The personal challange and derby

Me and Twisted from Stockholm

We all have different challenges when it comes playing derby, and it is lots and lots about yourself and what you wanna make derby to be for you! We all have personal goals and personal agendas, and we all face struggles. My largest struggle right now is that I just can't skate as much derby as I want.

I am currently in NYC, and it is just amazing to be back, and play derby the way I really enjoy playing derby. I LOVE this sport - it is hard work, tremendously hard work, but it is so satisfactory when it all works out. 

Don't get me wrong, I love coaching, I really do, I work really hard to figure out the best ways to teach people, to have girls up their skating and derby level, and I ADORE when I see girls progress. It makes ever hour I spend coaching worth it. Because I want everyone to share my passion, but I do  understand that everyone are not as passionate or driven. I still think that the ground rule is that if you wanna play roller derby, you will have to work for it, because everyone around you is working so hard for you. Coaching is not easy, not at all... I don't think I ever realized when I was in Rat City how hard of a job Carmen Getsome and all the other RCRG coaches had, and how great Gothams coaching committe was... not until now... coaching and keeping a large and very diverse group motivated and working hard is ... hard (so everyone give your coaches an extra pat on the shoulder next time you see them)

I have always belived in hard work, so I work hard, and then I expect everyone else to work hard. Roller derby is amazing, it's the most fun I can ever ask for, it makes my feet and ear tingle. Everyone have a different way of taking on challenges, but working hard usually gives results, and it might be a longer journey for some, that does not make them any less amazing, but it will just take longer, but I still want everyone to work hard. Practice time is practice time, play time is playtime, and we do that outside practice... I have noticed that the hardest practices are the practices that people come up to me afterwards telling me that they had an amazing time....

I think rollerderby is amazing fun, when I started skating, I worked soooo hard to get to the level where I'd be allowed to participate in scrimmages, and it paid off, because there is nothing that is as fun as to play rollerderby. Sure, there are lots and lots of things around rollerderby that might be fun, but the core is the game, the thits, the jam, the adrenalin, the smiles from your team mates and that team play out on the track. I really don't care about the rest, I just wanna PLAY ROLLERDERBY!

When it comes down to it all, JUST play rollerderby, it is the best fun you can have... and it also keeps you in shape and make you wake up with a smile every morning. But to play derby you have to work for it, it just don't come for free... nothing in life is for free... (yeah I took economics in collage)

Sorry, this was sort of a rant... but I love derby so much, but I also realize that it is hard work, and it is not all about walking around looking good in fish-nets. I walk around and look good because I play derby, and I think fish-net burns are stupid... why would you want a burn that you can avoid... (and if you wanna wear fishnets, wear skin colored dance tights under, in that way you will not get the fish-net burn, he he he)