Fresh meat; moving forward and backwards!

Derby Love Comic


A little over a year ago I first got in contact with ADD and with training for Roller Derby.
I know I have mentioned this before, but for the sake of this blog entree I will do it again; I SUCKED!! :) I was not able to skate well, I was insecure on my skates and it took me a very long time to get better.
So I think I can say, I know what it is to be new at this sport.

At the end of last year we had an excited group of newbies that start our ADD fresh meat training course. Some of them all ready pretty confident on skates. Others not so much. But all of them, no matter what level of skills, were eager to learn! Which is, I think, the most important thing in roller derby. It's enthusiasm and the willingness to learn, to fall a thousand times and get back up and do it all again.

This group of newbies, or as we like to call it in derby-land 'fresh meat', has been just great!
They have been very dedicated and have been working hard.

Tonight I trained a big part of the training together with Michelle (and others), working on skating together and in packs and teaching them the basics of hip checks.
It's great for myself to see how far I have come this past year, from nothing to teaching others.
But it's even more amazing to see how fast these newbies learn! My gosh...some of them were barely able to stay upright on their skates, let alone in derby stance. And now they are in derby stance, jumping, doing crossovers, pack skating, (light) hitting, etc. It's just awesome so see their progress.

So yes, our fresh meat is moving forward!
And pretty darn fast too.
But today they moved backwards a bit too.....
Cause Michelle taught them all about skating backwards!! :)
(a skills I still need to master properly...)

Just wanted to share the progress of ADD's newest edition with the world or whatever.
I am just so proud of them and it's great being able to witness their progress!

- Furrrocious



*like the Derby Love is... comic? I know I do!! Check out the website: Derby Love Comic*

New year, more Derby?!

2011 has just started, and has all ready been overflowing with Roller Derby!
The last day of 2010, I was lucky enough to buy my ticket to RollerCon. And I partied with two of my favorite European Derby girls, my wifey Lola Rock 'n' Rolla and the Devil Doll Gina Gasolina.



After the two week break at practice I was more then happy to go to practice on Monday. It was great to be on skates again. I missed it like crazy. But I noticed soon enough that the two weeks we couldn't practice (because we couldn't use our practice space), was exactly what I needed. For the first time in months my ankles didn't hurt!! Without the help of braces or tape I was able to skate with no pain!
And let me tell you, it was a great feeling.
Because of my ankles I had not been to practice on Monday for two months (!!), so I felt like I missed out on so much...
With the girls that were there we practiced jumping over obstacles (see Lola jumping in the picture). Something I had not done before. I had only jumped over lines on the floor, so this was completely new. And it was fun! I fell hard a couple of times, but I was able to jump higher and further then I expected.



On Wednesday it was time for fresh meat practice. The newbies also had two weeks off, and I was curious to see how many would come. But I guess they were all just as excited as me to be back on skates, cause they came in great numbers. :)
And you might be starting to get sick and tired of me saying this, but they have improved so much! It's just crazy how fast they all grow in the skating abilities.
They started weaving through cones on one leg and even learned how to jump. Warm and fuzzy is all I have to say about it.
Dirty Knickers did a good job on training us. It was fun, but also though. I felt every muscles in my body when I left practice!


The next day I was busy with a whole different side of Roller Derby. I had been working on a present for my derby wife Lola Rock 'n' Rolla, for a while and thursday I finally got it finished!
I gave her (and myself) a necklace with a bearing, and got her name engraved on the side of the bearing.



I wanted to give it to her on Friday. But because there was another team practice that night I was able to give it to her that night. And she loved it!! :)

I normally don't practice on Thursday nights team practice, because I have not yet passed my WFTDA test. But this night was special, Harper Lethal from the Atlanta Rollergirls came out to train (with) us! So I couldn't miss that.
So another night of practice....
Let me tell you...it was hard. Especially at the beginning. My body (especially my legs..) were still aching from last nights practice. But still no pain in my ankles so I kept going. And had a great time. We learned so much from Harper, which was great. We did some positional blocking exercises. Which was really hard on my legs, but my spirit won from the achy legs, and I kept going. It was so much fun to really practice these moves and not just with somebody who would let it happen either. Cherry Poppins gave me a run for my money. She resisted and moved quickly to dodge my blocks. It was great, I learned so much!!




