New drill...VERY FUN...

Since we free skate at the start and end of each practice it's hard to gauge the progress of continuous skating time. This week started with about 30 solid minutes of free skating, and ended with about 15 more minutes.

During stretching, I noticed that it was easier to lay perpendicular on the on the floor, lean on my elbows and toes of my skates and lift myself up and hold myself there flat. We did an thing where we pushed one skater around and then they pushed us. We did a t-stop drill, using the childhood game Red Light, Green Light, and some drills of stopping by falling on one knee. We also did some toe-stops which I'm careful about doing because my stops are worn to the metal and I don't want to scratch the floor, I make sure they are turned to the most rubber side.

We went on to split up half and half and some went to backwards skating and I chose the 6 times on each knee fall (or stop), and some times on both knees. I went down so hard on the two-knee drop that I felt my brain hit my skull on top, kind of jolted me.

After this was the most fun part of practice. A new exercise where we split into two teams and lined up two arm lengths apart, (regulation for this is one arm length apart). Each team skated in synchronicity as best we could and the last person it the row shot forward and weaved in and out of each of skater to the front of the line and when they got there, the next last person did the same. That was REALLY fun and I think all of us loved doing it. I hope we do that one again and maybe with all of us... Learning to stay in synch. is a fun challenge and brings us together in many ways. Plus it looks really cool.

Here's a roller derby poem that my online friend lostatlast found for me the other night:


I USED TO DREAM ABOUT BEING A MOVIE STAR,

BUT I CAN'T ACT.

I USED TO DREAM ABOUT BEING A ROCK STAR,

BUT I CAN'T PLAY THE GUITAR.

I USED TO DREAM ABOUT PLAYING HOCKEY,

BUT I CAN'T HANDLE THE STICK.

I USED TO DREAM ABOUT PLAYING FOOTBALL,

BUT I'M AFRAID OF THE BALL.

I USED TO DREAM ABOUT BEING A STRIPPER,

BUT THE POLE BROKE.

NOW I PLAY ROLLER DERBY AND ALL MY DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE.