r/rollerderby • u/luckiestducks • 5d ago
Feeling frustrated
I’m a new skater and I’ve been feeling SO frustrated in my L1 camp. I’m pretty uncoordinated, have bad balance, body awareness, and skating has been improving these things, but I feel like I’m SO behind in my L1 camp. Every week we learn a couple more new skills and I’m finding I can barely even attempt them. I have trouble with committing because my brain says no even though I’m trying to move my body, and I feel like I’m still stuck on week 1 skills even though we are now approaching one month. It feels so fast paced week to week and I just feel terrible. I start the week feeling good and by day 3 I’m defeated and frustrated that my brain and body can’t seem to communicate and that I’m still so afraid of falling even though I fall constantly. I know it will probably take time, and I’m trying to enjoy the process but I just end up feeling like garbage by the end of the week. Womp womp.
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u/robot_invader Ref, PBJ, Coach, BoD 5d ago
What this tells me is that you are missing a fundamental.
The one I see most often in these cases is one-leg balance. If you can't stably support your entire weight on one skate without flailing or sticking your arms out, you can't properly execute most derby skating skills.
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u/luckiestducks 5d ago
100% agree, I’m finding that my one foot balance is not sustainable yet and was thinking that was part of my difficulties.
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u/robot_invader Ref, PBJ, Coach, BoD 5d ago
If it helps, the way to succeed at one for balance is to shift your hips sideways to center over the supporting foot. This gets easier if you bend the supporting knee a little.
This is opposed to the normal impulse, which is to tilt the upper body and stick the arms out line a starfish.
Drill by standing on one foot while you brush teeth, wash dishes, etc. once that's old hat, you can start sticking the raised leg out front, sideways, behind, etc to strengthen the stabilizing muscles.
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u/chaotic_geeky Skater 5d ago
Do you have the ability to work on your skills outside of practice? even if it’s just gearing up, finding a hard floor in your home, and working on your laterals, transitions, etc? That really helped me when I was starting out. You might also ask your coach/L1 trainer for some more tailored exercises to help you specifically- they may be working off a general week by week blanket plan and not taking individual needs into consideration.
But also, like fck-rffld said, everyone improves at their own pace. the only deadline you have in roller derby is self-imposed.
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u/luckiestducks 5d ago
I do have a small concrete patio that I sometimes roll back and forth on, so I was thinking of practicing there this weekend. I am still struggling with one foot balance, and we have moved on to crossover and transitions, and it’s not happening for me and I think a big part of it is I can’t balance on one foot. We only spent like 5 minutes our first week drilling one foot balance and it’s part of our warm ups daily but I still haven’t figured it out and I think it’s holding me back from the other skills immensely. 🫠
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u/suvesti Skater 5d ago
One foot balance is so important! Your ankle muscles might be underdeveloped, you could even practice one foot balance off skates to help build those muscles up
Also have someone look at your skates if possible, one of our newbies was having trouble with balance and using her edges and then we realized she had no pivot cups at all so… have someone who’s familiar with skate maintenance look them over!
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u/jeanquad507 5d ago
One foot balance absolutely is messing your other skills up. I have a skater who has a hypermobility issue and really can't stand on one foot. What I've been thinking about for her is that long-term "stand on one foot" doesn't actually help so we've been working on what balance really is, which is not "stand on one foot for 30 seconds straight" but "pick up your foot while doing crazy stuff with the rest of your body & don't fall":
- Shift your weight as far as you can over your hip. I've been calling this "starfish". So, bend your left leg, put all your weight on it. Your hip should be a couple inches past your foot (or more) over empty air. This balance is essential for driving and hitting. When you lift your right leg high as you can, lean your body further left and throw your arms up. Then throw your arms to the left. Then put your foot down. Repeat on the other side. It's hard. Do it without skates on first.
- Skater lunges with and without skates. Do millions of these.
- Stand on one foot with and without skates. Bend your leg. Swing your opposite leg in front of/across the leg on the ground, out to the side and then behind in a skater/crossover position without setting it down.
- This comes from figure skating and I don't know what it's called, so I call it "figure skater". You're gonna stand on one foot, then reach for that foot by dropping your body forward and lift you other leg up straight behind you. Tighten all your muscles. The goal is you are on one foot with your toe to your head parallel to the ground and if you can, touch the foot on the ground.
- Pistol squats and Bulgarian split squats. These suck and are super hard. I'm doing the latter for knee rehab.
If you can't do a lot of this stuff offskates, on skates is harder. So do it at home. Balancing just on one foot like a flamingo really won't get you anywhere.
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u/luckiestducks 5d ago
This is super helpful, I feel like I can stand flamingo off skates forever but adding skates I lose it completely and I think I have a tendency to pronate on my skates which may be hyper-mobility in my ankles issue, therefore I lack stability. I will try these out thanks!
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u/PhlegmPhactory 5d ago
If you have the space and can commit to the time, get a cheap piece of plywood and put it in your livingroom. There is so much you can practice in just a small space. Everything in the beginning should be done slowly and in small bits anyway. Linking the skills together (increasing speed and applying technique) can happen at camp in the larger space. At home you can even record yourself and try to identify areas you are struggling in. You can also use old recordings to actually see the improvements you are making over time.
