Team Sweden vs. Team Finland

This weekend was spent in Helsinki, the past years I've spent A LOT of time in Helsinki...

Game over :-D Finland and Sweden (photo by Vincent Micheletti)

Ouch, my body is drained and so is my brain... I had a great time playing rollerderby with Team Sweden, such an amazing team! Such a challange to play Team Finland, so many friends and so many amazing players! Scandinavian Rollerderby makes me happy, how far we have gotten the past years is beyond amazing...

On Saturday we played Finland, and they had a very strong team, and so did we. In the end they walked away with the win, but the entire bout wasa back and forth, and it could have gone either way. They were the better team at this time!
I had a great time playing with people I never really have played with before, but it took a while before we did find the synergy on the track, and truly got to feel like a sucessful pack. I am never really happy with my performance after a bout, well, I am happy, but I always think I can improve, and improve I shall.

(photo by Vincent Micheletti)

Both Team Sweden and Stockholm Rollerderby have VERY exciting futures, and I am more than excited to go towards that future! I want to be stronger, faster and more skilled!

On Sunday we got to Scrimmage against Helsinkis travelteam, and that was amazingly fun, I feel like many people were more relaxed, and we also figured out some things that we didn't really get to work the previous night. I am proud to be a coach of such an inspiring and hardworking team!

After scrimmage we set off to a REAL Finnish experiance, NAKED sauna! Yeah, it was a swiminghall, with a few saunas and a big pool. It's odd that I've been to Helsinki probably about 15 times the past years, and no one has taken me here. On Sundays it was women only and you could have a beer by a small table on the second floor, overlooking the lap-pool, where half of the women were swimming laps naked.. I had a beer, I deserved it, after the scrimmage I chugged a protein shake, so I was in need of cabs, and nothing could be better than this yummy beer! And after the beer I swimmeda few laps with Becky. It was a perfect ending with the team after an amazing but vey draining weekend.

Overall. this was a great weekend with rollerderby and a bunch of amazing people that I enjoy to play rollerderby with! Of course it was hard both physically and mentally, nad most of all I just want to lay down and sleep... sleep and sleep some more....

Watching mens rollerderby and longong for a shower (photo by Markko Nimleä)

Tomorrow: Team Sweden vs. Team Finland

I am still at work, but soon to leave and head to the airport to go to Helsinki, tomorrow is thefirst bout with the 2014 Team Sweden. I am so EXCITED and a little nervous. I will be staying with Only as usual, I love seeing only and her wife (!) Pygmee, and hopefully she will feed me some Karelian Pirogies.

I am also really excited knowing that my lady will be watching the VIDEOSTREAM from her home cheering me on, and many others with her. I am so amazed and happy how far we have taken rollerderby the past years! Yay for Euopean Rollerderby! Yay for worldwide rollerderby and YAY for all of teh amazing people that have made this possible.

Team Sweden 2014 - first practice and first bout

The Team Sweden training group that were in Malmö this weekend

This past weekend the traininggroup for Team Sweden 2014 got together in Malmö, to get ready for the bout we have this upcoming weekend in Helsinki.

A few years ago, in 2010 to be completly accurate I applied to be the HeadCoach of Sweden, at that time Sweden had one full bouting team, and that was Stockholm rollerderby that JUST had bouted their first time. When we held the try-outs in May 2011, a majority of the girls trying-out had only one or two bouts under their belt, but most of them were in their first season and a few had just been scrimmaging. I had NO clue what I was getting myself into, and it was probably one of the hardest things I've done in my life. Having to dissapoint people is the worst thing I know. I didn't have any clue what was coming, and I did my best and I had times really fun, but most of the times I had no clue what I was supposed to do, but all I can say was that I learned a lot from it! I learned how important it is to delegate, how important it is that people show up on time and that we are all human and here to help and support each other. But I did learn this the hard way.

Being a coach this year, I'm in a completly different position, we have a few coaches working together, we have the Swedish Skating Federation helping us. And I have said that this time around I mainly want to do the on-skate training, I also want to progress as a skater, I don't want to be stuck in admin or telling people that they are not good enough, I don't want to worry about what shirts we are bouting in or if people are in time. I love seeing the game evolve and I love pushing forward, I just wanna be one of the players, one pwersaon on the team, a part of this amazing team that I know we can become.
I am so proud of what we, rollerderby players of Sweden have accomplished, that we together have multiple bouting teams, that we have arranged a Swedish Championship, that we have pushed forward and upward, we have two leauges that are full members of WFTDA going to US this year to compete beyond the level most had even seen four years ago. We have so much talent and we have so much drive, and I love it!

I love playing rollerderby, it really makes me happy, I work out because it makes me a better derbyplayer, and I love the girls I've become friends with in rollerderby. I love my homeleauge Stockholm Roller Derby soo much, all the girls are soooo hardworking and developing fast. I also LOVE that we have a National Team, I have such a great time to see everyone on the track pushing themselves, I love explaining a drill, and everyone understands why and how it's done in no time. I love that we have so many high level players in Sweden! And it makes me feel a tiny bit old, that i remember a bunch of those girls from when they JUST began rollerderby!

I love how we just can line up next to each other,  all from different leauges and we already know what to do, what to look for and how to act and react together. I love that we can do this together, that we can travel to finland and feel confident that we are a great team. We are made up by induviduals but with a great goal to push ourselves together, because it's all about making the team look good, let our jammers shine, let us all work together. And most of all, let us all just have freaking FUN!

Can I tell you I'm SOOOOO excited to play Team Finland this Saturday in Helsinki, and the next day we get to scrimmage against Helsinki Rollerderbys A-team. This is going to be epic, and I love rollerderby and being a part of this.

Team USA vs. Team Sweden

It will happen - first weekend in September! Team Sweden will be playing Team USA in Helsinki... Oh yeah baby! I am superduper excited about it!