Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Derby Girl Clinic: Unexpected Lessons

As a friend so kindly informed me this weekend: I'm a little crazy. Specifically, derby-obsessed. But you already knew that, didn't you? Sometimes I forget just how in love I am with this sport.

This past weekend, I skated 8 hours in 2 days in Junction City, Kansas. The Stone Cold Foxes of Junction City and the Masters of Mayhem from Abilene put on a clinic for vets and fresh meat. Siouxsie of the Orange County Roller Girls traveled to teach us.

What a great group of ladies!

Working on basic skills was especially helpful, and I had the opportunity to work on skating backwards in the pack. I feel like my footwork improved in those two days as well. But the biggest takeaway was that I found out that I love helping brand-new skaters.

As Siouxsie put it: "I'm a total carnivore. I love fresh meat."

My vegetarian heart cringes a little, but I can see myself seeing that after a little more experience. I'm still new enough to derby that it's weird to be able to all myself a veteran yet, but I really want to teach the things I have learned so far to others.

Dead Girl Derby just got a huge batch of recruits this week, and I hope to be a good teacher and role model for the newbies!

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