Fresh Meat vs. Veterans

We have all been there. We were all a freshie at one point. New shinny helmet, CLEAN pads with NO stink, no sign of duct tape, junky wheels and bearings, weird shaped toe shops that came with the skates, cute derby attire with NO holes. You look at the veteran skaters with bruises, holes in their leggings, tape all over their pads, cool wheels. We have all shown up to our first practice and see a girl and think "I want to be like her" My derby roll model would have to be BAMF (Team United) I skated with her when we were on OMG. She helped me a lot. At first I was scared of her. She was so much better then me. But I wanted so badly to be like her. She skated with grace, speed, and skill. After a few weeks I had started to make small talk with her. Asking different questions (not knowing anything about derby) she was willing to explain things and help teach me new ways to do things that were difficult for me. I still text BAMF when I have questions about skates or wheels. In derby you have to pick someone to look up to. Set a goal to obtain that persons skills. But one thing is for sure... don't try to be something you are not. That is not what derby is about. Derby is about finding yourself, being your own person. Having 5 people that are exactly alike is not what makes a good team. A good team in made up of girls that are all different. Think about this; if you have a team of 14 girls that are all jammers, how are you going to have girls block? Or if you have 14 blockers who is going to jam? You have to have girls that have the skills to be a blocker or a jammer. There is no "I" in TEAM and there is no "me" in TEAM. There is nothing wrong with looking up to another derby girl. But don't ever wish you were just like her. (Plus you don't want to take a chance of making her mad by copying her) Just remember some things come easier to others. Where they may only have to work on it for 10 minutes and they understand and can do it where it takes you 3 days and you can barely do it. Being a freshie is hard work. Just push through it and look for some one to talk to and who better than the veterans? Although the vets can look mean or scary. They aren't! They know what you are going through they were there once too!

~Thump-Her

This drawling can be found on another skater's blog which is worth checking out!! You Picked A Fine Time To Leave Me Loose Wheel