Derby Skills

So it has come time that you start testing for you skills test. Do be afraid you can do it. You do it all the time with out thinking; now someone is just paying close attention on how well you do it. Just relax and don't think to much about it. If you do you are just going to get pissed. Trust me I'm speaking from experience, I have passed once before (1 year ago) and now testing again. Now the rules have changed a little bit but nothing that is impossible. They hardest part is probably the 27 laps in 5 minutes. It used to be 25 in 5. I'm not sure why they increased it (insert curse words here) but it is do-able. I have attempted 3 times the first time I got 23 laps in. And each time after that I have improved by 1 lap so at the moment I am at 25 laps in 5 minutes. There is some strategy to skating around the track. Instead of skating in an oval make it into a diamond like figure. I will post a picture to help you get an idea but again you don't have to follow it exactly just try to get the basic pattern. Play with it for a bit and see what works for you. So people need to do it differently than others. (Not a big deal) if you test and come up short don't stress it. Wait till next week to try it again. Don't beat yourself up over not getting your 27 laps in. Also if they they give the 30 second warning and you are at like lap 23 or 24 do not stop keep pushing until you get to 27 to see how much time you need to cut off of each lap. Some that helped me in cross country and when I was testing for 25 in 5 was posting sticky notes around my house in my car Amy place I would see them saying "25 in 5 you can do it" then reading it to myself. Also the day you will be testing keep saying to yourself "27 in 5" In cross country say I wanted to get my best time (of course) I would keep in my mind 14:28 (or what ever time I wanted to finish with) believe it or not and maybe it's just nonsense but it seemed to actually work! But what ever method you chose just remember not to beat yourself up. Keep an open mind to it all. See if you can listen to music when you test. Do what ever you need to do. Also don't test until you feel comfy with what ever it is you are testing. Last but not least...
Believe in yourself!

~Thump-Her