kola Loka.  Now I present to you my video interviews with Windy City Rollers fan-favorite Val Capone.  We recorded them during the WCR opener last weekend.  Enjoy!



Val Capone talks about being a Star Wars Nerd after the jump!

Evil Alice of the Bad Apples - Sacramento, CA 1st Bout Dec. 09 @ Red Red

[Thanks to Evil's mom for sending me this link!]

Sweet Alyce. Web Mistress, Co-Head Non Skating Official, PR Contact, Display Case Maker

Ok...I guess I can live with this decision for now...Coach Quad Queen was very nice in saying that anytime I want to skate a scrimmage or what not that I am welcome to come back to skating...Made my heart feel better...

At least I don't have to use this blog as a way to track my attendance anymore....so now I can just yack and yack at will...which is what I'll do...My blog will still be about derby...just different than it was before...More derby art...photos I take of my league...the challenges of being an NSO for the five home bouts this coming year....etc...

I came across this blog post yesterday that made me so nostalgic. Reminded me of the day I discovered roller derby....

From http://carichblogs.wordpress.com

The one where she talks about roller derby…February 6, 2010

*

This person, (Jonny Stranger),  interviewed Catalac from TXRD Hellcat's team. I remember her from the Roller Girls DVD series. I wish the interviewer would have asked her about her injuries over the years...I'm curious...She's been playing since 2001....that's hopeful.

Two Helmet Bows Down. :(

Hi Mountain Derby Girls and Boys,

It’s with a heavy heart (and helmet bows), that I have to let you all know that I have decided to retire from roller derby, if you can even call it that since I never played the scrimmage or a bout since Nov. 17th when I was injured.

My husband found out he will need to have both of his hips replaced this coming year. It is one reason why I can’t afford to get hurt again right now.

...Redacted...

Thanks to all again for one of the best and most challenging years of my life.

XOXO
-Sweet Alyce 3.14
Retired.

 I just love this photo because I had no idea that Twisted Trixie kissed my helmet until I saw the photo later that night...plus it's the last pic in my skates, and the last one with long hair....

Referee and Non-Skating Officials Training Day

Thanks so much to Coach Quad Queen for setting up this very cool day of learning how to complete all the carious forms for scoring and stats during a bout. I learned so much. It's right up my alley to keep stats and to make the software work the way we want it to, so this was extremely fun and useful...People came from Merced's Rollin Roulettes Derby Girls, from Stockton's Port City Roller Girls and from Modesto's SiNtral Valley Roller Girls. Talon and Roadkill Will were awesome! It was also great to meet Jayleen, who is Kileron's sister and she seems to be responsible for turning on some of our players to derby back last January..so ya gotta love her! She and I will be working on being proficient and organizing and training other NSO's as we go down our path of derbydom...That will be great to work with her.

After that a bunch of us went to the casino for some food and pool and gambling. It rocked major that Twisted Trixie was able to come and play after wards...I'm sure all the girls were beat too because I think they scrimmaged for like two hours straight, with learning bits in between. I just am so transported to another world when I watch my team play. I adore each of them just for being who they are...we are truly 'lucky' to have found each other... and thanks again to our Coach and assistant coaches who volunteer their time to make us better players...

Went to the physical therapist today. He was not convinced of the ortho doctor's conclusion that it was my iliotibial band (sp) that was hurt. But by the end of my appt. it certainly seems that it is the 'culprit' as opposed to my back making my knee hurt. I have 8 PT sessions scheduled out now and hopefully the guilt trip from work ends as I go through this repair process....I'm way over being singled out at work...they can suck it, seriously.. I do a lot there and just because I work in a quicker fashion than most I guess they think they can keep piling tasks on me, even after they've made union agreements which cut my pay. I work for money. Simple as that. I'm not retired and this is my career. Equal pay to equal work is how I see it....

Anyhoozle...I'm glad that there is hope for my knee and it will be better soon. I just have to play one real bout at least...maybe I will love it so, and maybe I'll be able to overcome the scary nerves before a bout...Although I've heard more than one skater say you are always nervous before a bout...Sounds like too much for me ..but we'll see. I'm having fun now so that's what matters now.

