This is NOT a recipe, unless you count it as a recipe for success! I've been thinking about what goals I have for roller derby in the next few months, but they seem amorphous without being written down somewhere. Therefore, in no particular order, here is what I want to work on for the next few months:
1. Go to practice 2.5x a week. It is waaaaay easier to justify skipping practice when it's not a 5-minute bike ride away and when the weather is cold and crappy and it's slippery and I'm tired and I have to get up at 5:30am tomorrow but....roller derby is so good for me. Mentally, physically, socially...it will make my winter better if I just go. And there's no way for me to make progress on my goals if I'm not practicing.
2. Hit effectively, with purpose. My quantitative goal here is to be able to hit someone out of bounds at least one time per scrimmage. I perpetually need to work on execution of my hits, and not attempting desperate hits.
3. Vocalize names when bridging. Don't just say "I'm bridging;" tell a specific person when to start bridging too.
4. Don't forget to work on jamming, including agility work, juking, and taking hits. There are so many parts of jamming that I need to work on that instead of listing them all, I want to just make it a goal to PRACTICE JAMMING. At scrimmages, during free time, etc. I have a tendency to get a little afraid of jamming if I haven't in a while, so I need to just throw myself into it and do it regularly and think about what I can be doing better.
I intend to revisit this list as the "off-season" goes on. Maybe I'll add more specific things or post updates on my progress. :) Happy derbying!
Edit:
5. Identify battle sisters. Pay more attention to who is with me when a jam goes well.
6. "Wrong side" everything. Opposite side transitions, TATS, mohawking, c stops, shutter stopping, etc.
