Pack Member Down

In my previous post, I failed to mention that one of my teammates was badly injured in that game. I wasn't really ready to talk about it at that time, but now I'm up for it. I've never been in a situation before where someone I was with was injured in front of me like that. I knew it would happen at some point, but knowing and actually living through it is something entirely different.

To make matters worse, this particular teammate is also a member of my pack. For those who don't know, the pack for your own team is the 4 blockers who go out and skate together. On our team, we have packs that typically work together, getting to know each other's strengths and weaknesses to really play a good strong game. You become a very close knit group within your own team.

I can't imagine what those first few hours and days were for her, but I know one thing. This woman is strong, both physically and emotionally. She broke her tibia and fibula. I saw her less than a week after her surgery and I'm amazed at how she's taken it all in stride. Of course, she is upset that she won't be playing with us for a long time and that this happened so early in her career, but her determination is inspiring to see. Not only did we get to see her, but she even had the entire team over for bout viewing. We descended upon her home, grateful to have the chance to see her and hang out and it was great seeing a smile on her face.

I'm going to miss seeing her lovely face on the track, but I know she'll be around, cheering us on as we will support and cheer her on during her recovery. Fingers crossed this is the last injury for a while. We ninjas need some good vibes right now.

And of course, seeing is believing. I always knew this was a dangerous sport that I got myself into, but this really brings it home. This entire experience threw me for a loop, but I too will come out stronger for seeing it as well.

Love you KMS!

Undefeated!

Last week Friday was my 3rd home season bout and I must say, I am very pleased. Not only did my team win, retaining our undefeated status, but I played a great game. I feel like I've made the next step to becoming a great player. I'm not there, but visible progress is so exhilarating.

My first jam out on the track was, admittedly very bad. My track awareness was horrible and I'm not certain that I even came close to touching the jammer. That being said, I took my captains and teammates advice and treated each jam as if it was the first, not letting my disappointing performance in that jam affect the following ones. And it paid off.

This was my best game to date, and it really should be at this point in my career. I went on to perform some pretty awesome sheriff's (a quick jab of the shoulder backwards into the chest of an opponent), two of which caused the opposing jammer to go down.

This game pretty much took me from a space taker on the track (granted annoyingly in the way to the other team) to a real hitting blocker. I look forward to continuing my growth as a hard hitting blocker.

And on the humorous side, there were quite a few times I was hit by the opposing blockers attempting to either take me out or just get me out of the way where I either didn't move or they bounced right off me. I love it!

Can't wait to hit some more! And I'm anxiously awaiting the stats for this most recent game and in my career as well.

Derby on the Road

It's been too long since I last posted and I have a game again tomorrow, so I'll keep this one short. Last week I was in Atlanta and I got the opportunity to skate with the Atlanta roller girls. Not only did I have a great time, but I learned some new drills that I can't wait to bring back to my teammates. This is what derby is about.

Two games... where has the time gone?

So, I promised an update from the game in Madison last Saturday and time has flown by so fast this is the first opportunity I've had to post since then. This was my first inter-league game and I must say, "WOW". What an amazing experience. The hosting team gave us a great goody "basket" before the game and pie afterwards. Considering we won, the pie was super nice.

For those of my readers who are not yet up on all things derby, inter-league games are (typically) made up of skaters from a league's home season teams and there are only 14 roster spots to fill (instead of 20 for home season). As a pack consists of 5 people (4 blockers and 1 jammer), this means 3 packs constantly rotating. Lot's of game time!

I had the opportunity to skate with 2 skaters from another home team in my pack and I have to say it was great. We worked well together and communicated, which is the biggest thing you can do during a game. We did a good job of holding their jammer back and recycling when she got past us.

The most exciting part for me during this game, though, was that I was asked to jam. As a skater that normally blocks, I'm always willing to step in when needed, even to jam. I am not the strongest jammer, but I can typically hold my own, especially given that I am strong enough to take most hits without falling or losing my balance. And I must say, I held my own very well. I jammed 3 times and got lead each time! Plus, I racked up 28 points for my team in those 3 jams. So, yeah, it was a great game.