Pics from Sunday's learning:

2010 Display Case Creativity Fest!

Alright, it wasn't all that..yet...I'm just warming up to the space. But we have the red background in place...(lines and all)...Gerle Haggard, my creative co-designer helped decide on a red colored background...I added the recruiting sign...(could be larger, but the two friends of the twins that were visiting thought it was large enough to read)... Then I scratched on four black fleur d'lis sort of patterns around the corners...After consulting with Nicki Spitts, we decided that instead of differentiating between the team High Country Hellcats and the league of Mountain Derby Girls wasn't necessary yet. Maybe when the second team is more formed we can do that...So I slapped a couple of High Country Hellcat stickers in the top corners...

Next, I'll be printing out larger photos of my lovely and talented team mates, their names and numbers. And also a giant HOME and AWAY bout schedule for this exciting Inaugural year.

By the time I went to the store for some red background and got that stuff up, it was 9pm already. But before we left, Sheeda Bomb was very cool and she and Nicki demonstrated the new whip they've been trying out..S O C O O L! I'm just so proud of everyone...! THEY ARE AWESOME!

School started again today so back to juggling everything...There must be a happy medium between school, work, and derby. Two classes instead of four should be a lot smoother than four classes..I hope.

Let's see....other news? Well, Kimstigator has had her cast taken off! Very good. Ammo needs to still be careful with her ankle as a long walk bruised it up again, but she's skated a few times now and is holding up. What else...hmmm...Oh Stihl Queen brought up needing a babysitter tonight and I thought of a roller derby child care center...a very niche job...But I could see it being used for derby girl moms...

I have an early meeting at work tomorrow so here's one picture...I love this team photo and think it's a really neat way to do it...

The Angel City Derby Girls

Useless no more....!

I discovered that there are a lot of ways I can help my team from the sidelines while I wait to find out the future of my knee. There's the turning down and turning up of the music...timing the laps during endurance drills...take photos of the lovely players...and cheerleading...Maybe I can invent a cheer leading outfit and finally be the cheerleader I wanted to be in high school, but was too much of a st**** chick to even bother trying out. :) I could probably take attendance also. Anything to lighten the load.

They did a rehearsal of the show warm-up. Did MANY laps. And some other drills that don't have names yet....

Afterwards we went out for pizza and I finished three more player bio interviews for Slambo, our ref. Bryan, and Gerle Haggard...We had a chance to talk about things so I think these social nights are kind of important for that reason.

I've been sad not skating, but I can participate in the stretching portion at the start and end of practices and I do need that movement.

Planning night....and not planning

I planned to be at the meeting tonight at 7pm. I didn't plan on infecting my dear team mates with my germs...No way could I have missed that meeting though. It was a must meet situation as there is so much to do for our first bout on February 20th.

First off, let's clear up the fact that Stihl Queen WAS at the first practice of the year on Sunday....she had to leave just seconds before we took this team picture. This is also the last picture of me with long hair, as the next day I had it cut up to my shoulders.

Chisel Bit, Jodrlicious, Kileron, Sheeda Bomb, Block N Deckher, Sweet Alyce, Twisted Trixie (so cute kissing my helmet....), Ref. Bryan, Pinkie Lee, Pitchfork, Ammo, and insert invisible Stihl Queen...cuz she was there too...

I apologize for being germy around my friends...We got a lot of things worked out for the 20th bout. Who is doing what, and all that jazz. I have a new responsibility that I was actually thinking about before it was offered and that is to take care of our glass photo display case at the arena. Along with the lovely and talented Gerle Haggard whose artistic skills are notorious because she makes the cutest cards and gifts for people..very creative she is....That will be fun to make. If anyone on the team has a specific photo of themselves that they'd like to see in the display case, please let me know. I'll put it in.

holy rollers minishrines by ~iron-kitsune

Not sure if I mentioned that I picked up my xray at the hospital, and in typical useless healthcare fashion, no one called to tell me the possible injuries to my knee. However the diagnosis says: "radiographic evidence of a joint space effusion. Mild spurring is present involving the superior pole of the patella. Mild narrowing of the medial joint compartment of the knee. Possible etiologies include: a) injury to the nonosseous structures of the knee; b) joint space infection, c) arthritus, d) occult fracture. I go to the ortho. doctor on Monday.

Roller Derby Rumble by ~Chickenoftheland

After the meeting, I was walking to my car and RevRa asked if I wanted to go out for a bit. The bowling alley was having a DJ that night. Of course I went. We had a lovely, relaxing time chatting. I always dig hanging out just bs-ing with any or all of the sk8trgurls...they fucking rule! Each and every one of them are unique and getting to know them is so great.

