Skater awareness drill

This is a drill I've been thinking about for a long time, but I don't think we've ever done it. I think I was talking to someone about this at Post Tax Smacks a long time ago, and they did this at their league and it was really helpful (although I can't remember who it is, so if it was you, let me know so I can thank and credit you!)

This is what it is like.

Basically the idea is that awareness of  where your teammates, the jammer, the OJ, etc. are are REALLY important to know in a bout situation. So you have everyone skate around as per a jam situation (maybe at 60-70%, so no balls to the wall business for reasons that follow).

On the whistle, all the skaters have to take a knee and close their eyes (once they're down, so it's not like you are taking a knee and plowing into someone). When everyone is down, randomly ask people who is next to them, or where their teammates are, or where the jammer is, or ask the jammer how far they are from the pack, or where the OJ is, and so on. Or you could even say "where is [this particular person]". Then when people have made guesses as to where they think the relevant people are, have them open their eyes and actually look.

You'd be surprised. Where you think people are is usually NOT where they actually are. Unless you have a very close working with your teammates in terms of knowing how they skate and where they like to be (inside/outside etc.), this is a really good learning experience. After you repeat this a few times people will become more aware of where their teammates are, where they should be, where the opposing jammer is, etc. and then they will actually move to places where they can be more effective.

This drill also works for the refs, in terms of them being aware of where everyone is, where their jammer is, and so on. So everyone wins!

The Lurby Circle

When I started at VDL, Pitts (who was then-President of the league) introduced a new term: lurby. It's supposed to be some portmanteau of "derby love". I'm not a huge fan of the spelling but whatever, the idea is that you have love not just for roller derby itself, but those who play it, and those who enable you to be able to be part of it.

Sometimes we all need a bit more lurby. Every league goes through some drama where there's some internal squabbling over something or another. But in doing so we sometimes lose sight of what matters, and then people get angry and frustrated, and then they cry and walk away.

I've already written a whole giant blog entry about derby drama. I'm not going into that again. But when I was recently back in Australia and skating with VDL, I noticed that they had a new tradition to counteract the problems that came with politics and drama. Basically, at the end of each practice session, all the skaters--regardless of their skill levels or who they were--sat down in a circle while they were taking their gear off, and each went around and said who they had lurby for based on that session. So you might say that you have lurby for a freshie who has just nailed a new skill, or for a coach for an awesome session, or whatever it is. But it was a good way to bring everyone together at the end and just refocus on the important stuff, which is the fact that we are all in it together.

P.S. The awesome Derby Love ring showed above is available at I heart roller derby. Squee!