No Hangovers at Practice...please.

Yeah, ok.  This post will piss people off, but please remember that derby is a sport and not a lifestyle in my world, so when I hear about people coming to practice intoxicated or hung over, I shake my head and wonder what the hell they are thinking. I personally don't drink often; it makes me feel kind of icky, and I really don't need the empty calories alcohol packs on, so I tend to avoid it.  Do I condemn people for drinking?  Heck no.  Drink all you like.  Just don't bring it to practice with you.

Picture found  here.

In the five years that I have been involved with this sport, I've seen a handful of people come to practice or games under the influence of...something.  Unfortunately, I HEAR about it a lot more often. For some, it's alcohol, and for others it's marijuana. Sometimes you can smell it on the person, or you can see it in their eyes, or some people tell you exactly what is going on.  By no means should you be skating while under the influence of anything.  Let me repeat that.  DON'T SKATE EFFED UP.  I don't care if you need a beer to take the edge off, or think you're so focused when you're doing marijuana; this sport is a dangerous one, and we are all taking a risk while participating in it under normal circumstances.  It is not fair to your teammates or your opponents to get on the track when you have been drinking, or smoking, period.   You are negating the skating insurance for yourself, your team and possibly for the facility your practice or game is scheduled in. DO NOT DO IT. If you are unable to stop drinking or smoking before you play derby, then maybe you should stop playing derby.

Now, let's talk about going to practices hungover.  Yes, I know that most people have tried it at least once.  "I have practice on Sunday mornings, and I need to make attendance."  Ugh.  I hate that excuse, but if your really want to go to practice hungover, look at what kind of impact it will have on your performance. Most experts agree that drinking the night before a heavy practice or game is a terrible idea for many reasons. First of all, you're going to be dehydrated, which is never a good thing when playing derby.  You'll get more fatigued faster because your liver doesn't have a chance to clear out all of that lactic acid as quickly as you normally would. You don't make as quick of decisions as you would when not hungover  and your heart rate can be abnormal due to the effects of alcohol.  Hey, did you know if you drink, it actually slows down your recovery from an injury?  The experts say that if you're going to exercise hungover, you should 1. Keep it gentle  2.  Limit the duration  3.  Watch your hydration before and after.  Really?  Why bother going to derby practice if you're going to keep it gentle and limit the duration? How about not drinking to the point of being hungover the night before a practice?  You can plan the way you imbibe before a practice. It's not like your derby practice "snuck up on you." Everyone makes mistakes, but if you are constantly coming to derby practice hung over, you're not doing yourself or your team any favors.  Maybe it's time to consider where you place derby in your priorities.  I'm not saying you have to quit either activity, just maybe plan for either one better.

Wanna read more about why you shouldn't come to practice hungover?  Read some of this.