Toe Stop Slowing You Down

      So we all hate when our toe stops fall out. Maybe I am a little behind, maybe some one has already figured this out. But I am going to just put it out there. 

      Being fed up with my stupid toe stops I began to ponder on how to fix the issue. Last Friday night I was at the bar talking with a local farmer (family friend) explaining the issue that the toe stop was coming out of the plate. He wanted a visual so I ran to my car and got my skate. We looked over the skate. Thought about the possible ways to fix it, but none really seemed like it would do the job. I went to the local hardware store and browsed the nuts & bolts isle trying to think of something. And then it hit me like a brick wall. A lock washer. So simple. I don't know when I didn't think of this before! So I took off the old washer and simply replaced it with the lock washer. Here is a little bit more in detail about it off of Wikipedia "A split washer or a spring lock washer is a ring split at one point and bent into a helical shape. This causes the washer to exert a spring force between the fastener's head and the substrate, which maintains the washer hard against the substrate and the bolt thread hard against the nut or substrate thread, creating more friction and resistance to rotation." 

      Last night I put it to the test when we were scrimmaging. We all know we scrimmaged for what maybe like 2 hours (at least it seemed like it) I NEVER once had to tighten my toe stop, it never once came lose. It was the greatest feeling ever. Normally I would fight with the stupid thing after every jam. 

      Like I said, maybe some one has already figured this one out but I am just discovering it. It may just be one of the best things since sliced bread at this point! 

<<Lock washer before it has been tightened down on your skate. 

<< This is what it looks like on my skate! 

Do you do something different to keep your toe stops in? 

~Thumpy 

Feedback

So- you want some feedback on your skills. That's great to hear- as a skater that is how you will get better! BUT please keep in mind some of the following things.

• When asking for feedback make sure it is the appropriate time to do so. In the middle of a bout- not such a good time. At practice in the middle of the drill when your coach is trying to help others- again not such a great time. Contact your coach, captain or who ever and maybe set up a time where you can meet and go over things. 
• Make sure you are asking the right person. As a new skater this could be hard since you may not know a lot of people. That would be a good time to talk to your coach and ask who you should ask. If you are asking a fellow skater, make sure the skater you are asking knows weather or not you are doing it correctly, that way you don't get told the wrong thing.
• When you ask for feedback be specific. Its really hard to answer "How am I doing" that is just a generalized question. Instead you could ask "How are my crossovers looking? Anything you think I should change-or work on?" 
• Know what you need to work on before you ask. It's hard to give feedback on a skater if they don't know what they need to work on. This goes back to the bullet above. 
• Be OK with constructive criticism. Nothing is worse then asking for feedback and then they tell you "you could go a little deeper in your crossovers" and then the skater asking gets mad. You wanted to know- so be grateful that they are helping you out- they aren't bashing you. 
• Watch yourself. It's OK to record yourself doing drills. I do it a lot, especially when working on my apex jumps. 

Learn your strengths and weaknesses. This will be your biggest success in getting feedback. 

~Thumpy 

What Impact Has Derby Had on Your Life?

Derby- we all love it. But what has been done for you?

When I first started derby, I was going through a rough break up of 3 years, 1 year out of high school and living on my own. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted out of life, or what I was doing with my life. Of course I had my drinking buddies, but only a few really close friends. My cousin invited me to watch her team and I fell in love. I started practice with them the next week. At first I was in it for the cool out-fits and hype of being on a derby team. But as my skills advanced I realized derby wasn't about the clothes. It's a sisterhood. The friends I have made in my derby career are some of the best ones I have ever had. Not just my teammates but skaters from other teams. It's like a big family. Derby has helped me realize who I am as a person. It has shown my strengths and weaknesses. Derby has taught me it's OK to be weird or different. Skaters come from all walks of life and that is OK. Your skates don't care what you look like or what you did that day- and neither does derby. There is no judging in derby. Everyone in derby is there for derby.
The popular phrase is "Derby Saved My Soul" or "Derby Saved My Life" and in the beginning I never really understood that. Now I do. Without derby I have no idea what I would be doing with my time. I am so grateful that I was introduced to this sport and the wonderful people in it. I have only been in the derby community for 3 years but I have loved every second and would not change it for the world. I am looking forward to the many years that will come.

~Thump-Her

What's In Your Gear Bag??

 

I hate when it comes time to clean out my gear bag- for the most part. I tend to find lots of things that I have missed placed, forgot about or even just stuffed in there for lack of a garbage can. 

