Gear?

So you've decided to join a roller derby league, hell yeah! Good for you, now before you go out buying fishnets and dancing infront of your mirror to Joan Jett's Bad Reputation.. let's rewind back to that whole ROLLER DERBY part. You're about to join a FULL CONTACT sport. So if you'd like to keep those cute legs from breaking and bruising after your first week.. lets discuss gear.

All your money is going to be put into your pads and skates. There is no 'perfect' pads or 'perfect' skates it's all about you.

I own:
Triple 8 Wristsavers
187 Killer Elbow Pads
Smith Scabs (Leopard Print)
Triple 8 Sweatsaver Helmet
Shock Doctor Mouthguard
Riedell Cararra's
Atom Poison Wheels

Now so far it has taken me a few times to get this beautiful line up, and some wasted money. So choose wisely. Talk to a roller derby girl before going out and spending money. Remember knees are important in derby, you're constantly falling on them. Most drills are just you falling on them, so seriously spend the $50-60 on a nice pair.

Wrist guards- Make sure they fit correctly before purchasing, they should be snug but not hurting any part of your wrist bone. It should cover your ENTIRE wrist not just the center. And for the love of all things holy please make sure you're wearing it right. Wearing the hard part on the back of your hand is just going to catch your broken wrist and probably make it more painful.

Elbow pads- Once again, snug but not cutting off your circulation. I've had both slip on and just the velcro ones. The velcro ones will slide all around so it's best to get the ones that slid on in my opinion.

Knee pads- PLEASE don't be cheap when it comes to your knees. They deserve the best AKA Smith Scabs, 187's or Protec. There are other random good ones but it's best to follow what the majority of skaters have. You should feel like you're falling on pillows and not like your knees are hitting concrete.

Mouthguards- Mostly all are boil-n-bite unless you can go to your orthodontist and have them cast one for you. Which is pretty awesome but too expensive for me, even though I'd love to keep all my teeth. Shock Doctor has been good to me so far.

WHEELS i know nothing about wheels but I do however know that my Atom Poisons have made me move completely different and smoother since I switched from my stock wheels. But really does it get any worse than stock wheels??

PLEASE TALK TO YOUR LOCAL ROLLER GIRLS BEFORE SPENDING LOTS OF MONEY ON CRAP YOU CAN'T USE.


Websites:
www.wickedskatewear.com
www.rudechix.com
www.rollerderbydepot.com
www.sincityskates.com

Not So Fresh-Meat

So it's been awhile since I've updated, mainly because I want everyone reading this to understand the difference one month makes.

My last blog update was in November, my first month of actually skating. So that month was a bunch of little accomplishments (t-stops, plow-stops, falling small..) while I still haven't mastered any of these skills I still know how to STOP at least. December was assessments, AH! I was so nervous, every time they'd call my name I'd fall, so I could only imagine what they were writing down. My first assessment went great, I couldn't believe the weight that lifted off my shoulders that night. Phase II was kind of rough night for me, my head wasn't really there, and while I didn't FAIL it still put me a bad mood. 3RRD head coach, Carnage, said it best, I should get pissed off and frustrated with myself but then I should step back and apply that energy into getting better. Roller derby is going to be A LOT of plateauing, but all I need to understand is that if I keep pushing myself I'm going to reach that next level and there is no going back.

But if you can understand October-November.. couldn't even stand up on skates, walking around and not digging with my crossovers. December - Passing assessments and really getting involved with every practice.

Now present time, it's January and I feel like a new person! I stepped on my skates a week and a half ago at practice, and I could feel it. I no longer was begging myself to please stay up don't fall infront of everyone. I was just standing up, leaning into turns, not slipping all over our "lovely????" sport court floor. Last Wednesday, I finally starting hitting people in scrimmages, while I haven't had my "shit, I just laid that bitch out" moment yet. I sure have the.. "wait did she just hit me... and I stayed up???!?!" moment. I have learned that while girls that came in after me and are kicking ass, skating comes natural to them they might have even skated as a kid. And my improvement is going to be steady, I'm not going to be the best jammer next month but who knows I might actually start knocking people down. I'm just happy to be apart of such a great team!