I'll keep my synopsis of last night's home season game short. It was awesome! Two teams went into our game undefeated and my team came out the other side victorious. The pack I work in the majority of the time is fantastic! When one of my teammates pushes me (especially toward a line), I know she's using me to hit a jammer.... and it works! I am very happy with my overall performance last night. I went into the game with a goal of two jammer take downs, and while I didn't meet that goal, I did have a few good jammer take outs, which is pretty darn good too. My rookie year is turning out to be one fun ride! Note: It's also pretty cool when a long time vet (jammer) from the opposing team says to you at the after party, "I hate you.", to which I respond, "Why?". "Because you're an asshole" is what she replied back to me with a smile on her face. I'm not offended. I'm flattered because I know I gave her hell on the track and it made me happy.

Bitten by the Derby Bug

Today is my first travel team game against Madison, skating with the B team.  I've had one home season game and I'm trying to stay calm right now.  I've had a decent breakfast, fixed my lace covers and done my nails so far.  Up next, some skate maintenance to put in fresh bearings so I can roll like a maniac.  An update will be forthcoming.

The A Team

Today our travel teams had a makeup practice for all the crazy cold weather we've been having.  As a rookie (in general and) lucky enough to have made the roster for the B team's upcoming game, I'll take any possible practice I can get to and try to make the most of it.  We typically practice for 2 hours with a 1 hour overlap where the A team skates with us.  At the end of our two hours, the coach for the A team invited any of the B team players to stay and skate if they wanted.  And so I did.  And here is what I've learned.

It can be a soul crushing experience as a new player to be skating against the best skaters in the league.  If you let it.  I read an article by another derby girl that nicely explained the pros and cons of a mixed practice, especially from the point of view of the less experienced and skilled player.  So, while I was definitely a fish out of water, I took every opportunity to learn from the better skaters and pushed myself even harder.  Many times during the drills I felt as if I was falling short and was disappointed in myself.  But then I realized, each time I focused on something I that wasn't doing well, I got a little better.  I'm still way out of my league, but I'm going to focus on the fact that these awesome skaters let me join them and even took the time to teach me to be a better skater.  Derby love!

When it Rains it Pours

I think 2014 is going to be an interesting but good year for me.  In the past, I've thrown myself into one thing with a single minded determination that pushes everything else to the side.  I'm trying something new this year and throwing myself into many good things.  Here's hoping I make it!

As always, work has kept me busy and will continue to do so.  I'm finally going to get another analyst for my department, which means I might actually get to finish a project that I've been working on for a few years that continues to get pushed to the back burner.  Plus, our new IT Director gave me a very high compliment after a meeting I ran.  I guess my inner techie shined a little too much.  Maybe I should consider a career change?

My boss has been trying to schedule trips to the UK and Asia for us to catch up with the controllers there, but we've had a lot of scheduling issues.  Thankfully we will not be going to the UK this month since its already jam packed with stuff to do, but I'll be heading to Asia in March.  I've never done it before, but I'm thinking about taking a few extra days at the end of this trip to go someplace for fun.  But where to go?  I've never traveled in Asia for leisure.  And since I'll be alone, I want to make sure I'm going some place safe.

I'm also sitting on two advisory boards right now, one for Microsoft and one for a user group for an ERP system.  I started out with the user group as just a regular user going to the conference to learn more.  The next year I went I was asked to be a speaker, which was a completely new experience for me.  Despite nerves, I did a decent enough job that they asked me to be a track leader the next year.  Now I've filled the Quality Control role on the advisory board.  I've never done anything like this before, so my fingers are crossed I pull this off.

And then there's derby.  Not only am enjoying my rookie season on my home team, I've been rostered for my very first travel team game coming up next week.  I am SO excited to be getting the opportunity to skate with other girls from my home league.  Friends not involved in derby are always surprised by how many days a week I practice, plus trips to the gym, but it's paying off.  Can't wait to report on this game!

Here's to 2014 being amazing!