Recruitment: Round 2

Monday was my first night of recruitment round 2. This was just a required informational meeting to fill out paperwork, answer questions, etc. It's almost as nerve-wracking to go through a second round as it is to do the first round. The first time around, you're very optimistic about your chances of making the team. You're absolutely certain that by the end of two months, you'll be passing your minimum skills and by the end of four months, you'll be ready to roll for your first bout. However, by the end of four months, I still couldn't pass my minimum skills. My confidence has taken a beating. At the same time though, I'm starting out probably at the level that many of the girls from last recruitment started at. There's hope!

The intimidation factor from the first recruitment is gone, too. You know, in the very beginning, you're in complete awe of the women already playing. You've been watching them for x amount of time. They're practically gods to you, and now you're trying to be one of them. They're taking their time and talking to you, helping you out, etc. Every time I opened my mouth, I was kicking myself because I was certain everything I said was stupid. I'll admit - I still feel that way at times. It seems weird and wrong to try and be a part of them after looking up to them for so long. But at the same time, everyone was absolutely amazing. The girls I went through recruitment with last time and a few of the more seasoned skaters stopped to say hello, wish me luck and tell me they're glad to see me back.

I'm still very nervous that I'm going to completely blow. I had a dream last night that it was our first practice and I completely forgot how to skate. I spent the entire night on the wall, unable to stand up properly. My legs were all rubbery in a cartoon-ish sort of way, so the only thing keeping me off the floor was my arms clutched on the wall. I think one of the weirder parts of it was that it was definitely the smelly, dirty wall from Universal Skating Center, but it was around the rink at Semoran.

I feel like I'm constantly doing squats to prepare right now, but I'm not getting in the cardio or endurance training that I really need. I'm also not skating nearly enough. Until I pay off my car stuff, I can't afford to go to many open skate sessions, but at the same time, I don't have a good pair of outdoor wheels, so I'm hesitant to go to Barber Park. I might have to suck it up and just go, but really all I want to do is skate on my new wheels. I received some decent birthday money from my granddad (a few months late, thanks to the United States Postal Service) so I bought a set of D-rods at Shell's recommendation (and a little bit of research).

I've been skating on some narrower wheels after reading a bunch of stuff about how it's better for pack skating. However, since stability is an issue, I wanted to try a wider wheel. as;dlfkjasd; THESE ARE A DREAM COME TRUE. I've only skated with them once since receiving them just before Christmas, but I'm in love. I feel like my crossovers are better, my stability is better, my confidence higher and I CAN PLOW STOP. Not quickly, but a hell of a lot better than before where I felt like my wheels were stopping but my ankles weren't. I swore I was going to topple over or break an ankle doing them before. My speed is also better. Dad and I were the same speed last time I went to visit him (which was days before our minimum skills test.) I was definitely faster this time! I could easily lap him a few times. I suspect a part of it is the combination of my awesome new wheels and their freaking amazing new slippy floor (the local rink in SC just re-did the floor. It's all shiny and glittery. I was entertained just looking at it.) I'm hoping that wider wheels were all I needed to get a little more speed going. Apparently some people (particularly bigger girls) find this to be the case. It certainly felt like I didn't need to work as hard to get to a decent speed. But I suppose we'll see come January 16th!