 

 

The contents of my bag usually has the following:

 

STENCH                            Black & White jersey

Gear                                    Towels

Skates                                 Water bottles             

Snacks                                 Skate tool

Extra contacts                     Contact solution

Those pesky tampons         Small first aid kit

Chap Stick                          Hair ties/bobby pins 



Raunchy Socks                   Screw Driver

Extra Wheels                      Extra Bearings

Misc nuts, bolts and washers, toe stops

Duct tape (at least one roll)

 

This is just my bag- some times I have more interesting things but for the most part this is a pretty good overview.

 

What's in your bag? What's the weirdest thing you have ever seen in a skate bag? Comment below!

 

-Thump-Her

Simple Things That Will Make You A Better Skater

    Workout on Skates– Practicing your favorite workouts such as squats, burpees and one-legged deadlifts can really improve your balance and stability, it will help you feel your skates and how your trucks and wheels behave under your feet. Try and control what your wheels are doing whilst balancing and performing a squat, it will really test your stabilizer muscles, and core. You can also use your skates like ankle weights performing leg raises and donkey kicks or take them off and use them as hand weights or makeshift kettle bells!

    Housework on Skates– Just wearing your skates around the house, going about your daily activities can really help you become one with them. It might even mean you get your housework done quicker. The more at home you feel in your skates, the better you will feel in them on the track. If you have carpet like I do, it makes it more of a workout and you really have to use strength to get around the house- but makes it a breeze when you get to practice!

    Outdoor Skating– If you are used to skating on polished concrete, smooth, flat surfaces this will be an eye opener. There are all sorts of obstacles– stones, drains, surface changes, random bumps in the road/sideway – great for building your stability, core and awareness. And--because there tends to be a lot of resistance, it’s a good cardio workout too, especially skating uphill! Don't forget to wear your pads, especially your helmet- anything can come out of nowhere and leave you on your booty. Yes you may feel like you look silly, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I even wear my knee pads to a skating rink. You never know when the children are going to wipe out in front of you and you will need to take a knee! (I learned that the hard way)

    Skate Park– If you have a skate park nearby, go check it out. Most of the time there is a good variety of ramps of different inclines and maybe even some bowls, half and quaterpipes and other things that will really test your stability, core strength and bravery! Having the guts to drop into a bowl or take on a jump, even if it’s just a tiny one to begin, will increase your confidence, and it's always fun to show up the teenage skateboarders plus not only that but you will look pretty wicked. Please WEAR ALL OF YOUR GEAR!

    Roller Hockey-  Go pick up a game with the local kids down the street. The quick changes in direction, stopping on a dime and using your arms and legs in coordination in roller hockey can really help improve your agility. Since hockey is played in all directions, not just to the left will also help balance your body rather than only being able to do stuff in one direction like roller derby. If you can handle people flinging hockey pucks and hockey sticks towards you, there will be no fear when playing derby!

Customizing Skates To YOUR Style

What works for one skater will not work for another. There are just so many different things that affect other things. To list a few, weight, height, skating style, the way your foot fits in the boot, are you a jammer, a blocker? Unless you are the exact same height, weight--let me take that back, that still won't matter because everyone skates different.
So, you bought new skates. You skated with them for awhile. Your skills are improving and you are looking at different options to upgrade your skates. There are so many different things you can do with your skates. One boot has so many little things that you can change, adjust, take a part, change out. Simply, you have endless possibilities.
To start with the basics of customizing your skates, start simple and work your way up. Here is what I did. (Keep in mind, I am just a 22 kid that fell in love with derby and have just researched and found what works for me)

• Wheels- What kind of wheels are you? When I started derby I skated on 88A, that time- I was not a jammer, not even a blocker. I was just happy if I could make it a whole lap without falling. Now I have about 3 years under my belt and I know how to control my speed, and want more speed. So I started to play with wheels. Messing with your wheels is a pretty cheap way to help you get the most out of your skates. Everyone is a little different. I now skate with a set  up that looks the picture below. Excuse my horrible drawling skills...

<<Now again everyone is different and I actually am thinking about switching it up. You just have to play around with different hardness, size, and placement.
The general rule when it comes to skate wheels is that larger players should have harder wheels and smaller players should have softer wheels. Your wheels need to be soft enough to give you some traction, but hard enough to facilitate smooth, quick rolling. The more force you’re putting on your wheels-your weight, the harder your wheels can be while still hitting that sweet spot between grip and speed.
Check out the get informational video below about wheels!

