What a crazy week it's been...

Saturday we had a scrimmage training with Damage Dahl and 'snot rocket science from Steel City. It was awesome!! I have learned so much and had a great time.
Unfortunately my ankles were really acting up again, and hurting like hell...So it was hard not being able to skate constantly, when we had a training with these amazing ladies. But I was able to scrimmage, had to be smart and listen to my body and sit out more Jams then I wanted to, but well I just learned in Derby that listing to your body and trusting that what you're feeling cannot be ignored.
I cannot explain how freaking awesome it is to be in a scrimmage with girls that you just saw on DNN a week earlier... I was on the white team with Damage Dahl, and actually tried Jamming with 'snot rocket science as the opposing jammer....it was scary to say the least! :p 

It ended up being a great training for all. The girls learning more blocking/jamming and scrimmage skills and our Refs getting a chance to do some actual reffing!! Blauwe Bil (Rotterdam Death Row Honeys) and Stan-Lee (Dom City Dolls) joined the ADD Zebra's and they all blew their whistles at us! :)

Steel City in ADD disguise! :)

Me and Blauwe Bil! See Rotterdam and Amsterdam are perfect together!!

 

Monday night we had another practice with Damage Dahl and 'snot rocket science. And I just feel like we are freaking lucky to have such talented people visiting us. As I have said before it really has his upsides to be 'Amsterdam'.

Wednesday I unfortunately had miss practice by our brand-new-very-own Hurricane Hayles, cause of work. Had a meeting so couldn't go to practice. 

During the day Hunter S. Toss 'em arrived in Amsterdam, and we spend some time talking on the phone catching up. 

 

Thursday after work me and Hunter met up and went to practice. Was great having Hunter back with ADD. We went through a lot of things that are pretty much 'need to know' before our scrimmage with OLRD. It was super useful to go through all that and great to have him back on the track with us!

Today was a super long and hard day for me, working the sixth day in a row... but it ended just perfect, hanging out with my wifey, cleaning our skates and watching some more Anarchy in the UK footage (whilst drinking lots of water and icing my ankles). 

And now it's almost Sunday (or it actually all ready is sunday, after midnight, I should really get to bed...), and we are getting ready to play our (and Hollands) first international scrimmage against Antwerp One Love Roller Dolls. It's going to be a FUN learning experience for all of us. And I cannot wait!! It's going to be the closest thing we have gotten to a bout. There will be a full NSO and Ref team (with Hunter S. Toss 'em and Major Madness being two of them!)

I am super nervous and excited all at the same time, and if I wasn't so tired from working all week, I would probably run around in circles in this very room, because of it! 

So more info on Dutch Roller Derby history after tomorrow! :) 

Now, I am off to bed...

 

- 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