Last but certainly not least, we ended 2010 with 6 roller derby leagues in the Netherlands, and started this week with SEVEN!!
Welcome to the first league in the north of holland:
Northern Lightning Rollergirls from Groningen. They are looking for new members right now, so if you are interested or just want to give them a warm derby welcome, you can find them on Facebook.

Well I am off to have another Derby related night, only this times it will envolve drinking and singing at a karaoke bar with the girls from the Rotterdam Deathrow honeys.


- Furrrocious

A minor setback....

The past week the Amsterdam Derby Dames have taken their minimum skills requirement WFTDA test.

We started on Thursday with all the parts of the test except endurance.
Almost everybody was so nervous...it was pretty crazy...
We had our test in the small gym that we have been training in for the past 10 months.
Hunter S. Toss 'em, a ref from the Rat City Rollergirls, came out to help us out, which was awesome!! Thanks again so much Hunter.
So only two girls went into the hall at a time, and their where our 4 trainers and Hunter marking our performances. Two people grading one girl at all times.

We went by Derby name, so I was second in line together with Eliza Do-damage. It was so weird going in to the hall, that we have all gone into soooooo many times, but it was different this time, knowing you have to preform, even the things I was absolutely confident about, where just harder. And it showed... I felt like my overall performance sucked more then normal. At the beginning it was just stops and falls. But as soon as we got to part I was feeling most excited about, hitting and whipping, I got frustrated. This is normally that part of the skills I am pretty good at (at least for a newbie), and it did not go very well... It was weird doing hits and whips with someone I normally don't practice them with. Eliza Do-Damage is quite a bit shorter then me and I have been just practicing this for the past weeks with Lola Rock 'n' Rolla, who is almost the same length as me. So it felt weird, cause you only have that 'one moment' to show what you can do, and no time to get used to a new training partner. Of course in Roller Derby you need to be able to do this with everybody, girls in all shapes and sizes. But with this test, this was the part I felt really confident about, and it didn't go the way I thought it would, which made me so frustrated and mad. Mad at myself for not showing what I could do. All that frustration combined with my body again failing to keep up, was just to much, so I had my first WFTDA test nervous breakdown. And it sucked. I cried and screamed a little and then tried to calm down. Luckily Roller Derby is a team sport, and I have the best team mates a Derby girl could ask for! So I went for a smoke, calmed down and listened to some music, before I had to get back in there for the next part of the test.

During the test we had allot of waiting to do. And in the dressing room where we sat waiting our turns, we shared our nerves, experiences, and without being too gooey, I just cannot imagine how I would have done this without all of you rad ladies!

