Every Bunny Loves Derby!

Sike! Nah, but really though...

I wouldn’t want to meet me in a dark alley lately. I am such a blonde bunch of aggression right now. I think it’s all because of derby, or the lack. I can’t skate for a minute and all the sudden I’m ready to rumble!

I couldn’t skate last week at a scrimmage because I did something doubleplusungood to my knee the week before. I didn’t take care of an older injury and ended up making it much worse. Boo! (No worries though, it’s on it’s way to healing up real good and proper this time.)

I watched the scrimmage between our ladies in green and a fan-fucking-tastic team from Louisville- DCRG. It was wrenching! On the one hand you got your total helplessness, there is no assisting from the sidelines. Then on the other hand- it’s so easy to learn from there. But fuck that blah blah learning shit- I want to play!

So, this is our plan to get off the sidelines, and stay off the sidelines. Ready! OK!

Firstly, take care of yourself and all your movable parts. You play a fucking contact sport so take your vitamins. Do good things; drink water, get in shape and stay in shape, fix your injuries, get big and strong. RAWR!

Secondly, this is a team sport so be a team player. Push yourself to be the best, most reliable player you can be. Just like you hope somebody is holding the line because you’re going out to get the jammer, they are looking to you to bust ass to the front of the pack or meet them with a wall that works. Be good lookin’ out an shit.

And third of all, don’t give up. Don’t give up. No matter what happens, if you give up you most def are not going to be helpful. Did I mention it’s bad to give up? I may have written about that before but just in case, don’t ever give up!

Now I’m off to push over little kids on their bikes and use bad language.

“I want to play roller derby.” I couldn’t believe I’d said it out loud.  I wanted to take it back, go back to the girl I was before I wanted anything hard.  But it was the truth and when I realized how much work it would take to get me from zero to derby girl, I was scared as all hell. 

I quit soccer, softball, cheerleading, band camp, college, and more jobs than you can shake a stick at.  I quit because I thought I couldn’t, because I wasn’t strong, wasn’t fast enough, and didn’t have enough coordination, endurance, patience or time.  I was ready to quit before I started.   Then something very important happened. 

Someone said, “You can’t” So I got skates and pads and joined a team.

Someone said, “You’ll never…” And with a rebel gleam in my eyes, I tried.

Someone said, “You aren’t…” So I pushed myself harder than ever before.

Then after more than a year of trying, someone said, “You did it!” And I looked back at all my hard work, all the days I could have given up, and I couldn’t believe my ears when I said, “I did it.  I play roller derby!” 

Every derby girl has one thing in common- she doesn’t give up, she can’t.  Learning to play the game is hard, training is hard, practicing three times a week is hard, staying fit is hard, realizing you aren’t even halfway there is hard, making the roster is hard, controlling your pre-bout nerves is hard…but quitting, that’s easy. 

For every new skater that joins our team there are at least ten more who say they want to play, but never made it to a practice. The truth is they can’t do it, because no matter how much they want it they aren’t willing to put in the time and effort it takes to get there.  When you cross that threshold, when you commit yourself to training, when you show up, you’ve already separated yourself from those who can’t.  

Today’s lesson: Yes, you can.  In fact, you are the only one who can.  No one else can make you into a derby girl.  The only time you fail in derby is when you give up.  So, don’t stop moving your feet, practicing, challenging yourself, and never stop believing that you can be anything you want.