The difference between kids who were bookworms, and those that socialised instead is at some point they've gone out with friends, daycare, family or school and roller skated down at the rink. I did that once, and sucked at it. *cue girl going back to corner with all the books stacked around her*
It's so bizarre that I would regret that decision 21 years later. I wish I skated more as a child. An odd regret. Irrespective, I didn't skate, and nothing good comes of regret so I've joined derby with somewhat underdeveloped skating skills. I am, by a ways, the worst skater in my lovely freshmeat group. It bothers me, and rightfully so, and conceited as this might sound I've never tried so hard at something I'm bad at. People generally gravitate towards hobbies and ideas that they have a natural inclination towards. I am naturally inclined to hit things. All of the sports I've taken to with ferociousness have that common thread. Skating is not natural to me whatsoever. I wonder if it is at all, it seems pretty fucking supernatural actually.
Roller derby is different because of one factor, drive. I will stick this badboy out till my body refuses to do it, because persistence outweighs natural inclination and I have that in abundance. Learning to skate well enough to bout is an act of patience. Chipping away, one tiny skill at a time. It's just a little confronting being the 'keep pluggin at it' kid in the meantime. One thing I've learned over the last few months is that I had initially broken skating up into a few big hurdles, when really it's a series of smaller skills that eventually make way for the big things. An example was my obsessive focus on crossovers. Last week I learned why I'm not ready yet.. Training had finished and I went over to my comrades to stretch when the raven-haired smile pulled me aside. I'd been struggling with hitting my stride properly, and on the advice of my coach really tried to up my number of steps and keep my feet moving. It didn't quite feel right, but better than coasting. She very simply explained to me that whilst I was taking the steps, I was exhausting myself by not trusting my wheels to work. I held on as she towed me around, and I felt as she shifted her weight from foot to foot; pushing hard behind her, her feet returning underneath but still allowing the sway that comes from the shift to each foot. I wasn't spending enough time on one foot because I didn't trust my skates. I had a go at it myself, and could feel the difference. Awesome. Perhaps this is what separates natural skaters from bookworms, I can't seem to learn by the watch/repeat method, I have to understand how it should feel. Or maybe she was just really good at explaining shit.
I left training wishing I had more energy and time to go round a few more times. And given I spent the next day pressing replay on my brainbox trying to cement the raven's words I had to try it out properly so I went for a spin that night at the rink. I resisted the urge to go as fast as I could and really focussed on getting my stride long and exaggerated, with decent power in each stride. Each time I tried to keep my foot up a little longer before pushing into my next stride.
I achieved something :)
This is a testament to 3 things:
1. The friendliness of experienced skaters
2. Persistence
3. An empty rink on a friday night
I've let go of my need to be a natural at it, and put my trust in my skates (and skaters) instead.
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