It's Love, Baby - Derby Love!

"Ok, it's time for tub thumping....gimme 50!"

This statement? Right here? Makes me hate my coach. (see foot note #1)

But damn it, it feels amazing when I not only get through the dreaded tub thumping drill (see foot note #2) but the entire practice. I am never in a bad mood by the end of practice, ever. Regardless of the mood I started off in! Yes, it’s the adrenaline, but it’s so much more than that.

Derby has, at the risk of sounding dramatic (I prefer “passionate”), changed my life. And I'd bet my Riedell's that every girl on our (and any other) league would say the same.

I am so incredibly proud of my (and all of the girls') accomplishments so far. I love seeing each and everyone of us improve with every practice. Better still, I see confidence being built and relationships growing. And that right there? Is the icing on the super duper awesome derby cake!!

And the cherry on that cake is knowing that derby is the reason these girls from all over the cultural and social map, have built these relationships. I can honestly say that 95% of the girls I now consider family, would have remained strangers in PD (post derby) life - even my derby wife (see foot note #3)! She and I are an unlikely but perfect pair that never would have met had it not been for our love of skates and smashin'!

I am in love, and like Ron Burgendy, I want to shout it from a mountain top “I LOVE ROLLER DERBY! AND I  DON’T CARE WHO KNOWS!"

Foot Notes

1)Don't worry Zen Master Dan, I could never hate you for long. :) 

2) It's a drill that I thought would be a good idea. I mentioned to my coach one day, knowing my team mates would curse me, but also thank me for it later. It consists of skating at a sprint for about 10 minutes while doing various falls quickly and on command. If it doesn't sound brutal, it is.

3)Derby Wife: A roller derby soul mate, the woman who you knew from the first second that you'd been separated at birth, who will hold your hair when you throw up after drinking too much, arrange bail, ride in the ambulance with you and set your real husband straight on the Derby world. (Urban Dictionary)