How to Get Better At Roller Derby Part 2

Earlier this year I wrote about how to get better at roller derby. Considering the rules of the sport and the interpretation of those rules are constantly evolving its easy to be quickly phased out of the game if you don't push yourself to improve. Hopefully I can give you some inspiration to step up your game.

People say practice makes perfect and in Roller Derby it's also true.  There is no other way to get better at the game. If like my league you only get a few opportunities to train each week don't waste your time when on skates.  To seriously improve you must practice with the same intensity as on game day. Guns a blazing! Each jam will only ever go for 2 minutes so you should push yourself to skate faster, jump around, duck and contort your body into fluid unblockable shapes.

Im a huge fan of messing around on your wheels. Jumping. Street skates. Walking on your edges. Spins. Jump twirls. Cart wheels. Dancing. All of these things are super fun and they massively improve your balance and agility skills without you even knowing. I came back one summer able to transition after spending my time spinning around and twirling in the off-season.

One skill that seems to be super important (and often gets overlooked) is being able to change your speed instantly. Befriend your wheel edges. Use your toe stops for a burst of speed. Being able to juggle your speed will keep you a moment ahead of the opposition, able to drop back instantly to help a jammer or even burst through a pack.

To learn a new skill and be able to automatically execute it during a bout takes a lot of practice. Its not just going to magically happen in your next bout. Force yourself to trial new ideas in jams at training. Its the best place to improve your technique. Don't hate on yourself if  it's not working. I learnt a long time ago that just before you nail something new you will feel super awkward and fall over a lot. Falling over shows you are pushing your limits and once you adjust you will soon get better. You are meant to hit the concrete, get knocked out of bounds and sent to the penalty box when trying something new so no self pity. In no time you'll be automatically doing that new move on track.

Finally let your team mates know what you are up to. If you feel yourself stalling and your body just can't figure out what your brain keeps telling it to do enlist a friend or team mate to watch your technique. They might be able to see what your doing wrong!

So get out there. Happy skating!

Photo taken on my recent adventures to Rollercon 2013. 

Dreaming of Rollercon

Two more sleeps until I madly rush to the airport for my flight to America. Normally my travel adventures are just that a rambling adventure exploring the world. This time however there is a purpose to my travel plans other than satisfying my wanderlust - I've packed my roller skates and am heading to Rollercon!




I have been involved in with Adelaide Roller Derby since 2008 and Rollercon has been one of those dream 'must-do' events high on my list. To help you imagine it: Roller Derby + 2000 excited skaters + 1 week in Las Vegas. It's one hell of a mix and the butterflies have officially set in.

I see myself doing a lot of sightseeing in between novelty challenge bouts, serious classes and afternoon cool downs by the pool. But honestly what I'm most excited about is getting the opportunity to meet, possibly play against and definitely party with some of the best Roller Derby athletes in the world.







My friends Velvet Thunderground and Dutch Oven went over to America a few years ago and their photos of their experience inspired me to one day go chase down my dreams of skating internationally. I've borrowed some of their photos from their time away. Thank you Dutch Oven for letting me share some of your beautiful photography.



Seeing all of these wonderful memories just has me itching to create some of my own. Have you ever incorporated your sport or your passion into your holiday?

How to Get Better At Roller Derby

Today, I'm putting my helmet on to talk about ways in which you can improve playing Roller Derby.

Lately I have been asked often by team mates for feedback. Roller Derby is a DIY Community run sport so sometimes it can be hard to get honest & constructive feedback on how you are travelling from your team mates. A lot of people who are involved in the sport haven't come from traditional sporting backgrounds and find it hard to articulate more than 'You are great!'. Which lets be honest, isn't really helping anyone. If you haven't found yourself a Derby Sister who will help you on your Derby journey or you are finding you aren't getting any decent constructive feedback then I'm afraid its up to to figure it out for yourself. It can be tricky to do so here are some ideas on how you can improve.

This is really important. Don't compare yourself with anyone else. Our bodies and minds are all different. Some skaters are really quick to understand a skill whilst others could take years to figure out that same skill. It might take a few skaters explaining a skill in a new way then suddenly you will have that 'Aha!' moment where you realise that is all you've been waiting for. Or it might take a whole year practicing that particular move before it finally sinks in. Please be patient with yourself. We all can't be superstars overnight. It unfortunately does take a lot of work and practice to get there.

