Progress made

The recent change in practice time and location has made it a little more difficult for me to get some skate time in. I managed to make it before the end this time on Monday, though it wasn't enough time to even bother strapping on skates. I did get to watch the other girls from our fresh meat group scrimmage though. They look fantastic out there! I hope I'm doing that well after my second recruitment. It was difficult at times to spot some of the new girls versus the vets. I was so proud of them! So jealous, but so proud!! I drove home that night a bit sad about how little I get to practice now with midterms and school scheduling craziness but then, towards the end of the now looong drive, I started reminiscing about my first practice.

Do you know when I first started skating, I often couldn't even make it around the entire rink? I'd go along the wall (forever gripping the wall), make it to the next point where the wall ends, get off the rink, and rest. After a couple of weeks of skate classes at the rink, I'd often go a lap, rest, go a lap, rest. When I went in for my first derby practice, I had only been off the wall for a couple of weeks, and it was only just barely off the wall. I was still nervous about getting too far away from it. I remember being slightly terrified of our very first drill. All we did was skate and do falls at various cones. We were skating in the middle of the rink though, away from my precious wall, and I felt like I could barely move.

Perspective. I still suck, but not as much as I did once before. Remembering that compared to how I skate now is what's getting me through. Yes, I'm going through a second recruitment. But I'm going to nail it the next time around.