I would be lying if I said every day that I have derby practice I’m ready and raring to go. Frankly, we have a very long season (February-November), so it would be crazy to me to ALWAYS be at peak performance in a season of that length.
Yesterday was one of those days that I just wasn’t feeling it physically. Emotionally I was hype because it was our last practice before our home opener this Sunday (pitch to come later, promise) and I had gone street teaming with several of my teammates before practice to advertise for this aforementioned bout. However, on Monday I wore adorably cute shoes to work, and I was feeling it in my bad knee on Tuesday… Plus, yesterday was the first decently hot day of the year, and it was humid heat, which will upset my knee on a regular day, so it only compounded the pain I was feeling. Add that to some awesome heat-nausea once I started my warmup laps, and I was NOT in a good place.
However…
I’m of the mentality that when I’m at practice, I give 100%. Whatever 100% is for that day, I can’t really tell you, but what I CAN say is that I’m giving it all I’ve got. “Derby Girls,” if that’s what you’d like to call us, are no different than any other athlete. Yes, ATHLETE. We give our all 10 months out of the year training for those few glorious times in the year where we can be out doing what we love on the track. Is it really so crazy to compete for skaters and by skaters? For the love of the game? To get out, work out and play hard together?
The point of this all is that when I was on the track with my teammates, I put all the junk in my head to the side because… that’s what an athlete does. I recently finished reading this book on crossfit and it spoke a lot about what being an athlete means. To me, it means that you’re dedicated to excellence in your sport of choice — and you follow through on that dedication with not only what you say, but what you do. Whether that sport is Crossfit, Cheerleading, or Roller Derby, each and every one has the capacity to breed true athletes. And I’m not talking about elite athletes here either, I’m talking about that girl on the track who is struggling along behind everyone else, but she’s never late, never skips a 
burpee, and never takes a slow warmup lap. She’s mentally committed and physically spent at the end of each and every practice. Of course we all look up to the most skilled and talented players, but we shouldn’t forget that they aren’t the only ones to be proud of and to aspire to.
All that said! My team is 0-2 so far this season, and we’ve only played away games… so if you’re in the Central NJ area, come to the Kendall Park Roller Rink on Sunday, May 26th at 6:30pm (with $12 for admission, please!) and check out my derby team’s home opener for the 2013 Season! All proceeds to go Project Sloopy, a local charity. We’d love to see you there!
Questions/Comments?
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