So, the ones I have posted up in my “Roller Derby Goals” section are pretty generic. I want to redefine my goals. It’s not all about speed in roller derby. Yes, it does help to go fast, but that’s not all of it.
I want to improved on every level and just become a valuable and irreplaceable member of my team.
Since March 4th, I have done a lot better with taking my vitamins, drinking water and NOT eating fast food. This is helping me 10 fold. My body feels better, I feel better about myself. I see improvement in my sport and others are noticing also.
I am given a task and things to work on and I bust my ass until I have achieved those goals.
One of my coaches said during one scrimmage: Pick one thing and that’s what you will work on for this scrimmage. I picked starts. I have always been slower on the starts and couldn’t pin point the problem. One of the problems was my toe stops, they were way too high, putting unnecessary pressure on my ankles. Toe Stops fixed. I was able to take off a little bit faster. It still wasn’t where I wanted to be. I started experimenting with take off. Do I want to do toe stop runs or do I want to do duck walks (pretty much hard aggressive steps on skates)? Do I want to start off facing forward or start out sideways? Well….this all depends on the situation.
If I play on the inside, I start out facing forward and turning the upper half of my body around to face the jammer. That way my eyes are on them at all times. Depending on who the jammer is where I will place myself on the track. If the person is a faster jammer, I will get up closer to the line, so after their take off, I will be right where I need to be. A slower person, I will hang back a little. This is when I hold the inside line (The fastest way around the track) and positional block. When I am in my wall, which is how it is suppose to be, we can move laterally across the track and block the jammer from getting through. This also puts me in prime position to open up the inside for my jammer.
Anyway, back to starts…I have decided what is most effective for me is using the hard steps and gaining my relative position.
I have been told this is improving dramatically. I want to continue to improve.
My track awareness is starting to match my derby brain. I can see a lot on the track and if you listen to me, I will show /tell you how to be effective on the track. I will also push or pull my teammates into position.
I want to continue to improve on my track awareness and communication with my teammates.
I still want to improve on my times, so I can become a Class 1 skater. I’m not very far off.
I feel faster and more confident on the track and I think it’s reflecting in the way I play.
Morgan's Adventures in..... 