Me and Armorkillo doing our thing... :p


After our first part of the test, I was really bummed out, to say the least...
We all went for a beer together, and I had a great talk with Dirty Knickers (one of our trainers). Even though I still felt horrible afterwards, I was happy to have someone that has also been through this, and really understands, to talk too.
Up until friday night I was still really bummed out. I was glad to have band practice and put all my frustrations into the bass guitar and just have fun with my with my friends. The next morning though it was the second part of the WFTDA test. The thing I dreaded the most of all...endurance....
I all ready knew it was going to suck. But I was determined to make the best of it.
For those of you who don't know what this part of the test is about, I will explain. You have to make it around the official Roller Derby track 5 times in the first minute, and after that make another 20 rounds in the next 4 minutes. Which for most experienced skaters is not to much of a big deal, but for those starting out it's hard... All of the girls did amazing, even though all lot of them had a hard time too in the last couple of rounds, we all cheered them on and they kept going. It's was great. And then it was my turn.... I made it through the first minute making the 5 rounds. But that first minute was the only part of the test that I did well... My body would work with me, and after only a couple of minutes tears where streaming down my face... the frustration of not being able to do this, and my ankles and back hurting, was just to much. Of course I kept going the best I could while being as upset as I was. It must have been like a freaking movie scene. Me, trying to keep skating, while tears where running down my face.... I must have looked like an idiot...
But yeah I guess I just cannot really deal with the frustrations of not being able to do what I want to do most of all.
After having a couple of my best derby friends calmed me down I got dressed and went outside to smoke a cigarette (yeah I know, after failing my endurance test, I should know better then smoke...). The rest of team came out, and we heard we the trainers where counting all the scores, so we wouldn't have to wait for the results another day.
So except for 5 of us, the rest of the team past. I didn't, which I expected, but of course it still really sucked! The trainers told me I almost passed, so if I will work on a couple of things I will make it next time for sure. So I have got my work cut out for me the next 6 weeks or so. Train harder then ever, and have to get my ankles and hips checked out by a physical therapist, so I can make sure my body can keep up with the training. Cause I will get there, this is just a minor setback on my way to play Roller Derby!

Congratulations again to all my team mates that did make the test. And to those that didn't, we will get there next time and we will kick ass when we do!!

- Furrrocious

One more day till my first WFTDA skills test...

The past week we have been practicing hard for our upcoming WFTDA test tomorrow.
I think I would put it lightly when I say we are all a bit nervous... It's kind of nice to see that everybody is nervous, not just the less confident skaters, but even those who have nothing to worry about. I guess we all just really want to pass, and start really practicing.
So last week we started practicing hits, and seeing how that was new to me, it was all very exciting. Well it still is!

On Sunday we had an extra training day, unfortunately none of our trainers could be there. Yeah, it's weird but they have private lives to take care of too.... :)
So with the girls that where there we just trained ourselves. And it was good, we were in the big hall, so we had enough space to practice whatever we wanted. We pretty much practiced most of the things people were still insecure about. So of course we also did hits, the shoulder checks to be specific, cause we have only done those a few times. And it was fun! It's so funny to see how some girls are still very careful and don't put to much force behind there hits. Also some of us still turn around and stop if the other one falls down, even saying sorry. Well it was only a week ago that I was saying sorry to Dirty Knickers when she fell after a hit. But I think I got used to it pretty fast, because it's part of the game and we don't mean to hurt the other person, there is simply nothing aggressive about it, at least not in a negative way. Me and Lola Rock 'n' Rolla are really a good match for practice, we hit each other with a nice amount of force while speeding down the track. And it's great to get a forceful hit and take it without falling.

Monday night practice was a little less awesome... After a bout 5 minutes in to the warm up, my ankles were acting up again, and also my legs were so cramped I could hardly move them anymore. And that really sucked! It discouraged me, especially right before the test... It really sucks to notice my body doesn't seem to be able to handle the trainings a day after each other.
The rest of the week I am not training anymore till the test, just want to make sure my body is rested before the test. Also I finally called a physical therapist for my ankles and hips (those are also hurting lately)... It frustrates me when my body is hurting, because I do my very best to get in the best shape I can be in. But I will get it looked at and work my ass off to make it better.

After I rested a tiny bit and got over my frustrations, I joined the rest in the training. We went through some of the basic skills again, and worked on hits. We learned how to do hip checks, and I can now say I like shoulder checks better! Hip checks are cool too, don't get me wrong. But I think they are harder or something, or least need more practice then the shoulder checks.

After practice we talked through the WFTDA skills test. How it will go down, and all that. It's kind of scary that there will be two people just watching and grading you on your performance.
So we are doing everything except for the endurance part of the test tomorrow, and we'll do the endurance on Saturday in the big hall. Cause unfortunately we will be in the small gym tomorrow.

