Tryouts are fast approaching and veteran skater Tera Joules takes a look back at her beginnings…
With a Little Help from a Friend…
If you told me 5 years ago that I would be knee deep in a revolution, I would raise my eyebrows. If you told me that revolution was a roller derby revolution, I would probably laugh so hard, I would pass out. Yet, here I am, so involved that there are few things involving the sport that I DO NOT know about! Most people who join, recall their experience as something they knew they were going to do the minute they saw it being played. My story went a little differently…
I started playing roller derby because my best friend, Spazzy Smackahoe, made me. She begged me to go to tryouts with her. When the time came, I blew her off. I thought the idea was ludicrous, and lended her my support instead. When she finally came around to bouting, I came to her game and watched in horror (no pun intended). One of the players on the team ended up with a broken nose, and many of the skaters took crazy falls. I wasn’t surprised my best friend was involved in this, she was a free spirit and was THAT friend; the friend that always did the crazy things. I spent a lot of my early 20’s vicariously living through her. I was too much of a chicken to ever do any of those things.
After Spazzy’s game, she urged me to try out in the winter; there was another round of tryouts and I could redeem myself in her eyes by not blowing off tryouts. I told her that since I had seen a game, it sort of became a concrete decision that I would not EVER play roller derby. “Come on!! you’re so athletic! you’ll love it!” I rolled my eyes and we carried on.
All it Takes is a Little Convincing on Skates…
Months had gone by and I had evaded the topic of roller derby. I was able to live my carefully planned out life in peace. As soon as February rolled around, we went to open skate. I had always been a blader-I could skate fast on blades, very fast, but I had never mastered the stopping aspect, I used to just wear elbow and knee pads, and throw myself into the ground in order to stop. My first experience on quads was eventful, I was very unbalanced and scared, but I caught on rather quickly, everything but that whole “stopping” thing.
Reluctantly I went to tryouts. I don’t have one of those “I heard about it and knew I had to be on the team” stories that everyone else seems to have. I did NOT want to be on the team. I went to tryouts with one purpose in mind: skate, try hard, and then decide it wasn’t for me. I could appease Spazzy, she couldn’t be mad at me for trying, and I knew if I didn’t go, I’d be letting her down.
After hearing all about the sport and the commitment, I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. I wanted to be a doctor! I had to study! I was taking my first round of intense science classes that semester, how was I supposed to have the time to skate and learn about the body, chemistry, immunology, etc.? When it was finally time to put skates on, I was terrified. We did some simple things. Toe stops (aka, me crashing into the wall), falls (I sure could fall, but I couldn’t get up again), and some basic skating. I was given a chance to watch practice for a few minutes, and the team was doing sprawls. I felt nervous that someday that could be me. I left feeling invigorated. I wanted to make it. I didn’t know if I would accept the invitation if I made it, but I wanted to.
I didn’t think it was a big deal. I continued my everyday life. After a week had gone by, I started to compulsively check my email. Maybe I didn’t make it after all. I knew one girl, another friend of Spazzys and she had not heard anything either. After a week and a half, a message was in my inbox. I had made the team.
On My Way to Learning the Skating Ropes…
I used a pair of crappy hand-me-down skates from a veteran skater, and some borrowed gear. After 2 practices, I was hooked. I had finally admitted to myself that I wanted this-even though it was scary and seemed dangerous. I went through my fresh meat program skipping practices only when I had to study for a test. I had some weird fire ignited in my heart-I wanted to be good at this! I had no expectations of the sport as a whole, I just wanted to try it! I wanted to be a jammer and I wanted to be respected by my team, something I knew I had to earn.
I Can’t Quit You Roller Derby
I never imagined I would become as passionate about roller derby as I have become. The impression of roller derby as a whole in society is far different than the roller derby I put in… blood, sweat, and tears into 3 nights a week, sometimes more. I love this sport. There’s no other way I could see myself living life. There are so many perks to being on a sports team; there is camaraderie, strategy, friendships, exercise, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment. The truth is, roller derby is not as dangerous as it looks. Those falls that create the “ooo!” or “ahhhh” are actually painless! They look horrible, but it’s just another day of endurance and stamina. I was terrified to join. I tried it anyway, and I learned so much more about the sport than I thought was possible. Every time someone is afraid, I tell them to try it. You have protective gear, and you learn how to use it. Roller Derby is slowly taking over the world, one skater at a time, are you ready to be part of the revolution?
Tryouts are August 20th & 23rd. Contact join@horrorsrollerderby.com for more information.
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