• Laces- Now how do you lace your skates? How do you lace your running shoes? How do you lace you work boots? I never put much thought into how changing the way I laced my skate would have any change in the way I skated; I was WRONG! You can use Google to find out different ways but here are two sites I have looked at and found help full. The first site is Ian's Shoelace Site. It has so many different ways to lace up your shoes. It also explains why you would want to lace this way, and shows a color diagram which is really helpful. Also the blog KATIERUNSTHIS is a good place to looks. She does not list as many ways to lace up but it is a good information piece.  I really like to lace up Bowtie style.

• Cushions- Cushions are small and real easy to forget about. "Normally" light skaters use the softer cushions and heavier skaters will use the harder ones. But again- Everyone is different. Bonnie Thunders who is a light skater uses really hard cushions. Harder cushions require more force to change your skating angle but they hold a turn better and provide a bit more “snap” coming out of a turn when they straighten out. Softer bushings help skaters get a more severe angle on their skates and let them change direction quicker and easier.
• Plates- There are lots of different things you can do with your plates, lots of options. You can adjust your tension of your trucks- I keep my front trucks a little loose to help with my Tomahawks. When you look at plates you want to focus on strength, weight, stability, and responsiveness. Stability and responsiveness has a lot to do with the kingpin angle and types of trucks. Plates are generally made out of nylon, aluminum, or magnesium- there is one plate made of carbon fiber. Nylon is usually the lightest material to make plates out of, but it is generally also the weakest. Nylon bends and flexes under weight, making response sluggish, and making them not a very suitable choice for derby due to the constant beating and DEFINITELY not a suitable choice for a heavier skater. Aluminum is much stronger and stiffer, it won't really bend under a lot of weight, and can take much more intense skating than nylon, but that also means that the plate itself will have a little added weight. Some aluminum plates are very heavy- Powerdyne Triton, Sure-Grip -- to name a few, not all a heavy- Sure-Grip Avenger aluminum version. Keep in mind that some have a scary history of bending in weaker areas- Powerdyne Triton and Powerdyne Revenge or even snapping in half - Powerdyne Triton. Magnesium is stiffer and lighter than aluminum, though more expensive. Some people feel that magnesium plates hurt their feet because they are so unflexy, but they tend to be a good way to get a light plate that is also strong and stiff. Right now, the only magnesium plate that is easy to get your hands on is the Sure-Grip Avenger magnesium.The other big factor to consider when looking for a plate is its kingpin angle, which goes along with the type of trucks a plate uses. Most plates have around a 10 to 15 degree kingpin angle or a 45 degree kingpin angle. Basically, the smaller the number, the more stable you’ll feel on your skates, but the less turning you’ll get out of them. 10/15 degree kingpins don’t turn very well, and make weaving and juking hard. They are great for going really fast and straight- and we all know roller derby is not played in a straight line! 45 degree kingpin angles are a bit more difficult to go straight and fast on, but turn amazingly well. Crossovers, weaving, and sharp cuts are much easier on them, but you do sacrifice some stability. They take some getting used to, especially if you’ve been skating on a 10/15.Plate sizing can seem very confusing, since most skate manufacturers use arbitrary numbers to size their plates which do not correlate to boot sizes or other plates. The best way to size a plate is to measure your foot where you measure depends on the mount you want, measuring from the ball of your foot to the center of the heel, is a good way to do this. This measurement is your wheelbase. Now find a size chart for the plates you want online. Compare your wheelbase to the measurements on the chart and pick the one closest.

-Thump-Her

Back In Action

Feels great to be back on skates, feels like my life is back to normal. Well for the most part. There were days that I just didn't have the admission to go to practice. To deal with, well lets not get into that right now. If you think that when life has you down that maybe you need to step away from derby and catch your breath... you could be wrong, at least I was. I thought that just because life had kicked me in the box that I needed to removed myself from the team to keep them from becoming damaged. WRONG all I did was hurt myself and let down my team. This time it is not going to happen like that. I have goals, (not saying I didn't before) but this time it is different, I have been at the bottom and I came back. This time I am going to strive to be the best that I can be. Try-outs are on the 19th and you beat your ass I am trying out for the charter team. Yes I still love my Ped Maulers Team and still want to be captain. But it would be cool if I could skate and be capt. A girl can dream right? 

I have heard this many times before and I have no idea who wrote it but..."Goals that are not written down are just dreams" That statement is true on many different levels.  So what am I going to do to reach my goals....

• Stop drinking pop- I've done it before I can do it again
• Stop smoking- aaahhhh, I stopped a year ago and when all my stress started I started smoking when I drank, now its 1 a day. Yup going to be kickin that habbit!
• Work out more- I paid like $70 for Insanity and used it like 3 days. 
• Eat better- On going battle 
• Drink more water- Another on going battle 

  So you have to start somewhere right? Well I am starting here. 

~Thumpy