So to end this, the night before the big test. I would like to tell all my league girls that read this, WE CAN DO THIS!!! Let's show our trainers tomorrow that we kick ass!!

And to everybody who has been through this before, I know how we girls in Amsterdam feel, please think of us tomorrow.


- Furrrocious

I like to kick some ASS!!!

So last night we practiced in a new space. It's so nice to finally be in a space big enough to get some speed without being affraid of constantly skating into people or more importantly...walls!!
It's a nice space, the floor is wood and kind of bouncy, which is weird, but it skates just fine.

As we have been doing for the past months, we kept on practicing for our WFTDA test next week (now only 6 days away...). We tried to go through as much of the test as possible, focusing on whips and hits for a while, cause still allot of us, are not yet experienced in it.

And just as I thought.... I AM BORN TO BE A BLOCKER!!! YEAH!! :)

So me and my awesome Derby Wife (want to know what a derby wife is click here) Lola Rock 'n' Rolla paired up to practice hits. And let me tell you, we will kick all the tinny ass girls of the track. We started out skating up and hitting the other while she was standing still. Just to get the hang of it. After a few rounds of that we where slowly skating, and before I knew it we were skating pretty hard and hitting each other even harder. And it was the best feeling ever! I love hitting on the track. In real life I have never seriously hit anybody, I don't like violence at all, and a specially not the anger and hate that comes with it. But hitting on the track is so much different, it's part of the game, and it is so much fun!!
My whips are improving too, giving all your momentum to someone else is really cool. When you see them speeding of after giving them your all in your whip, is just great.

And you know what the best thing was during practice? When we were working on hits and whips, it's so much fun that I paid no attention at all to my tired body. It just didn't even occur to me to sit down or whine about being tired. Cause I just wanted to keep on going! Guess that's one of the reasons I want to play so bad. Because I know I will keep on going, because there is no better feeling in the world than playing. Yeah I know, it's sounds like I am totally obsessed... and you know what, I AM!! :p
Roller derby has giving me strength, confidence, athletics, fun, skills and lots of new great friends!

So a couple of weeks ago a part of our League went to Berlin to watch Berlin vs Essen. One of my team mates, Vegan Vengeance was cool enough to not only film during this awesome road trip. But also edit everything into a little movie! It's really cool.
And you can watch it here.


Well, I have got to go, cause having friends over for a pancake dinner! :)
More later.


-Furrrocious

8 more days till the wftda test....

To most experienced skaters this won't seem like a big deal. But doing my first wftda skills test totally is a big deal for me!
The first 6 months of my training I wasn't confident on my skates, couldn't keep up with my league mates and was just having a hard time getting my body to adjust to working out.
But a couple of months ago I seem to have finally made the 'click' (as Dirty Knickers calls it). Getting more confident on my skates, and getting my muscles into a state where they can handle (most of) the hard work needed to play Derby.

Last Monday me and Vegan Vengeance had a ' private' practice with two of our trainers. Unfortunately there is some kind of flue or something going around, so it was just us 4 at practice.
But it was nice for us. Cause we got allot of personal attention, which I definitely needed, just a week and half before our skills test...
So what we did Monday, was just go through the test, step by step. And we had Dirty Knickers checking our every move and giving us pointers.
The way it looks now, is that will be two things I will probably not get my full marks on. Which will be endurance... and weaving on one leg.
But I think I will do all right on the other skills, so I will hopefully still make it...

Training for this test has really been a personality check for me. I can get so incredibly frustrated when I can not do something... I have literally cried out frustration during practice. I just hope I will do well next week. It's not that I will quit, I simply cannot quit Roller Derby, definitely not before I have played a bout! But after training for 9 months, I just want to get closer to playing, and the idea of not passing, and having to start over practicing for the test, just makes me frustrated...
But we have 8 more days, three more practices, before the big day. So I will have to push myself just that little bit harder to get to where I need to be.

