The Defeatist Attitude

“I suck. I suck. I SUCK.”

How many times have you said that to yourself this month? This week? Today, even?

So you had a bad practice. Or several practices. It’s okay. You can’t expect to be a fantastic piece of Fresh Meat every day. Everyone has bad practices. Most likely these are practices that focus on skills you haven’t mastered yet.

Practicing skills you are struggling with is part of the game. It’s so hard to put on a straight face when you feel like bursting into tears. “There’s no crying in roller derby”—I say screw that. I’ve cried over this sport several times…in the middle of the track…in front of everyone. You care about this SO MUCH, but inside you hurt so badly because you feel like you can’t do this.

The best thing (and the hardest thing) to do is to pick yourself up off the floor. You fell down, several times. Everyone’s giving you 50 billion words of advice in twenty different ways and none of them make sense in your brain. Your feet won’t do what you want. You failed endurance…yet again. Pick yourself up off the floor and try again.

You might feel like all of the other Freshies are ahead of you, or are progressing at a faster rate. I remember watching someone fall down every two seconds (exaggeration) and then have her soar ahead of me and get teamed before I even passed skills. You must remember that everyone comes from different backgrounds. Some derby skaters started skating when they were toddlers, others were in sports growing up. Me? I’ve never been into sports. Band nerd? Sure. Speech Club? Bring it! Honor Society? Yup. Athlete? LOLOLOL.

Athletic before, and still struggling? No worries, not every athlete is inherently a B.A. skater instantaneously. You use lots of different muscles in derby; sometimes ones you never knew existed. Keep putting one skate in front of the other. It’ll hurt, but it’s worth it. Deep down, you know it’s worth it.

“But it’s not just ONE practice. It’s all the time.”

Trash talking yourself degrades your ability to learn. If you feel like bursting into tears or chucking your helmet across the rink, step aside. Take a breather. Grab some water. Tell yourself that this is a sport that requires as much mind power as it does physical exertion. Ain’t no one got time for mind games. C’mon Brain, be better.

Take a step back. How long have you been working on this skill? Have you been focusing on it too much? Are you putting unrealistic expectations and unnecessary pressure on yourself? Try not to look for instant gratification.

Forget the “learning curve” here. This is your journey. It is beautiful and unique. There are bumps (and bruises!) in the road. Pick yourself up off the floor. Put those skates on. Give it your best RAWR face and keep pushing.

Happy skating!

Bitter Sweets <3

Totally biffed it and trying to catch up with the pack. 

Pick yourself up off the floor and get 'em.

Who knows? You might be coming around for points.