Wheels, Beer and Soap

That time of year is coming up again.  You know the time when you bring your dirty cars and motorcycles to Mr. Beery's and have a roller girl wash them?  Yeah that time!  I don't remember us ever having an uneventful car wash and I'm sure that the same will hold true for this year. 

Here's the info:
When - Sunday, August 8th
Where - Mr. Beery's  4019 Hempstead Turnpike Bethpage, NY 11714
Time - 11:30AM - 3:00PM

See you all there!

Keep Your Guard Up

I've seen toe guards before. Some ordinary, some cute, but these top them all!! Why are these so fantastic? For one, they are created by a skater who understands the abuse skates take while you play derby. Most guards are simply for the toe of the skate, but she took into consideration the fact that many skaters break their laces on a regular basis. (For those who don't skate, when you are taking knee falls, it's common to drag the top of your skate(s) on the track) And so, she extended the guard to go up the front of the boot. Secondly, they just look so cool!

At a reasonable price, the guards are custom made, leather embossed and painted. Vist Baby Bitch for these and other unique derby items.

Feeling the Boardom

Screenshot of photo pulled from www.PhyscialMindStudio.com

Want to keep in shape for derby while off skates? There is a new exercise called Slide Boarding. Basically you stand on a laminated board with little booties over your sneakers which enable a sliding effect. As you move from side to side mimicking a skating motion on the board, you engage your core muscles. The movements also strengthen your calves, quads, glutes, hips and groin.


Classes are held at Physical Mind Studio in Manhattan.

Challenge

When I'm feeling down or out of sorts, I like to give myself a challenge. It helps take the focus off of whatever is on my crazy mind and makes me feel better about myself. In the past, I've set up some really big challenges for myself and when I put my mind to them, I can accomplish them. There are those moments though when I can't quite psych myself up for the big ones and I find it's best to start off small.

On Sunday I set up a small challenge for myself; To do some form of high-impact cardio exercise for one half hour everyday for one week. I wanted to set it up for one month, but decided to scale it down according to how I was feeling. I suppose it's like most challenges. There are those days when you just don't feel like putting the effort in and others when you can't wait to get it going. Today I had a hard time getting it going. I didn't feel well and just wanted to relax, but I made a promise to myself, so I laced up my sneakers and went out to run. Once I started, I felt great and by the time I was about to finish, I had so much energy, that I extended my run.

When you start playing roller derby, I think it's important to set some goals and challenge yourself. For some, I think setting a goal to accomplish something in one week or learning one particular skill at a time works well. There are others that this might bore and they need more of a challenge. Always keep in mind what works best for you. It can sometimes be very difficult to not compare ourselves to others ("She learned that faster than I did"). So it helps to remember that we are all very different individuals and what works best for one, doesn't always work best for the other. As time goes on and your individual goals have been met, it's time to challenge yourself as a teammate. Learn not only what works well for you, but what works for your team as well. Learning to team up with another blocker on the track or finding new ways to help out your jammer are great starting points.

Set up some goals and challenge yourself as an individual and then step up those goals and challenge yourself to be a great teammate. Like me on my run today, you might surprise yourself and go further than you thought.

xo
Etta

P.S. For an amazing team challenge experience check this out.

25 Random Facts

Ok, everyone. I know you've all been waiting for round two of the 25 Random Facts post and here it finally is! Today check out some personal info about skater and ref Jimmy Rage...........1. I've driven the Port Jeff Ferry once

2. I don't have any ink or piercings (and I don't intend to get any, stop pestering me)

3. I play for the New York Shock Exchange

4. I have a pair of glasses specifically for playing in and they're held together by duct tape (I refuse to wear contacts and I don't want to have LASIK performed)

5. I love Old People Cars - Cadillacs, 1980s Mercedes, etc. ESPECIALLY Cadillacs.

6. My ritual before skating - listen to Led Zeppelin. Obvious but true, were you expecting ABBA?

7. I tried learning the Bass Guitar, that didn't work out. It was a better option than getting a drum set though.

8. I obsess about cars so much that I have an uncanny ability to rattle off the make and rough model year estimate of whatever passenger car passes by me, even if it's for a second. It really irritates people in the car :)

9. I also have a nasty habit of forming math equations based off of road signs (i.e. 495: 4-9=5 [if using non-negative integers], 110: 1-1=0, etc.). That REALLY irritates people in the car.

10. I went to college in Rhode Island and Rochester, NY. Rhode Island was way cooler, though upstate NY had the best BBQ I've ever had.

11. I can drive stick. I'm not great at it but it's come in handy sometimes.

12. Anime fans creep me out. I should know, I used to really be into that stuff.

13. I've been to England once. It's like America except smaller and with much better public transportation.

14. Haven't broken a bone in my entire life. Let's keep it that way, thanks.

15. I don't own a car. I live on Long Island. Yes, it sucks.

16. Don't ask me what my favorite Zeppelin song is, all I'll do is give you conflicting answers.

17. My favorite books are in the Comic Book section followed by the Personal Finance section.

18. I absolutely love racing games, both arcade and racing sims. The Wipeout and Forza series are my favorites (Gran Turismo is awesome but it's been way too long since the last one came out)

19. My uncle was on the engineering build team for the Apollo Program's Lunar Module during the Space Race. I've seen the blueprints and held pieces of it (or at least pieces of unused parts) in my bare hands.

20. I'm absolutely fascinated by Chernobyl. It's very, very high on my "places to go before I die" list.

21. I've met two Mythbusters. One of them, two times.22. I used to be a giant fan of Dance Dance Revolution to the point where I plopped down $500 for two sets of hard dancing pads (I still got one of them)

23. I've been bowling for as long as I've been able to throw a bowling ball, my average is 165 last I checked. Yet I still can't curve the damn thing.

24. I was in Boy Scouts for as long as you could legally be a Boy Scout. I didn't make it to Eagle but it was a great 12 years of lighting everything I possibly could on fire.

25. I've met Steve Wozniak and had him sign my IBM Thinkpad. I still own that laptop.

Showing Improvement

After not skating or going to practice for quite a while, I finally made a return this week. When I first got on the track, I was fine. It felt like I had never left, but once we started working on our skills, I realized that I was a bit rusty. The next night, I coached and actually had a little trouble wrapping my head around certain drills. It's like my derby brain had fallen out. This all made me a little bit frustrated. I know that everything will come back to me very quickly, I've just been out of touch.

There were however a few things that left me feeling great! Being back, I got to see how much so many of the newer girls have improved. Be it speed, form, aggressiveness, whatever! They were moving, sprinting, blocking in ways I had not seen before and as a coach that's exactly the kind of thing what you want to see.

Great job girls. Keep working hard and stay focused because it certainly shows.

xo
Etta

Some Photos

The Rolling Thundercats were the camps on Saturday night. Here are a few photos courtesy of Krystyna Dunalewicz.

For more images click here.

This Saturday!!

An Extravagant Win

Last year I had the most amazing, first time experience at the East Coast Derby Extravaganza. I was unable to attend this year, but my girls did bring back something extremely exciting for me and others who didn't attend.........a win!!

The Long Island Roller Rebels Travel Team won against Jersey Shore Roller Girls in a 30 minute challenge bout with a final score of 65-30!

GO REBELS!!

Roller Derby Vintage Style

Art +Derby + Vintage = Love

And that's just what I found when I spotted this amazing hand embroidered, hand painted, wall hanging created by Punky-a-GoGo.

Check out their shop for this and other amazing pieces.