Time for some introductions, some backstory, and some bold promises.

Derby’s modern-era appeal to a lot of skaters from “the A&E Rollergirls era” was as a sport for non-jocks. A sport for people who never liked sports, because they didn’t like the sports crowd.  A few years ago you could rock up to practice, skate it out, and then crack some beers in the parking lot after. I even remember some girls in my league taking smoke breaks during practice!

But the intensity is rising. The level of competition increases year over year at the higher levels of play. Travel teams and house teams are getting wise, and realising that “conditioning” or “cross-training” is an important ingredient to giving them an edge over their competition. Buzzwords fly. Squats get squatted. Everyone hopes they’re doing it right. Everyone wants to skate like Suzy Hotrod (and ideally get a body like hers too).

In a nutshell – the sport now demands us to be ATHLETES. Not just skaters, or derby girls, but real, honest-to-gosh athletes. This ruffles my feathers in all the best ways – I’ve considered myself an athlete since high school, and I’ve been fortunate to train in several different sports with excellent coaches. The times when I’ve been in serious competition mode in any sport have been the times when I felt most focused, capable, confident, driven, and purposeful. Being an athlete is empowering as hell!

The challenge, though, is that most derby skaters haven’t had that experience. They don’t come from a high-level sports background. They’ve never been coached by a professional, or taught how to properly train, care for their bodies, nourish themselves, treat injuries, or prepare mentally for competition. They’re doing their best, but they don’t have the whole toolkit to work with.

I’ve watched this phenomenon with interest for my whole derby career; I came up with the idea for this site more than two years ago (even posted a few practice run posts on a couple of other sites…). Because I’m a perfectionist and a self-doubter at heart (a really treacherous combo), it literally took me this long to get my ass in gear and just DO THIS already. But I’m finally here, up and running!

I want this site to be a valuable resource for skaters all over. I’m trying to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an athlete. I want to give readers the tools and information they need to achieve their goals in derby, and in life. As I’ve said, sport is empowering, and I know that when a skater works hard and achieves the success she was looking for on the track, that will translate to her personal life, career, you name it.

“Bold Promises.” Yes. Here we go.

#1: My plan is to post a workout video on this site every week. It will be derby-specific! Meaning, I won’t waste your time with stuff that a derby athlete doesn’t need. It will also be hard work. But it will be SHORT, simple to follow, and doable in your living room or at team practice, with no equipment. I am going to do my best to keep to the schedule!! Anyone wanna practice their video-editing skills…?

#2: I will be posting advice and information about the full spectrum of athletics – cross-training, injury prevention, stretching, nutrition, sports psychology, etc. Basically everything but lacing up the skates and practicing skating skills and strategy. Cause you’ve got that part covered.

#3: I am working on some training programs for you guys. I’m excited to share more about this when I’ve got it more sorted out!

So… thanks for reading this far. I am so glad to have you on board! It’s a big step for me to put myself out there like this, but I’m thrilled to be taking the leap.

This. Is. Happening.