To be a a well rounded Roller Derby player you need the following components: fitness, skills, derby brains & a determined positive attitude.

Lets talk fitness. This is the easy one to talk about. Roller Derby requires quick reflexes, a strong core & the endurance to keep you going strong until the end of the bout. I highly recommend doing additional fitness activities outside of Roller Derby training to help you improve. A combination of strength & cardio workouts is all you need and can be as simple as riding your bike to work & completing a resistance/weights session. Keeping your body flexible & limber is also really important so factor in stretching or a Yoga class (if you are that way inclined). There are lots of websites these days focusing on this topic. I highly recommend Roller Derby Athletics and BodyRock Tv if you are interested.

Derby Skills. Put on your skates & lets get started. There are a million videos and websites out there talking about skating skills so I recommend if you want to perfect that particular move you need to just get on your skates and practice. I'm not going to focus on that here. When you first start out with a league they are happy for you to understand the basics. How to skate, fall & stop. Very quickly you need to understand some Roller Derby basics like how to yield, block and build a wall. What I've noticed is the slow evolution of many young skaters from thinking solely about their own skills to figuring out that their team skills are vitally if not more important. To really advance you need to improve your communication & listening on the track, jammer awareness and the ability to use your team mates to foil the oppositions plans. As your confidence grows you should seek to challenge yourself by trying to read the game play & place not only yourself but the blockers close to you where you need to be. The more confident you become with your own abilities the more you need to start thinking of how well you integrate with your team.

Derby Brains. This is one component of Roller Derby that a lot of skaters ignore. I'd argue that for your Derby skills to increase this step is vital. Read the Rules. Think about the strategies your team mates are asking you to understand. Don't just memorise things, question everything. Watch footage online & try to figure out why a Jammer or Blocker did what they did. Ask questions of your leagues referees. Ask questions of skaters you look up to. The more you question and interpret the rules the more you will understand how to manipulate the game to your advantage.

Finally, stay positive and be persistent. You can only ever get better if you are trying so don't ever give up. Take the small victories along with the big ones. In many ways being a part of a loosing team gives you so many chances to figure out what you are doing wrong. You & your team instantly have a goal in mind. You rely so much of your learning & enjoyment on the skaters within your team and league so please be respectful, be caring and considerate. Being in a state of growth can be frustrating at times but don't take it out on the people around you. These are the wonderful people who challenge, teach and inspire you week to week so they deserve hugs, thank yous and smiles in their direction. Suddenly all of those persistent baby steps of improvement will add up and you will look back and realise that you are a kick ass Derby Girl after all.

A Personal Challenge

Over the last couple of years my tolerance to running has increased. I cannot say that I particularly enjoy the experience but I tolerate it for its health benefits. The concept of a Fun Run just didn't make any sense to me until now. Who knew that all you needed to make a run truly fun was colour?

Over the Australia Day long weekend I took part in the MS Colour Run. I really gravitated to the event as its focus was about having a good time for a good cause. Completely non competitive there were no time markers and much to my delight no die hard fitness junkies in spandex. The only requirement of you as a participant was to wear white.



We started the run in Darling Harbor among 5,000 other white clad crazies. The crowd was an eclectic bunch. Amongst the families and groups of friends I spotted a man in a wedding dress, coordinated neon accessorised fairies and another fellow who thought he'd brave the course in heels. I really didn't know what to expect when we were finally released at the starting line but everyone was very excited.



Running around the Harbor into a nearby park we came to the first colour station. Volunteers wearing masks & holding water bottles were squirting hot pink dust at runners as they flew by. At the first station they missed my white top entirely. I rectified this at the second station whilst 3 volunteers completely coated me in coloured dust. By the third station,  I was starting to look and feel like a Pro Hart creation. Running across the finishing line I was elated to have completed the run. The moment didn't last long as I was doused in a giant dust cloud of green and gold. Yes this is me, the dust cloud with feet.





I recommend if you want to take part to wear clothes and shoes you don't mind getting stained. Most of the colour will dust off but I noticed the pink and green dust did stain once it got wet. Explaining my strange coloured tan marks whilst on the beach later that day was a little awkward but to me they felt like a badge of honor.







Fear not Australians who are also obsessed with colour you haven't missed out on the fun. The Colour Run is coming to a capital city near you soon. Details here.

Thank you MS Colour Run for the fabulous day. If you would like to donate some money to MS Australia to help people affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS) please do so here.