So tomorrow is another day of Roller Derby. We'll be practicing giving and receiving hits. Really looking forward to this. And there is a reason for it, other then I am looking forward to kick some ass! :p
I do not have the super jammer potential, I am not very fast, and it will probably take a while before I am. Which is fine. But it's nice to be good at something. And with my body type, hips and weight, I was born to be a blocker! :)
And I want to learn how to use this body of mine to my advantage. Kicking those skinny girls around the track is really something I am looking forward to. That sounds pretty brutal...haha..well I guess that's the cool thing about Roller Derby, we can be brutal on the track and still be 'nice girls'.

On a different note. I would like to thank all the 460 something people who have checked out my blog! I never thought there would be so many people reading it. And I have had allot of positive comments about it. It's crazy to see that there are people from the States, France, Germany and even Australia checking out this blog! So thanks again.

-Furrrocious

What goes up must come down....

Another night of training, tonight it was fresh meat training, and there were a bunch of awesome new girls, that did GREAT! Oh and I cannot forget, a great new boy!! We have a new Ref training with us, which is awesome cause we really need refs...

I made my best friend come with me today to fresh meat practice, so she could experience my enthusiasm for herself. She did so good and had fun. She won't be the next derby girl on our league. But hey, guess it's not for all of us, and she'll definitely be a cheerleader when will start playing bouts!

So there are so many good things about a fresh meat practice. First of all, there are new girls which is great, we need to get as many girls to fall in love with this amazing sport as we can. But also going back to the basics is really good, especially with our upcoming skills test. Practicing your falls and stops again, it had been a while. And having someone there really checking what you are doing and giving you pointers makes you focus on how you are doing it, instead of just doing it.
I am very happy to announce I am officially doing a proper T-stop. This makes me very happy! :) It has been one of the hardest to master. In the last months I have finally gotten the hang of it. And that makes me very happy. There is at least that I can do right...

We had two of our trainers kicking us around the track today. But there is one I really need to address here, and that is Dirty Knickers..... Well that's her skate name anyways...
Cause I think we should call her Sergeant Sick Fuck!! :p
First and foremost, because she was sick and still training us. And second, because she is one of those people that will ask you if you're tired and when you say yes, she'll make you work another 15 or so minutes, doing some 'light' pack skating.... No seriously, Knickers you deserve a trainer name that does you justice. Cause you do push us hard, and that is exactly what we need too. You know I like the way you train! Just being a whiny bitch. :p
Just for all those people who don't know me to well, I actually like our trainers. Michelle, Mayatollah, Cherry Poppins and Dirty Knickers are all great trainers. And I cannot wait till the time were we can be teammates too!

So tonight was not one of my best practices. I guess at some point training three nights a week (next to stupid necessities like work..) will get to you. And it got to me tonight. I did not have the energy I normally have and my ankles were playing up again, which sucks, because that hasn't happened for a while now. I was over thinking my moves, which doens't make things easier and I was falling down.
Just in general things didn't go easy today. Which makes me frustrated in allot of ways and makes me feel weak... But I know that the road to play is full of ups and downs. I can have practices were everything just goes so well and then days like today...
Those 'up' days can make you cocky and think you can do it all, and then days like these just make you more realistic and remember that the road to being a Roller Derby Girl is long and hard, but with enough practice I will get there!! AND I WILL!!! Just wait and see....


-Furrrocious

The Roller Derby virus is taking over Holland...

A little over a year ago, a bunch of rad ladies in Amsterdam started a Roller Derby League. Starting out to learn how to Roller Skate...Now one year later there are no less then FIVE leagues in the Netherlands!! And this is really something. None of us is playing bouts yet, but they are all training very hard, so next year we can hopefully organize our first Dutch Roller Derby Championship! Wouldn't that be a blast?!

