GMDD Skills Clinic Recovery
Now that I am recovered from the derby weekend, with rest and hydration, I can more adequately tell you about it.
The Highlights:
A large turnout fit into the space GMDD had setup for the event nicely. GMDD hosted the event very well with easy registration and insurance USARS event coverage available at entrance, and lunches included with the registration fee. Good job and judos to GMDD for putting on the clinic and allowing us Canadians to come join in the fun.
Bonnie D Stroir and Bully Julie are experienced skaters, and experienced trainers, with a great breakdown of moves like a Slay Ride, ( you know the one! ), The Waitress (backwards whip resulting in block/whip combo) to get a jammer out from behind a wall, and backwards blocking to drop back in a pack. There were jamming drills too, and Bonnie demonstrated how a jammer can use patience, transitions, backwards skating, jumps and hops to not only mixup the blockers in the pack, but make her way through a wall, and please the crowd at the same time. A note here, as a jammer agility drill commenced where a pace line of jammers forms behind a pack of blockers and has each skater take a turn jamming through the pack of passive blocking while never letting her feet glide/stop - run, jump, hop, transition, run run run - Montreal jammers reeived the most cheers from onlookers. Seems Montreal has been working on that drill already and knew how to do it.
And one other thing, work with the rules. Ok, so sometimes a new rule release comes out and we look a new rule and go, HUH? That's lame! Why can't I do that? Instead of reacting like it's something you can't do, devise strategies to make that rule work FOR you.
Examples:
You can block anything on a person except their back. You can use your back, your torso, your hips to do that. So block your ass into their crotch, their thighs, your back into their "shelf" (yeah, their golden tickets) to off-balance them. Stop blocking where people are strongest, and go for the weaker points. Bashing into each other, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, is just butting heads and not getting anything done.
Jammer Example:
The Jammer can't get lead jammer if she goes out of bounds or gets a penalty on first pass, so if you're a jammer, be a blocker for 5 seconds and block the jammer you are racing out of bounds within 20 feet of the pack, and you just did double-duty and help yourself get lead jammer.
3 other notes:
You can hold your jammers hand and not do a whip if the placement is not right (wait for the corner), but be aware of the blockers. If you hold hands with your player for more than 3 seconds, making a wall a blocker or another jammer from opposing team cannot get through, it's multi-player blocking penalty. So be aware of where you are, and be sneaky to avoid a peanalty.
It's great to try to fit in the crowd-pleasing slay rides, waitress whips, and show-off stunts, but if you have to do it lame and boring with a booty block, or a regular whalop that isn't that low to the ground, and it's not pretty, or you fall? Who cares?!?! You get the job done, you do what you have to, and once in a while, on a good jam, you'll get to do something WOW. But it's going to be rare.
Don't give up.
If you have to work harder than other players in your league to get a new move, a hockey stop, to become more agile, then make yourself take time to work on it. At home, on the street, at the gym, at the rink, in your house, in the garage, or ask your trainers/coaches/captains for a little time in a practice to work on the thing you can't do on your own if you need to. But get the basics down 100% before adding the WOW moves. You'll never get to fancy moves that are in control, and effective, until you can stay up, stay stable, and time it right.
Take heart. Once you master the basic, you can get more creative and become the girl that makes the crowd go.. "Hey! Did you see that girl? That was awesome!"
WIth that, I'll be posting the pictures up on my facebook over the next day or so, if you want to take a look. Thanks to Bonnie and Bully Julie, GMDD, Burlington/Essex Junction VT and to the Adirondack Ferry operators that didn't laugh at me for being excited about my first ever ferry ride crossing from VT to NY on the trip home. And special thanks to Big Tickets of HCRG for sharing her truck, TomTom, and the room with me even when I got tired, hungry, cranky and bitchy.
The Highlights:
A large turnout fit into the space GMDD had setup for the event nicely. GMDD hosted the event very well with easy registration and insurance USARS event coverage available at entrance, and lunches included with the registration fee. Good job and judos to GMDD for putting on the clinic and allowing us Canadians to come join in the fun.
