If we haven’t seen you in a while, get ready to make your big comeback!
Do we need a disclaimer here? Always get your parent and the property owner permission! Check with a doctor/medical professional to determine if you need to limit or modify any of the ideas
What to do off skates:
Take care of your body, do some squats, hydrate, nourish, do some squats, do a little cardio, do some squats…. If you don’t have a skate friendly area in your house, wear some ankle weights. Walk around in derby stance. Do some squats. Do different types of squats. Squat and hold, wide stance, chair squats, halfway squats. Do some one footed jumps. Try high knee jumps in place. Try one legged high knee jumps (be sure to alternate legs occasionally) Squats.
Work on rules:
There are some rule tests around. We are working on getting some videos on all of the various social media platforms. Watch old games. Download and read the rules and scenarios. Make a little track and players (online or from paper etc) and visualize what’s happening. Find a player that you like and watch how they move their body (and what penalties they get)
What to do with your gear:
Take it out of the bag. Smell it. Air it, Wash it, sanitize it. Check the fit! Brush your mouthguard (use cold water and your regular toothpaste/toothbrush, or whatever method you prefer) and check the fit on that. Is everything in good condition? Is everything there? Do you have a good way to carry your stuff?
What to do with your skates:
Check them over. Are all the mounting bolts/nuts/hardware secure? Are the toestops where you like them and secure? Are your bearings spinning smoothly? Are your wheels worn evenly? Did the insoles disappear? Are the laces the way you like them?
Put your skates on. If you haven’t worn them in a while, your feet might need to get used to them again. If they are new or new to you, you might need to break them in.
Stand with them on. Get low in derby stance. Lower your butt. Lower it some more. Challenge yourself to get your butt as low as you can on your skates, hold that position. Count to 10, or 15, or 30. Squat halfway and hold there. Count in a half squat. Put your feet really far apart and squat. Hold that squat down low. and in the middle and count. Can you plié squat on skates? Try it carefully!
Standing in place, bend one knee and lift your other foot to stand on one leg. Aim for 30 seconds on each foot.
If you have room you can do footwork on skates. If you don’t have room, try putting your gear on and do this footwork in sock feet.
A track is about 14 feet wide. Set two water bottles, cones, toilet plungers, (whatever you have) 14 feet apart. Challenge yourself to move across the width of your track as fast as possible, and stop without passing your boundary marker. Use side stepping, grape vines, smarty shuffle. Put your butt lower, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and stare down a point across the room that is where an opponent’s head should be. Try hopping to the left or right. When hopping, leaping, jumping, pull your knees up to your chest to keep your wheels are ready to land. Try stepping facing one cone, backing up to the other, try not letting your wheels roll.
Make C cuts with one foot the other foot, then both feet (lemons or eggshells). Make these tiny (with your butt low and eyes up). Make these huge (still butt low and eyes up). Can you turn these movements into a big round spin (hint, one rolls in a foward C, the other in a backward C).
Depending on your space, try rolling with one foot up. Adjust your speed, direction, stance with one foot off the ground. Be sure to switch and use the other foot. Get what speed you can and plow stop, t stop, or turn around. Skate backwards and use your toestops (evenly) to stop.
Set 2 cones about 3-4 feet apart and keeping your hips pointing the same direction the whole time, skate around them in a figure 8 pattern and an Infinity pattern (figure 8 is more forward and backward, Infinity is side to side).
If you have enough space practice cone weaving (10 cones placed 5 feet apart is the standard, but use what you have) jumping over something (6” is the standard) leaping/hopping sideways (18” imagine a teammate you were blocking with fell on the ground next to you, and you need to get to the other side of them to catch that jammer, hop over the teammate laterally/sideways.
Put on outdoor wheels and skate (when it’s dry). Go for speed and endurance. Track your distance in 5 minute increments, give your body a break and then do it again. Cold outdoor skating is fine, as long as the roads/paths are dry and free of debris. Outdoor wheels are softer and have rounder sides which make things easier and smoother on asphalt.