So let me introduce them to you:

Of course I will start with the Amsterdam Derby Dames

You can find us online at:
Website Facebook Hyves Myspace



East Side Rock 'n Rollers (Enschede)


You can find these ladies online at:
Facebook
Website



Rock City Rollers (Eindhoven)

You can find these ladies online at:
Hyves



Dom City Dolls (Utrecht)


You can find these ladies online at:
Facebook



And then our latest Dutch edition to Roller Derby Holland:
Rotterdam Death row Honeys (Rotterdam and The Hague)


They do not have their own logo yet, but you've got to cut them some slack, they started a week ago! :)

You can find these brand new Derby Ladies (or should I say Honeys..) online at:
Facebook



I think it is amazing how fast the Roller Derby Virus is spreading around in the Netherlands.
And there will be more and more girls getting infected in the coming months, years, until there is Roller Derby everywhere!! :)

So on Wednesday nights I train with the Dom City Dolls. I have been living in Utrecht for the past 8 years, but when I was looking for Roller Derby in the Netherlands, it was just the Amsterdam Derby Dames that started. So I joined them. And after all these months of training with them, I couldn't leave if I wanted to. (Just for my league mates, I don't want to!!)
But when I heard there where girls starting up in Utrecht, I saw an opportunity to train more and to meet more Derby girls. When I first met these girls this summer, they were still getting the hang on being on skates. Seeing how I had been training with the ADD for over a half year, I was all of a sudden an expert!! You should have seen me, it was crazy, always being one of the worst at ADD and then being the best at DCD. It was just funny to me!
So I started helping out with their trainings. And it has been so much fun. Teaching them to fall and stop and basic skills like that.

Now a couple of months into their training, it's not just me anymore helping out, but also two other ADD team mates. And they are making great progress.
Today we practiced whips. It was so much fun, training the basic skills of whipping, just makes you want to play more. Seeing their tired but satisfied faces at the end of practice just makes my day.

And this is the really cool thing about Roller Derby, this is a DIY sport. We have to set everything up, train ourselves, organize ourselves, promote ourselves, etc, etc. There aren't any leagues or anything you can just join. Not like soccer or hockey.
I guess this is also what makes Roller Derby girls so uniquely connected...

Well before I get to philosophical, I'll go and hit the shower...cause you know, Roller Derby girls smell.......GOOD!!! :)


-Furrrocious

Sergeant PMS at your service...

"If you do not skate in derby stance you will drop down and do push ups!!"

Before we were even stretching the sweat was running down my back (head and all those other places on your body you didn't know you could sweat from...). This was going to be one of those practices....

While we were stretching our trainer Mayatolla explained she was having 'that time of the month' so she might be kind of harsh...
Didn't believe that at first cause she made my day when she said we weren't doing the endurance laps like normal. Seeing how I think endurance laps are equal to hell I was the happiest skater ever.
So instead of doing that we did an relay, which was awesome!! Running, speeding up, falling, sit ups, speeding up again, jumping, we did it all and had great fun doing it! At the end my legs were shaking but I had so much fun trying to beat the other team, that I really didn't care.
After a couple more exercises in which we were pushed to the limit, I knew Mayatolla wasn't kidding about her being 'a bit harsh'....
She was doing it army style, then it came to me. Mayatolla should be her skater name and when she is the trainer her name should be Sergeant PMS!!

We did some pack skating exercises, which are always so much fun! There is so much you need to think of while skating in a pack. Who is around you, what's going on, if one of your teammates is behind get her back in the pack, whipping and if someone falls you need to make sure you don't fall too. I love it! When we do exercises like these I just feel closer and closer to the game, to playing actual roller derby!!

All around it was a great practice. I might bitch and moan but I secretly love it when we are pushed to the limit. Just feels good when the next day you can feel you've trained the night before. But don't tell the sergeant that! ;)

I would also like to make a special shout out to our guest last night from the Arch Rival Roller Girls, Mindy van Rietschote!! Was great having you at practice. And I really love your skates... ;)

- Furrrocious

Practice makes perrrfect...