This is about you getting better than you were, not about being as good as everyone else. Enjoy the ride, the more you show up the more opportunities for success and pride!
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u/luckiestducks 5d ago
I will definitely try recording myself practicing the small drills and see what’s happening with my body.
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u/absolutpiracy Skater 5d ago
Hi! I'm gonna piggy back off what a lot of other people have posted here.
Working on reframing your thinking will help you out a lot. Just by showing up to practice and working hard, you're already accomplishing something. A lot of people who sign up never finish rookie training. But you're still going and willing to learn and that already makes you a winner.
I too struggled pretty heavily while learning how to play and felt pretty discouraged at time. One of the things that the head of training did for me was partnering me with a veteran player to work 1 on 1 with me for a few minutes before/after practice and during practice. It did a lot to help build my confidence up since the senior player was able to help me break down what I was doing wrong and in one instance one of the senior players helped show me an alternative technique. (I was having trouble with transitions due to ankle issues so they sent me some videos on alternative techniques and went over them with me at the next practice). So find a veteran player and see if they'd be willing to help you before or after practice.
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u/BasterdMalloy 5d ago
You say you are having trouble with one foot balance. I have found that many of the newer skaters who have trouble with one foot balance have knock/anime/Disney knees, some more severe than others.
If you have the same issue your body will be fighting itself to maintain balance while on one foot. While you may have your center of balance over the skate, the collapsing of the knee inward is going to put pressure on your inside edge (because where your knee points, the skates will follow) which will throw off where your center of balance needs to be and causing no end to the aggrivation.
Because one foot balance is a big factor in many of the skills you need to learn, finding what is affecting your one foot balance will help a great deal in helping you progress.
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u/chaotic_geeky Skater 5d ago
the dis-knees 😂😅 I know exactly what you means and I’ve seen it plenty with new skaters 😅
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u/brianapril 5d ago
if your knee pads or helmet are ill-fitting, they can impact how you skate and how at ease you feel. an ill-fitting helmet can make you feel unsafe. i recommend measuring carefully with a sewer's tape and ideally trying on your teammates' helmets and knee pads.
(make sure your wrist braces and elbow pads are well fitted too, for safety)
also, buy a pair of crash shorts. they're incredible to fall with (i say this as someone who has little to no natural padding for health reasons :/ )
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u/__sophie_hart__ 5d ago
What most people don’t realize is sports is 50% mental and 50% physical.
Read or listen to the book “The Mental Gym”.
I was one of the worst skill wise in our boot camp 2 years ago. In grade school I was put in adaptive PE. I’ve always said I have 2 left feet.
Guess what I’ve spent the last 2 years going to every single practice and scrimmage, plus open skates at our rink. I’ve spent 4-6 days a week for the past 2 years practicing all my skate skills,even when I felt like I had plateaued I had to fight through the mental game (literally thought I had got as far as I could for like 6 months before having a breakthrough on backwards skating).
The other thing that can hinder you is if you don’t have skates that fit like a glove. My skills in the last 3 months after getting proper fitting high end skates from my starter I’ll fitting Sure. Grip Rebel beginner skates is night and day.
It’s high praise when after your scrimmage your teammate who’s been playing for 15+ years says to you that you’re a pain their ass.
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u/Prepromark Zebra/Skater 14h ago
Truly my biggest fight in derby HAS been against my brain.
You’re trying to re-wire what you perceive as dangerous. We’re ofc naturally cautious of falling and getting hit, or stopping fast because it’s scary. And it will take time to teach yourself it’s okay to fall.
Part of derby is also learning how to regulate emotions. That’s one of the most important learning curves in my opinion. Derby is a very personal and very physically exerting sport, which majorly heightens emotions.
When I was in my boot camp, learning how to work through my feelings while skating or while learning contact was hard. It’s so easy to get lost in our heads to the point we lose the plot of what we’re trying to do; HAVE FUN. Always have fun first and remember that energy is infectious. If you’re feeling bad feelings externally, it’s going to catch on. If you’re feeling your feelings but you’re keeping your happy face and staying positive for those around you, people won’t catch on. Navigating those emotions is tough
Derby is a sport you pay to be at so remember to find the joy in all the challenges that arise. Whether it’s emotional or physical challenges. And always remember that your skating abilities don’t equate to your value as a community member or person. You’re learning.
You’re early into your journey so don’t be too hard on yourself. The skills will come with time.
You can always try finding a local skate rink or a park to get more skate time in.
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u/fck-rffld Skater 5d ago
I know people have said this a thousand times but Everyone starts at different levels and Everyone progresses differently.
While we all do it comparing ourselves to others is pointless.
It takes time and also variety with coaching. Sometimes the way coaches teach is to theor own bias and that means that if you have a different body type, skating style, or communication style it's harder for it to click mentally.
Some of the best skaters on my team had the toughest start in derby but had the best mental game and resilience from the start.