Last night was sort of a downer, but it's alright! I just need to focus the frustration into skating harder and faster. Our endurance timed laps have been the pain in my ass, it's 25 laps in 5 minutes and 5 laps in 1. While this is standard fresh meat procedure, it's also supposed to be after 90 days of skating with a league. I took this before in December and I'm proud to say.. while I shaved off 13 seconds off my original 5 minutes, I only shaved off one second on the one minute... 1:03.. really? So it's just frustrating. But, I'm going to get it. They have the girls registered for the scrimmage and I'm not one of them :/ but it's bittersweet because I'm SOOOOO proud of the girls who are! Our scrimmage is on January 23rd, in Hanover, PA. Can't wait!!

I'm hoping to be rostered for our first bout against the Salisbury roller girls on March 26th! Here's to another successful derbylife-changing month!!

"Be Your Own Hero"

A little update about what has been going on with the team. We had a recruiting event at Cecil County's Library, the Elkton Branch, we watched "Whip It!." Since 3RRD is the only Roller Derby team in Elkton, this was to get the message out about how fun roller derby can actually be(minus the celebs, illegal blocking, etc. etc.) This was a fun event a few girls showed interest that were a little young but that still means in a few years they'll know where to look!
Something everyone should know going into roller derby, it's a full time job. Not the boring job you have now, it's the job you actually want. You don't get paid, and it's still all you want to do. I've realized within the past month that even if I can't skate well and I feel like I'm pushing myself to the limit and still not doing as great as I would like, it's still the reason I wake up at 8 to get ready for an open skate 30 minutes away. That being said we had a meeting about our first scrimmage! How exciting?! We're going to promote a shit ton and try to get the word out to everyone. I still haven't taken my skills assessment, and probably (unless I all the sudden know how to skate) will end up not being able to skate in the scrimmage which sucks but at the same time it'll probably be the first time I see an actual bout in person! We talked about a lot of things, and it made me nervous but SUPER excited to see how it's going to turn out. We're making progress and it's awesome to see something take shape.
Practice on Sunday was mostly endurance, but it was challenging not repetive so that made it that much better. We practiced knee falls and falling short for a good 15 minutes and now I have a bruise as big as a tennis ball under my knee cap. TIP: When looking for knee pads DO NOT buy ones that come in a three pack, mine are triple 8's which is what a lot of derby girls wear. I made the mistake of buying Triple 8 inline pads, which is NOT like falling on pillows, more like bricks. So, I ordered new fancy smancy Smith Scabs Elites with Leopard print! Hopefully that feels better, I'll update.

FM AMANDA

FM Amanda

My name is Amanda and I joined 3RRD on November 3, 2010.

I started skating on October 29th, open skates have been my saviors. One day I just got in my head that I needed to be involved in something and starting tossing around the idea of joining a roller derby team. Philly Roller Girls were the obvious option because I live right outside the city. After awhile I realized that besides the fact they're league is very difficult to get on and that you have to be 21 to even show up, I decided to brush up on my skills at open skates and try out in a year. Then I found out about 3RRD which made everything come full circle. I bought a pair of Riedell Carerra's from my local skating rink and a few pads, then I was set.

Showing up to open recruitment has been one of my proudest moments. As dumb as it sounds, I'm not into sports. In high school I wouldn't be caught dead cheering on a team or being involved in ANYTHING. I actually hated being involved in school. So to be honest it was a real maturity test for me. I get shy easily and get frustrated when I can't do things that other people seem to do so naturally so for me to fall on my ass as much as I did and not get up and walk out the door really showed me how different Roller Derby is then anything I've ever tried.

Roller Derby quickly became everything I want to do with my life. I work full time all week and go to open skates almost every other day. I think about it when I wake up and when I'm laying in bed I think to myself all the things I need to improve on. I can barely keep up with anyone on my team but that doesn't matter. A lot of people assume roller derby girls are going to be rough and just expect you to know everything. That is not the case. From what I've learned is it's a common bond between girls that no matter what kind of background.. regardless of race, size, culture.. literally ANYthing is accepted. Everyone understands the difficulties and frustrations that come with trying to skate fast, hard and with all the passion in your body.

I decided to be apart of this blog because of all the people I ask to join the first words out of their mouth are "I haven't skated since..." and as a child/tween I was the girl who held on for dear life at the walls of the rink on the random two birthday parties I attended. The thing about not being able to skate goes out the window once you realize anyone can do it you just have to want it. And to be honest I don't think I've ever wanted something so bad in a long time, maybe even in my entire life.