So last nights practice whipped me right into this blog. I got so enthusiastic again (every time I think I cannot get any more enthusiastic...), I just really want to play roller derby!
As I explained in my first blog, we are a brand new league, haven't played any bouts yet and are still training.

When I came and joined this amazing group of women, I was able to stand on skates.... and that was about it! I had no kind of skills, no confidence on skates, and definetly lacked endurance and strength....yeah I know, nice place to start if you wanna play roller derby...

In the beginning, I had to take breaks during practice, because my body just couldn't take all the hard work. With in a couple of months I had a back injury, because I lacked the upper body strength to keep up with skating in derby stance.
I had lots and lots of moments where I just broke down and cried out all my frustrations. It sucked not being able to keep up!! But instead of quiting, like I did with things like going to the gym, I kept going! This was partly because of the will power and dream of playing derby. But it was also because for the first time in my life I experienced the power of team sports.
The girls in our league are just awesome!! Being pushed and supported, is what keeps me going during those practices that suck.

One night I came home, and told my roommate, that if I wanted to do this, I really needed to step it up... cause I wasn't going to get there if I just attended one practice a week.
So I did. I started training more, and the past few months I have been training 3 times a week. And it works! :)
I feel confident on my skates, my skills are better, I don't have to take breaks during practice and the strength in my body amazes me every day!! :D

So I am getting there, slowly but surely, with the help and support of my team!!

Last nights practice was another one of those 'nights of firsts'.
I little while ago I was finally able to do one single push up. I know this sounds like nothing to most, but let me tell you. When you weigh around 220 lbs and have not done a whole lot of working out, my body was just not ready to push all this weight of the ground!
So last night, for the first time ever, I was able to do 20!! With my girls cheering me on for the last two, I made it! And I felt good! If we all had a bunch of awesome derby girls cheering us on when you are trying to work out at home, we would all do so much better!!

But back to the story... So feeling good making those push ups, we started endurance....or as I like to call it: HELL!! We need to be able to leap the official sized track 25 times in 5 min. I am not the only one who hasn't been able to do this yet. But I am definitely one of the worst...
Well it didn't go very well, I couldn't find the right pace to skate in and my form was just crap. But I did it, and didn't make enough rounds, but did improve myself. I did more laps then last time, even though this time sucked. So I felt good about myself anyways! :)

Then we had to do some weaving exercises....something I can do, with 8 wheels on the track... Seeing my teammates weave between those cones on one leg for months, I was getting very frustrated with this part of the skills...
But, another first happened!! :) For the first time I was able to do it!! On one leg and without crashing into any cones.
I think the whole neighborhood was able to hear my screams of excitement! :D

It was a good night all around. Another great night of firsts!

So yeah, just a couple more weeks before we are taking our WFTDA test. Which is, for those who don't know, a minimum skills test. (Check it out here)
I am excited about it, I want to make it and start scrimmaging! But I am not sure I will make it. We'll see though, and if I don't make it this time, I will just have to push myself harder and harder until I do get there! Cause I am on my way to play!!


- Furrrocious

Why o why I am starting this Blog...

Ever since I started training for Roller Derby I have been excited and enthusiastic. Constantly bothering everybody around me with my talk about this amazing sport called Roller Derby.

But now I have reached a level of enthusiasm for the game, that I thought it might be nice to give people the option of actually hearing about it! Or in this case, reading about it.

I have started training with the Amsterdam Derby Dames (first RD league in the Netherlands, there are 5 now! YEAH!) in January of this year. Starting out training just once a week. Not really being able to skate and not doing any kind of sport for a long time. It took me a while to get to where I am today. And still not where I want to be. Cause I want to PLAY!!!

In this Blog I will keep track of my thoughts, experiences and progress.

- Furrrocious