Bonnie D Stroir and Bully Julie are experienced skaters, and experienced trainers, with a great breakdown of moves like a Slay Ride, ( you know the one! ), The Waitress (backwards whip resulting in block/whip combo) to get a jammer out from behind a wall, and backwards blocking to drop back in a pack. There were jamming drills too, and Bonnie demonstrated how a jammer can use patience, transitions, backwards skating, jumps and hops to not only mixup the blockers in the pack, but make her way through a wall, and please the crowd at the same time. A note here, as a jammer agility drill commenced where a pace line of jammers forms behind a pack of blockers and has each skater take a turn jamming through the pack of passive blocking while never letting her feet glide/stop - run, jump, hop, transition, run run run - Montreal jammers reeived the most cheers from onlookers. Seems Montreal has been working on that drill already and knew how to do it.
And one other thing, work with the rules. Ok, so sometimes a new rule release comes out and we look a new rule and go, HUH? That's lame! Why can't I do that? Instead of reacting like it's something you can't do, devise strategies to make that rule work FOR you.
Examples:
You can block anything on a person except their back. You can use your back, your torso, your hips to do that. So block your ass into their crotch, their thighs, your back into their "shelf" (yeah, their golden tickets) to off-balance them. Stop blocking where people are strongest, and go for the weaker points. Bashing into each other, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, is just butting heads and not getting anything done.
Jammer Example:
The Jammer can't get lead jammer if she goes out of bounds or gets a penalty on first pass, so if you're a jammer, be a blocker for 5 seconds and block the jammer you are racing out of bounds within 20 feet of the pack, and you just did double-duty and help yourself get lead jammer.
3 other notes:
You can hold your jammers hand and not do a whip if the placement is not right (wait for the corner), but be aware of the blockers. If you hold hands with your player for more than 3 seconds, making a wall a blocker or another jammer from opposing team cannot get through, it's multi-player blocking penalty. So be aware of where you are, and be sneaky to avoid a peanalty.
It's great to try to fit in the crowd-pleasing slay rides, waitress whips, and show-off stunts, but if you have to do it lame and boring with a booty block, or a regular whalop that isn't that low to the ground, and it's not pretty, or you fall? Who cares?!?! You get the job done, you do what you have to, and once in a while, on a good jam, you'll get to do something WOW. But it's going to be rare.
Don't give up.
If you have to work harder than other players in your league to get a new move, a hockey stop, to become more agile, then make yourself take time to work on it. At home, on the street, at the gym, at the rink, in your house, in the garage, or ask your trainers/coaches/captains for a little time in a practice to work on the thing you can't do on your own if you need to. But get the basics down 100% before adding the WOW moves. You'll never get to fancy moves that are in control, and effective, until you can stay up, stay stable, and time it right.
Take heart. Once you master the basic, you can get more creative and become the girl that makes the crowd go.. "Hey! Did you see that girl? That was awesome!"
WIth that, I'll be posting the pictures up on my facebook over the next day or so, if you want to take a look. Thanks to Bonnie and Bully Julie, GMDD, Burlington/Essex Junction VT and to the Adirondack Ferry operators that didn't laugh at me for being excited about my first ever ferry ride crossing from VT to NY on the trip home. And special thanks to Big Tickets of HCRG for sharing her truck, TomTom, and the room with me even when I got tired, hungry, cranky and bitchy.
Labels: GMDD, San Diego Derby Dolls, training, Travel, wrapup
posted by Nia Capps at
11:42 AM
1 Comments:
Wow, that sounds like a you had a blast! Nice writeup and review of the skills you learned.
Bonnie is ALL kinds of awesome and an amazing skater, both flat and banked track. She did a clinic for us over the summer and she is such a good teacher. She's just so pleasant and approachable, but at the same time will kick your ass and make you like it.
Great point about blocking to the front of the body! It really is so much more effective, and I'm seeing it more and more. The ladies at Nationals were using it to great effect, and you could even see a counter-strategy of slipping a block to the back developed at that level.
I remember the first time I really got checked to the front of my body that wasn't a standard can opener. It was a hip-check to the stomach and it literally knocked the wind out of me while I was still standing. Pretty hard to skate right after that. That was D-Bomb from Rat City, and in addition to impairing my breathing, she definitely opened my eyes!
Checks to front of the body are also why I think I'll be ordering some of these for next season!
http://www.turtle-shells.com/
Rei Zerburnn
fishnetburnns.blogspot.com
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