It’s ups and downs
Thursday night’s session was most definitely an up.
It was Mick Swagger’s last session with Rainy City’s All Stars following a two-week run, which was especially poignant given this month’s announcement of her retirement from competitive roller derby.
Mick is a true presence in the roller derby world. She’s lifted the Hydra five times during her tenure with Gotham Girls Roller Derby. She skated with Team USA in 2014 and won the world cup. She’s an incredible defensive player and absolutely terrifying as offense. She won’t bullshit you when it comes to your game — if you think you’ve got it sussed, you probably haven’t.
Her influence on Rainy’s game is palpable. She sees where we need to improve, sometimes in areas so obvious we’ve missed them. It’s helpful to have new eyes searching for ways to really temper our performance as a team. Sometimes it’s hard to see when you’re so ‘in it’.
One of my favourite things about our Swag Sessions (I’m calling them that… sorry) is the deviation from hard and fast rules. So long as you’re playing legally and well, skaters are encouraged to just do what they’ve got to do.
Swagger is full of cool anecdotes about skaters you’ve usually seen doing amazing things at Champs who, unbeknownst to the wider derby world, perhaps struggle to use their edges and so search for another workaround.
A drill we did a couple of sessions ago called for solo blocking. We had to catch the jammer on our backs and then turn to chest block. I was really struggling to do the first part of this drill with the jammers being so jukey and asked Mick for some tips. She literally made one suggestion about adopting a wider stance and it helped immediately. Experienced skater knows what they’re talking about, I know, SHOCKER.
I was apprehensive about going to training on Thursday. The last session before a game you’re not rostered for is always awkward — my previous post touched on this and positive conclusions don’t always stick. I’m very cyclical in my approach to things. It’s ups and downs, ups and downs, ups and downs.
Anyway, as promised I’m making note of the good things I did in training so that I can come back to them when feeling like the world’s worst derby skater.
- I successfully protected my point during a fast pack drill with help from Missy
- I did a couple of backwards crossovers to move quickly laterally and caught the jammer. This never happens. Most often I’ll think about how I definitely should do it but that’s as far as it goes.
- Our pack did a great job during one of the drills of ‘blocking alone together’ (or passing off the jammer to each other in the middle of a messy pack)
- Mick said ‘good defensive work’ to me and Menace after we held the jammer at the top 😃
Before training I spoke with our captain for some guidance around my performance and development within the team, which was really positive. It’s so important to be able and willing to communicate openly both on and off the track. In my mind this is the cornerstone of any successful team.
I’ve also just had a ‘selfish watch’ of my performance during Rainy’s B team’s first British Champs game against Wirral last weekend, and I’m feeling pretty good about it to be honest (although that might be the fizz talking).
Hearing someone scream ‘YES PUSH!’ over and over again during a jam where, I’m not ashamed to say, I was doing some pretty good stuff is always encouraging! *coughRIZZLEcough*
I love roller derby. The End.