Mental Game

There is a lot that goes into derby. Not just the gear, the game plan, the work outs; the biggest thing you have to prepare for is the mental game. Your mental game will determine a win or a lose almost err time. I always thought I had a pretty good mental game. It hasn't always been like that. In high school I would get so mad when I drew a foul in basketball which lead into a downward spiral acquiring even more fouls. Derby is the same way. If you make a mistake shake it off. Holding on to that last jam is hurting you and your team. 

Ditch the distractions- your mind will always try to find ways to make you think that what you are trying to do is not logical. Don't let that happen. Don't let fear, feelings of not being well enough stop you. Don't let the thought of what someone else is going to think block you. Reach for your goal and never look back. 

Bounce back from mistakes- so the jammer squeaks by you because you were not in derby stance. No big deal. Shake it off and remember that next time she is not getting past you. Holding on to something that you did wrong will only frustrate you and potentially have you make another error. I always liked the quote "Don't look back, leave it all on the track" -Unknown That jam is in the past. Play for this jam and the next jam, not the last. 

Physical, emotional, and mental discomfort- your skate is rubbing your ankle weird, your pants are not fitting right, you have a headache. I have found that once something goes wrong I start finding other things that are annoying me. I almost blame those issues for the way I am playing. You have to over come that. Your skate is fitting weird? Take a minute and unlace, take it off figure it out and put it back on. 

Motivate yourself- this is my number one. If I am unable to motivate myself how am I going to motivate my team. Keep it positive. "You didn't get lead jammer but you jumped that apex like it was your job!" I always have found motivating myself is not such a chore for me. Always want to be better. Never settle for being OK. Be your best all day err day. 

Intensity- playing derby with no intensity is no fun. This along with motivation comes very easy for me. I have always had tons of intensity in everything I do. Keep it up. It's contagious. Pass it to your teammates. No one wants to play a team that is just there skating in circles. 

Your job- remember what your duty is. If you jamming, you juke the hell out of those blockers. If you are blocking use that booty and let no jammer by. Remember that there are 5 other girls out there with you and y'all have a job. If you don't hold your own, that sweep you were going to do, just fell apart. Now if it didn't work because someone from the other team messed it up, that's fine. That's not what I was referring to. 

Get to your happy place- You just got back blocked hard, your on the ground; their jammer gets through and now is lead your team is down 10 points. Your pissed right? I know I would be. As hard as this is. Stop. Take 5 seconds. Use your reset word. We did this exercise at practice. We all had to think of a few words to help us reset and calm down. They can be anything you want. They can be silly, they can be serious what ever you want. Mine are "Luke Bryan" (*sigh* he is so hot!) "Yahtzee" (this is also our team reset word) "Big Booty Judy" (totally fun to say it, try it I dare you) We were encouraged to share this word with some one on our team that could calm us down. You don't want the girl that is just going to add more fuel to the fire try and help you calm down; that's never a good idea! 

I hope some of these tips will help keep you mentally strong. These are not only for derby but can be used in err day life. :) 

~Thump-Her