New Girl Skate

So I've kinda joined the roller derby. I haven't really skated before, so I am not very good....Yet. Here are some notes I took while I was waiting.... Nervous-early of course. I've got my roller skates and my helmet (Do I need a helmet for this practice?). There are kids here for a birthday party and me, feeling awkward. Really hoping the other new girls show up soon. Copa Cabana starts playing, starting to freak out. Maybe I'll chicken out and join the birthday party- they've got cake.

It went well. There were a lot of veterans there and one even lent me a spare set of pads. We started by just skating around “free skate” then the second hour was practice where they taught us some basic skills like stopping. I'm still working on stopping (apparently slowing down and running into the wall isn't the proper technique). Some of the veterans would skate by and offer advice. These girls are the nicest bunch of strangers I have ever met. They introduce themselves and are really encouraging. I have never really been a part of a team sport, or a sport for that matter. I didn't make my mouth guard right and it was really uncomfortable. I'll have to work on that. It was a good work out, and I didn't fall!!! I'm looking forward to coming back. I want to keep up on practicing so I can get good fast. I don't like being behind.

Arizona Stae vs. Washington

Wow! I am still all jacked up from last night's game. How exciting! I was on edge from start to finish. Plus, I had the honor on taking my nephew to his first college football game. This game was amazing. It was also chock full of bad calls. Especially that absurd pass interference call against ASU. I'm not just being biased, which I usually am. Dennis Erickson got super heated with this call. I love the passion. I hope some of these refs don't get their Christmas bonuses after some of these calls.
This game was a roller coaster ride of emotions. There were some exciting new plays. The reverse to Kyle Williams who threw that incredible touchdown pass to T.J. Simpson. Wow. I think our team looked good. Washington had too many 3rd down conversions for my liking. Come on 3rd nationally ranked defense. I was jumping out of my seat when we caught that interception in the 2nd quarter, only to have it taken away by a face mask penalty. My blood was boiling. I went from such a high to anger and upset in a matter of seconds. Then BAM intercepted again by Arizona State. TAKE THAT!!!! I also loved when Washington kicked a field goal, but we had called time out, so they had to try again, and we called another timeout, then when they went for it, they missed. he-he-he

A note to ASU fans: It is never OK to Boo your own team. It doesn't do anyone any good and it certainly doesn't boost confidence. Granted there are some people who get riled up and want to prove you wrong when you say they can't (like myself sometimes), but No, do NOT Boo your own team. The LOVE you have for your team should be unconditional.

And the game ball goes to......
Chris McGaha. McGaha is magic in the making. That last minute catch was awesome! I'm glad he is back on his game this year. The game ball was going to go to Demitri Nance up until the end. Great job you two.

It's a LOVE/HATE relationship

Teams I LOVE:
Chicago Cubs

Arizona State Sun Devils

Arizona Cardinals

Teams I HATE:
University of Arizona

UNLV

Georgia

St. Louis Cardinals

Derby Practice

So I emailed AZ Roller Derby to learn more about their fitness membership which is for beginners and you get to skate and practice so that one day you might be good enough to join the derby. Apparently there was not enough interest to get the fitness membership going, but they invited me to come to a practice to check it out and I could ask questions. I went to a practice and it was awesome. It was so neat to see the girls (and a couple random guys) practice. They start out warming up and skating then they do drills and practice their speed skating. After that, they scrimmage and you get a sense of what goes on in a game. I don't really know the rules very well, so it was a bit confusing but it looked like a lot of fun. The girls were super nice too. I talked to a couple of them and they were very welcoming and answered all my questions.
Have I found my new calling?.....We'll have to see, but I totally want to go get some skates and pads, so I can go to the next new girl practice. If anything I'll get some good exercise. I'll keep you posted.

Confession...

This kinda has a bummer ending, I'll warn you in advance.

There is something that I think would be so neat to try and a great experience., but I am afraid to write about it because I don't want to disappoint myself and others if I say I'll do it, but then back out. I can't seem to really commit to trying some things, I don't know why or what I'm afraid of.

Anyway, here it goes... When I watch football (and I feel this way about baseball too) I can't imagine what it would feel like to take to the field as a part of a team and play and compete. I called Tim after the last home game (ASU football) and was like “I want to put on all the pads and go out there and run into people and have them come after me and play” and he was like “What about the Prowlers?” -AHA moment- I seemed to have forgotten. I was at an Arizona Cardinals game (had to put the AZ in there just in case somebody might dare to think it was St. Louis Cardinals -blegh) and I heard the announcer mumble something about women's football. -”What, can this be?”- So, of course, I went home and looked into it. Sure enough there is a professional women's football league. I don't know how much I honestly really considered it, but it sounded awesome. My sister , who had played football with her sorority in college, (shout out) and I kinda talked about it, but we never tried out. Tim's comment brought it all back. Why not try it? Even the tryouts (I keep wanting to say auditions) would be exciting, not to mention a story I could tell for a long time. I don't seem to be able to say for sure I'll try out. We'll see... Baby steps. Maybe I'll actually go for a jog or practice catching or throwing or kicking.

Now the bummer part. There were going to be auditions this winter for the 2010 season. I went online today (I wrote this blog last weekend) to check the dates, and the home page says that the Prowlers will not be participating in the 2010 season, but plan to be back in 2011. My heart sank. I was kind of excited. I did email the folks at the roller derby to learn more about a fitness membership though.

Hellen Wheels

So, a bit about me... I get inspired by just about anything. If I see something that looks exciting, I want to try it. So, I recently saw the movie "Whip It". I loved it. And, not surprising to who know me well, I walked out of the theater ready to quit school and join the Roller Derby. I went immediately to my computer to do some research. (Much like how I spent hours looking up what kind of martial arts training Matt Damon did, and where to find it in my area, after seeing “The Borne Ultimatum”. Much to my delight, they DO have roller derby in Phoenix! How could I not have known about this?! I'm dying to see a (game/match?).
Another thing about me... I often lack follow through. I get all worked up and really excited about an idea, but I usually don't ever do anything anything or stick with it. But, hey, so far I've followed through on creating this blog. I feel like writing things down for all to see holds me a bit more accountable. My current schedule doesn't permit me to train for the Derby right now (and, most likely, I'll have jumped on another band wagon before my schedule frees up) but if I go down to the rink and rent a pair of skates even once, it would be a big step towards follow through.