Give and Take
It sure has been a while since I last wrote. Sorry about that.
I attribute that to a schedule that will not quit and a brain going a million miles per hour. Today I am slowed enough to reflect a little on giving back.
In the Live Action Role Playing (LARP, Realms) I play we always ask the community to give back. Help an event holder by playing a bad guy for a while, help set up, help clean up, help! 20+ years of "give back to what has given to you" is starting to translate into Roller Derby for me. So I asked myself a while ago "How can I give back?"
I came up with a few good ideas.
Roller Derby officials are, in my opinion, some of the most dedicated volunteers for our sport. They often travel without compensation, get yelled at regularly, are hated for an average 60 minutes each game, they study the rules for hours, and come back again and again with little thanks for the time they truly put in. They don't have to be here, and they do not have to learn the rules or help us play our game. But, there they are, every practice and game, calling the shots and making our sport real. Without officials, we can't play!
So, one way I want to give back to a game that has given me so much is to take on that role.
On June 25th I make the terrifying leap into officiating. I am lucky enough that there are leagues within 2 hours of my home that I can contact and help me train. I can watch, shadow, learn, and practice this new set of skills. I also firmly believe that by officiating, I can be a better player. Knowing, understanding, and recognizing the rules and violations are a huge part of any sport and as athletes/players we take for granted the intricacies of the official's roles in seeing these things.
I can tell you I am brain-tired after each time I practice these new skills. At any given time officials are watching 10 things happen and looking for a potential infraction. It's exhausting. In just two weeks of training I have much more respect for the men and women who volunteer to officiate our sport.
I am also making my premier as an announcer in July! I was asked to take up the mic with an old derby pal, Jitter Rox, at the Monadnock Roller Derby home game! I am super excited to MC and call the play by play. I am also nervous.
Why?
I have a pretty terrible habit of swearing and using certain words as commas. I plan to practice, weirdly and in the mirror, so as to behave myself a little. Wish me luck.
I am also looking into coaching. This year I help the Cherry Bombs some, but with everything that has been happening (maybe I will share later) I had to cut back.
I want to coach smaller teams around New England; travel a few hours here and there to impart the wisdom of a good mental game and talk basic strategy. It took me a while to find my mental game, and every now and then it is still a struggle, but I know how to play it and it has made me a better athlete. I want to hone my coaching skills to help others succeed. Basic strategy is sometimes the best strategy, and I see newer leagues/teams over complicate basics with weird flourishes or moves, I'd like to help them hone that!
Those are three ways I can give back to a sport, full of amazing men and women, that has given me almost a decade of life. I say it gave me life because it truly did. I went from being nobody, nothing, a meek mouse scared of her own fucking shadow to a strong, independent, (sometimes crazy) loud woman who will never back down from what she believes in, and I believe I am strong. So much stringer than I was in 2008 when my journey began. Roller Derby also made me an athlete. This sport saw me through the worst times and some of the best.
How can I not give back to that?! How can I not help a future Irate find herself on that track?
To those of you out there who don't think you own Roller Derby anything, I think you are wrong. I think you should really look around and ask yourself if you are doing enough for the sport, not just your league, that has given you the opportunity to be who you are today.
I attribute that to a schedule that will not quit and a brain going a million miles per hour. Today I am slowed enough to reflect a little on giving back.
In the Live Action Role Playing (LARP, Realms) I play we always ask the community to give back. Help an event holder by playing a bad guy for a while, help set up, help clean up, help! 20+ years of "give back to what has given to you" is starting to translate into Roller Derby for me. So I asked myself a while ago "How can I give back?"
I came up with a few good ideas.
Roller Derby officials are, in my opinion, some of the most dedicated volunteers for our sport. They often travel without compensation, get yelled at regularly, are hated for an average 60 minutes each game, they study the rules for hours, and come back again and again with little thanks for the time they truly put in. They don't have to be here, and they do not have to learn the rules or help us play our game. But, there they are, every practice and game, calling the shots and making our sport real. Without officials, we can't play!
So, one way I want to give back to a game that has given me so much is to take on that role.
On June 25th I make the terrifying leap into officiating. I am lucky enough that there are leagues within 2 hours of my home that I can contact and help me train. I can watch, shadow, learn, and practice this new set of skills. I also firmly believe that by officiating, I can be a better player. Knowing, understanding, and recognizing the rules and violations are a huge part of any sport and as athletes/players we take for granted the intricacies of the official's roles in seeing these things.
I can tell you I am brain-tired after each time I practice these new skills. At any given time officials are watching 10 things happen and looking for a potential infraction. It's exhausting. In just two weeks of training I have much more respect for the men and women who volunteer to officiate our sport.
I am also making my premier as an announcer in July! I was asked to take up the mic with an old derby pal, Jitter Rox, at the Monadnock Roller Derby home game! I am super excited to MC and call the play by play. I am also nervous.
Why?
I have a pretty terrible habit of swearing and using certain words as commas. I plan to practice, weirdly and in the mirror, so as to behave myself a little. Wish me luck.
I am also looking into coaching. This year I help the Cherry Bombs some, but with everything that has been happening (maybe I will share later) I had to cut back.
I want to coach smaller teams around New England; travel a few hours here and there to impart the wisdom of a good mental game and talk basic strategy. It took me a while to find my mental game, and every now and then it is still a struggle, but I know how to play it and it has made me a better athlete. I want to hone my coaching skills to help others succeed. Basic strategy is sometimes the best strategy, and I see newer leagues/teams over complicate basics with weird flourishes or moves, I'd like to help them hone that!
Those are three ways I can give back to a sport, full of amazing men and women, that has given me almost a decade of life. I say it gave me life because it truly did. I went from being nobody, nothing, a meek mouse scared of her own fucking shadow to a strong, independent, (sometimes crazy) loud woman who will never back down from what she believes in, and I believe I am strong. So much stringer than I was in 2008 when my journey began. Roller Derby also made me an athlete. This sport saw me through the worst times and some of the best.
How can I not give back to that?! How can I not help a future Irate find herself on that track?
To those of you out there who don't think you own Roller Derby anything, I think you are wrong. I think you should really look around and ask yourself if you are doing enough for the sport, not just your league, that has given you the opportunity to be who you are today.
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