WTF, body? W.T.F.

I can't do a crossover. I can't. I've been trying so hard and every time I think I have it, it's gone by the next practice.

However, I can now almost do a tomahawk stop... as long as I don't move faster than a crawl. XD

WTF. I can't even do a basic maneuver like a crossover! Yet one of the refs pulled people aside today to help with 180 turns and I nailed them ridiculously quick. I still trip up every once in awhile if I'm going too fast, but I can do these! And I can do almost-tomahawks! It was pretty amazing, and totally made up for the failtasticness that was me trying to fucking keep up with the pack. (We moved this weekend and I did something weird to my ankle/outside part of my calf. I didn't even think it was a concern until my leg was shaking, unable to even support myself while skating.)

Extra practice agenda for the weekend: Speed and crossovers.

Being a Ravenclaw does not help with roller derby

I warned you that there would be fandom crap in here, right?

Being a Ravenclaw does not help with roller derby. Not really. I've done a ton of research, watched videos on Youtube, etc. but that sort of stuff only gets you so far. It doesn't actually get you up on skates, it doesn't get you hitting hard, and it certainly doesn't get you onto a team (a fact I definitely know as I currently hold Honorary status on the team due to failure to pass minimum skills requirements.)

Recently, however, I was sorted into Pottermore as a Slytherin, the ambitious (and occasionally evil) house. I disagreed at first. (And by disagreed, I mean "sat in front of my computer in a catatonic state with the green Slytherin screen up.") But I've decided to embrace my new house. After a few weeks of getting used to the idea, I switched out my Universal Orlando annual pass lanyard for a green and grey striped one. This was a big moment for me; I've rocked my Ravenclaw one for a year since the park first started selling them.

As nerdy and slightly crazy as it sounds, the new house has also given me a level of confidence that I didn't feel before. As a Ravenclaw, one holds confidence in their intelligence and wit. I still have that, but now that I'm embracing the ambitious Slytherin side, I'm even more determined to get what I want. And what I want is to be on the Psycho City Derby Girls, not as an Honorary member, but as a full-fledged, scrimmaging and bouting team member.

Worried

Testing is today.

I'm SO not ready. Today is the day when I start feeling jealous of all the other leagues, the ones with three months of recruitment training before that big day comes up. Two months seems fine if you know how to skate. I feel like I'm so close sometimes. My crossovers are improving. I'm getting lower. I'm getting faster. My endurance is improving. However, the rest of the fresh meat girls are already scrimmaging, so I'm just hanging out with the two others who started out not knowing how to skate because none of us are ready. We're just hanging out, waiting... for what? I don't even know at this point. We do warm ups and cool downs with everyone else. I suppose they're waiting for us to show signs of improvement or quit. It's a bit disheartening.

I mean, I understand why we're not scrimmaging. We're not ready at all. We're not fast enough, we're not strong enough, we simply don't have the skills. Watching the scrimmages has really helped us learn the rules of the game, but our skating isn't improving by watching. I'm debating quitting for awhile and coming back for the next recruitment in January. I know I won't exercise as much as I need to between now and then, but it would give me a chance to get caught up on school work (three weeks in and already behind) and arrange my spring schedule to work with derby.

Balancing life and derby

School started about a week ago, adding a bit of complication to my life/derby balance. Practices were moved awhile back to days when I have class, which means on those days I now go to for 9 hours, class for 3 hours, then derby for 2. It's exhausting. By Wednesday, I'm ready to just hibernate for the rest of the week. It doesn't help that this is the first semester that I've gone full-time since back in the day when I lived at home with my parents. I'm already falling behind in school, which is killing my inner Ravenclaw. If I would have come to this realization a week ago, I would have dropped my Econ and Judicial Process classes. I still would have one day each week where it's work/school/derby, but at least I would have time to catch up later in the week and still have something resembling a social life. As it is, I feel terrible because I can't do very many of the social things that many of the derby girls do. The little bit of free time I have generally goes to additional skate practice.

Right now, the other new girls are all scrimmaging. My roommate and I are the only ones who aren't. We're hanging out on the sidelines most of practice, which gets a little frustrating at times. I want to skate! At the same time, however, I recognize that I'm just not ready for it. I'm not comfortable with skating in a pack. I'm not quick enough to keep up. I'd be a danger to myself and others if I were to get out there. So for now, I'm watching and learning that way, and skating on the weekends whenever I get a chance. This past weekend, one of the other players who went through recruitment last cycle got out there and helped me a bit. She seriously worked wonders with me when it comes to sticky skating and getting comfortable on my skates!

Next personal goal: Speed or plow stopping. Not sure which.