my derby debut!

*This post has been edited at the request of the League Which Shall Remain Nameless (LWSRN)*

Well, I survived tonight's bouts... because, thank goodness, coach didn't put me in at all! Good thing I didn't stress out about getting to the rink on time or being prepared or anything! Ha! Ha! It didn't matter that I'm getting sick, because, you know, I didn't have to skate, so it's not a big deal! Yay!

I understand where coach is coming from! We needed to win these bouts tonight, because they're our first bouts ever, in front of a big hometown crowd who will, most definitely, make up our loyal fanbase in the future! We won them both by really close margins - the YALWSRN girls are tough, and ALWSRN has definitely picked up their game since we last played them. We didn't have a lot of room to make mistakes. There were only five of us (on an 18-player roster, 16 skaters and 2 alternates) coach didn't put in at all! We had to skate two sweet bouts in a row (yeah, since we're the rockin' home team, it was so bitchin' of us to give one of the visitors the advantage of a rest between bouts!), so the other thirteen girls on the team got a super amount of skating experience!

Now, I understand that coach couldn't put in Sea Cups or K-Dog unless someone else went out for good, because they're alternates (but of course, they knew that, so they weren't expecting to go in). But it was a good thing she didn't put the other three of us in, at least once each, just to give someone else a break! Yeah, we were left out because we're all so completely average on this team, and we wouldn't have made any mistakes that would have cost the team points. It's also great that she let Jack U Up skate a bunch of jams! She's big, but she can maneuver so well, especially for someone so new to derby at this particular time! Plus, Jack hits anyone - just like we need someone her size to do! But more importantly, us not skating was an excellent chance for us to observe skating in a real jam situation! I mean really. Speed Knight was encouraging, saying, "We'll work on your skating, you'll get it." But skating is really only a part of the whole thing - you can be a great skater in general, and still not do that well in a jam if you don't have a lot of close-up derby-watching experience (look at Sin D. - she's a fantastic skater, and she never has a problem getting through the pack sometimes if she doesn't have blockers really clearing a path for her)!

I really think coach is so wonderful! She was just calling players individually, for each jam! It's amazing that she can keep on top of how much every player has played, all in her head! We missed not one single whistle and never had to skate short in a non-penalty situation! Ha! Ha! Ha! That is fucking phenomenal, and that is pretty much all coach's doing! And there were never any times where coach told someone to pivot after she'd already told someone else to do it, so we ended up with two pivots on the track at the whistle, and one or the other would have to jump off. There was never a time where we had a pivot without a helmet cover - that would have been bad news! We have five people who are not bad jammers, but coach put one of them in only once, and another only twice - because she has so much faith in our top 3 jammers! Jess did so great, she celebrated between periods! That is awesome! We don't need to spread the load around more, we did great just how we were!

My whole derby experience has been just kittens and rainbows and unicorns! I'm so glad my opinions and viewpoints are valued in this league, even though my derby experience is as a benchwarmer. No one ever thinks I'm "arguing" with coach. Even if, y'know, I were just to say, "Hey, coach, you haven't put me in yet and this is the last jam of practice." But why would I say anything like that? Ha! Ha! Coach never forgets to put anyone in, so we all get to skate an equal amount of jams every practice! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Wow, I don't even know why I am still up blabbing about this - I need to be well-rested for tomorrow's bouts! The message I am getting out of this is, "You're so valued in this league, you don't have to skate unless we're far enough ahead that victory is assured." So when I do get out there, I can skate with total confidence because I know that victory is assured, just by virtue of me actually being on the rink! I don't need to worry about giving my all, because I already know the situation will be the same whether I do or not! Yay! That takes so much pressure off me! That's super-awesome!!!!!

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