Rollerderby2 by *maskofmemories

Depending what happens at the doctor I'll know if I should be playing roller derby or not. It also just comes back to my main rule of life...I'll do it as long as I can live with the worst possible consequences. In my mind, the worst possible consequences is being paralysed from a fall, these falls can happen in practice or at a bout or in a scrimmage...so there's no really perfectly safe way to play. I don't see me ever being ok with that, and yet I don't see me ever leaving this sport either. Puts me in a real crappy position. At some point I hope it becomes clear what to do. Also I know that even if I decide to not play, I'll still want to be involved. I could be a super volunteer and do a lot to assist the league. The website, the display case, anything....I'm just very attached to the ladies and always want to support them.

SuperCoffee Spindlies 5 by ~sammiebookworm

Let's see...what else...? Oh, the first live bout on Derby News Network will be Saturday the 9th at 3:45pm our time. It's a double header. Milwaukee's BrewCity Bruisers head down to Indiana to take on North Central rival Fort Wayne. Justice Feelgood Marshall and Val Capone will announce the game.

*all the art on this post is from the awesome deviant art website....

Despite the sore knee, despite the smashed toe...still rolling with my girls...

First practice of 2010...!

How amazing and wonderful to be back in the arena with my team!!

I tried on my skates a couple hours before practice to see if I could get my blood-spurting, Mt. Vesuvius toe in there without reactivating the red fountain of gore that it was a few days ago...check. Next I lifted my other leg up slowly to see if my knee would snap in half from the weight..I could feel the extra weight straining my knee, but nope, no snapping...Woo Hoooo! That put and end to my over-active imaginings of what it would be like to try and skate again...I felt much better at that point. I wrote on my facebook and the lovely Chilli Jam from Australia left me a nice post. It's been so grim since Nov 17th, waffling back and forth wondering if I could or would ever skate again...It's been like being a wounded animal in a pack...

Though I used to get dressed for practice out in the arena on a bench or something.. this time I wanted to be in the Cat House with the ladies...When I first went in the arena, cleaning day was still happening and I saw Pinkie Lee, and Ammo, and Block N Deckher first in the pro-shop, then Sheeda Bomb with a vacuum, then I saw Kileron, (who has a very sweet smile, btw). Next in was Stihl Queen, who for some reason, we like to hug sometimes...generally we aren't a huge team of huggers, and yet the love is overwhelming between us...at least that's how I feel when I see each of them...Stihl's husband bought her a pair of Wicked skates for xmas, she's very excited! Jodrlicious was back after a long time, Chisel Bit, Twisted Trixie, P.Fork...11 of us attended the first practice of this new year and new decade....and I was armed (or legged?) in my new GIANT Triple Eight knee pads.

To be safe, once I was dressed I brought everything except my laptop with me on the first trip across the floor..No need to fall and break it, I thought. The first step down to the floor, (which is like one inch high), was iffy, it hurt my knee when I stepped down and you know you turn your knee out ward a bit. After that it was ok, I took it real, real slow. Having not moved at all in like 7 weeks I really needed to just stretch and relearn in a sense how to move. When Coach QQ came to the floor, the ladies were in the center circle stretching. Everyone was sitting down and I got this horrible feeling that if I sat down I wouldn't be able to get back up without help. So I stood there, like a silly, while Coach laid out the 2010 season for us.

We're adding a half an hour to the Sunday and Tuesday practices now so that the first 45 minutes can be new player practice time, and the rest for other players. And we've moved our monthly meetings to the second Sunday of each month.

I was tempted to jump right into drills again, but I didn't at first. I just skated slowly, stretched etc. I got a charlie horse on the bottom of each foot a few times..three times I had to remove my skates. That started to happen towards the end of last year and I'm not sure why. I laced up a little looser and went on about skating the best I could. Jodrlicious was free skating around a bit and in a hilarious moment we plowed right into each other...and it happened in like slow motion...Very funny...Luckily I landed on my right hip (and no I didn't have my padded shorts on)..it didn't hurt too much and we took the time that we had laid out on the floor to chat a little and catch up... :)

At one point we did a little rehearsal of our 'show warm-up' that was cool and with time we'll be really smooth and solid looking while we do that...I did participate in that and luckily there's only once that we take a knee so that is ok. I can do that I think. Mostly I'm concerned about landing hard and being able to get up again quickly.

As soon as Coach Q sends me the group photo from practice I'll post it...

It's nice to be back on the Sweet Alyce blog and I would like to thank everyone who reads it...thank you!

See ya'll on Tuesday @ practice!

∞♥☮∞ Sweet Alyce 3.14 ∞♥☮∞