Switchbacks drill. Not a great video, but maybe it'll give you an idea.
Skating in this bout was motivating for me. I spent most of the invitational feeling lost. It was chaotic and confusing and I struggled with a couple of skills in particular. Our coach apparently picked up on some things we needed to work on during that event, and some difficult practices followed. For me, one of those skills was the 180 toe stop. The 180 is important. If you get pushed out of bounds, you need it to turn around quickly and jump back in the pack without making a track cut. It's also important to be able to stop and/or turn around quickly to wall back up with your teammates once you've been separated.
I was lacking in the 180 department, despite having practiced it thousands of times. That one skill had taunted me for the better part of a year. After the invitational, Coach Chip started running a bunch of 180 drills. Banana peels were hard enough. Then one night, which unfortunately happened to be my first night back after missing several practices due to an evil stomach bug, Chip told us to get on the track and pack up. That's all of us, skating in several walls, close enough together that everyone can reach out and touch two people. Chip would yell "switch!" and we would all turn around and stop at the same time, then pack up again skating the other direction. It was pretty terrifying at first, but having someone skating a foot or two in front of you that you know is about to spin around and face you is an amazing incentive to improve your crappy 180. I fell lots. Also ran into my teammates a bunch of times. Because of this and a couple other issues I was having, I went home crying once or twice because I am NEVER going to be good at this, why do I even try, sob sob sob. It was a rough patch of practices for me and I sometimes dreaded going, which is part of the reason I haven't blogged for a while. Luckily I had encouraging teammates.
Sometimes it can be hard to keep lacing up the skates when it feels like you've plateaued and aren't improving fast enough--or at all. It could be a minor injury, a mental/emotional block, an area of physical strength that needs improvement, or just a general feeling of being the weakest link. I've done them all. I have been tempted to give up, but I remembered a bit of wisdom one of my favorite fitness role models, Alison of First Flight, passed along once: Most people give up just when they are about to succeed. You never know how close you are to breaking through and reaching your goal.
It only took a couple of weeks of the 180's in a pack drill scaring me half to death before I noticed my 180 didn't suck anymore! The drill gradually went from terrifying to challenging to very nearly fun. My 180 still isn't amazing, but it's functional, and I was so glad to have it in the bout Saturday. I want to be a lot more useful than I was in the bout, and this has renewed my determination to improve. I know there will be more frustrating practices and weepy rides home in my derby future, of course. I'll get through it though, and I'm excited for practice tomorrow!
One more thing. Yes, there IS crying in roller derby. Sometimes lots of crying. Don't believe the stickers and memes and garbage that try to tell you otherwise. There's no reason to feel bad about crying. Go ahead and let that pain and frustration out. The important thing is that once you do, you get back on the track and try again. Those nagging not-good-enough voices in your head are liars. Your team wants you and wants to help you succeed. Your body is amazing and will heal its minor injuries. Doing things that scare you will make you braver. It might take a while or it might be quick, but one day you'll notice that you're doing it and you'll amaze yourself. The frustration doesn't last forever if you just keep pushing. You never know how close you are to success, and trying again is the only thing that will get you there!
