Yesterday’s practice was fun but frustrating for me. There were some drills I did, such as weaving through cones, that I eventually got better at the more I practiced. But there were others, like the whip and assist weaving drill, that I didn’t even attempt because I was a little intimidated. The idea of whipping sounds fun, but whipping to weave through a pace line sounded a little outside of my skill level. So I ended up sitting out and watching the others do it.
I’ll be honest, I was a little upset with myself after practice. Why did I sit out? Was I really that uncomfortable with the drill? Right before practice ended, Draggin Lady said something along the lines of “you get better with more repetitions.” She might not have been speaking directly to me, but I took the hint. If you don’t get in any repetitions, you can’t really get any better. Duh.
So for now on if I feel uncomfortable about participating in a drill, I’m at least going to try it once and see if it really is as difficult as I think it is (which it probably isn’t). I did not like feeling like a wuss or a slacker after practice, and I’d much rather feel like I gave something a try even if I fail or don’t do well.
There. Now that all that’s off my chest, I’ll talk a bit about all the fun I had during practice. As I said, I was eventually able to get the weaving drill down thanks to the help of some of the other bootcamp and Fresh Meat skaters and especially Butcher Block (a Heartless Heather and Axles of Annihilation badass) who offered advice and direction every time I went through the cones.
Butcher helps me weave through cones. (Photo by Sharkey)
By the end of the drill, I’m pretty sure I actually weaved through the cones like you’re supposed to. I got praise from Butcher Block and Tyger Bomb said I improved a lot just from the beginning of the drill. Yay me!
We also got to do a fun relay-type race where one skater from each team had to skate around the track once, and then turn around and skate backward around the track for another lap. The backward skating seemed to slow most people down, which made me feel a little better about my lack of backward skating skills….until I realized I was close to the end of the line and would definitely not help my team win unless they jumped out to a big ass lead.
In line for the relay. (Photo by Sharkey)
It was all in good fun, though, and I got some backward skating assistance from Smack.
Smack Ya Sideways gives me a little help with my backwards skating. (Photo by Sharkey)
Despite my brief slacker moment at the end of practice, I was happy with practice and I was excited to take Smack’s early morning lessons the next day. Unfortunately, I woke up with a migraine and had to skip the lessons so I could go back to bed and get rid of the monster throbbing going on in my noggin. But luckily, today’s hour practice is on skates instead of off skates so I can get in some extra skating time.
More to come!
XOXO
Wannabe Derby Girl
