I didn't know I could fly. What a feeling! It was a mixed emotion though. I don't know how many players went down in front of me, but I could see no way out. Stopping wasn't an option because there just wasn't time. It all happened in a split second. My shin made contact with 4 wheels and both my legs went out behind me and I dove head first with a helmet cracking thud. For a fraction of a second I was fully airborne, and had I not landed on other players, I would say it was pure fun. My jaw bounced off a shoulder, I knocked the wind out of myself, and I looked under me fearfully to find someone else saying at the same time "are you okay?" Okay, I lied…it was pure fun.
To be even more honest, that's not what derby is about. It might be what the fans come to see, but that is not the fun side of derby. Seriously. What is really fun is to catch the eye of another blocker, plan a strategy, and carry it out. It is about throwing a clean block, where you knock the other derby girl clean off the track and the ref makes a "no penalty, no foul gesture". I'm still fresh meat and I will not pretend otherwise, but I'm learning so much more than skills.
Everything happens in two speeds on the track. One speed is the kind that leaves you flying through the air, but it probably won't help your Jammer make points whatsoever. The other speed is when the real action happens. It's where the sport part of the entertainment happens. It's when you watch a Jammer effortlessly slip through a wide path created by her teammates. It's really when you see a play that you have practiced in drills over and over work!
Nobody comes into derby to just practice. We all come to play. The competition is no different from us. We all talk strategy, and of winning and of fair play. We watch other teams. We study other bouts. We look to see what works, and what doesn't. There's a truth to every game. One team will win and one will lose. I make no apology to wanting to be on the winning side!
Everything happens in two speeds on the track. One speed is the kind that leaves you flying through the air, but it probably won't help your Jammer make points whatsoever. The other speed is when the real action happens. It's where the sport part of the entertainment happens. It's when you watch a Jammer effortlessly slip through a wide path created by her teammates. It's really when you see a play that you have practiced in drills over and over work!
Nobody comes into derby to just practice. We all come to play. The competition is no different from us. We all talk strategy, and of winning and of fair play. We watch other teams. We study other bouts. We look to see what works, and what doesn't. There's a truth to every game. One team will win and one will lose. I make no apology to wanting to be on the winning side!
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