Friday, January 6, 2012

Advice to Newbies

Since I've started posting a blog, I've gotten a lot of messages from newbies and fresh meat asking about derby, how to get better, how to feel confident, and how to cope with derby in general.  Because the beginning of the year brings a new crop of Freshies, I thought I'd hand off some unsolicited advice!

#1 Welcome to derby!  You made it!  Now the hard work really really starts.  It is imperative that you put in as much time as you can on skates, because even though the league gives you time to learn skills, you are ultimately held responsible for your progress.   If your plow stops are not what they should be, you need to hit every open skate possible and work work work on your skills!


#2  Derby isn't how you get into shape; you have to get into shape FOR derby.  That means you have to do cross training.  I suggest you ride a bike, run, lift weights, walk, do yoga, dance naked in your living room, I don't care, just get out there and do it! 


#3  Don't get butthurt if the veterans don't talk to you at first.  Derby is a sport where many people are really driven and self focused.  Also, derby is a sport where many people join originally with great enthusiasm, and then eventually fade away.  Sometimes it's hard for veteran skaters to build relationships with newbies and have them walk away after a couple of weeks.  My newbie class had six members, and only two of us are still skating, so do the math.

Ballz and I were the last two standing....uh, skating.  This picture is before we had derby butts.
#4  Take advice and don't be defensive.  Let's face it, most of us are adults who have had success, control and are not used to the role of being a student.  Derby can be very "challenging" which really means it's frustrating as CRAP!  You can be trying your best, sweating over doing a move, and a veteran skater gives you some negative feedback.  I know the first instinct we all have is to be annoyed and defend your performance, but don't!  Don't say "I can't turn left!" or "I've done this a million times and you just gave me different advice than so and so did!"  People want to invest in your success; they want you to be a better skater, so don't get defensive when it comes to their feedback!  Listen, thank them for the help, and then consider if it applies to you, and keep on trying!


#5  Watch footage with a veteran skater.  If you can bribe a veteran skater to watch footage with you and explain it, you will be on your way to being a better derby player.  As a word of advice, don't watch a game in which she played; she'll be too distracted critiquing her own performance to really enlighten you.  By the way, beer is a good bribe.


#6  Bond with your fellow newbies.  They're the ones going through the same ordeals that you are; get together at open skates, plan footage viewing, check up on each other.  You are going to need support to get through this and so are they.  Don't get jealous of one of your group learning something quicker than you.  Ballz had been skating and teaching skating for years before she joined derby, so she was head and shoulders ahead of me in the skills department.  It just made me try harder.

This is just some basic advice I have for newbies; it's a hard position to be in, but it can be made a lot easier by following my advice.  And by the way....CONGRATS FOR MAKING IT!










13 comments:

  1. Thank you for saying what I've been wanting to. I occasionally get to talk to the new girls and share these points, but that message doesn't always make it to all of them.

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  2. Share it with any hopefuls you're in touch with!

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  3. Perfect. Everything here is golden. I still consider myself a newbie even though I've been doing this a year now. I knew going in I would have a slower learning curve than most (never having played a sport or really done anything physical for long enough to get good at it). I would add: compare yourself to yourself, not to other skaters. I can get super depressed when I think about how much better everybody is than me, but when I think about how far I've come in the past year (and even just the fact that I have stuck it out that long) I get excited and want to work harder to get better faster.

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  4. (Which is not to say you can't watch and admire other skaters and learn from them, you should totally do that- but don't go down the "woe is me, I'll never be as good as she is" road. There be dragons.)

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  5. I miss being able to do skatey stuff with you all.

    As a newbie trainer, it is hard to be soft enough to coax confidence and hard enough to toughen us newbies for some of the real challenges of roller derby.

    Once the newness is over there are so many rewards. It is really fun to be on the track pushing and competing then acting out the lyrics to "I think we're alone now" with that same opponent at the after party.

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  6. Nice advice! I also quoted you in my sock blog. You saved my feet.

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  7. Plus one. Good advice, especially 3 & 4. I think nearly every newbie falls victim to the "nobody loves me, everybody hates me, think I'll go eat worms" trap.

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  8. it is amazing how much difference it makes when you start worrying about yourself instead of everyone around you. i spent my first year stressing how good everyone else was doing. the beauty of this sport is there is room for everyone.

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  9. I have been at it for about two months :) and have learned to skate hard, pay attention, and never ever be afraid to ask questions!

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  10. I have a question on a semi related note. I'm still very new to the derby world, and I have my first pair of skates and gear, and I'm just waiting for the next learn to skate class in my city's league to start. However, since I have started skating, there has been one very important thing that has been giving me trouble. How do I pick a name? It's how you are defined throughout your derby career, so it should be something that defines you, right? I've been working on a name for months now, but I'm still stuck. I've tried online generators and asking friends, but nothing sticks. Is there some great method for finding a name, or is it just the sort of thing that comes to you in the middle of the night?

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    1. I was lucky...my derby name wasn't taken and it fit. I am not sure it works that way for everyone. The most important part of derby is skating...maybe hold off on the name for a while? You don't need a name on your shirt...just a number.

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    2. kk, that sounds like a good idea until I decide, thanks :)

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