New Year, New Goals, New Directions, Same old Blog

Wow, maybe I should have waited until Sunday to update, and that would have been a full two years since my last update :/

So yeah, Derby happened throughout those last two years. Travel bouts (now games, my bad) took me as far east as Maine, as far south as Virginia, as far north as... Alliston, ONT (North of Toronto), and as far west as... London, ONT.  ;)

Had my fair share of Jam Reffing, including JR in a tournament in MA (and the following year being Crew HR for a game at the same tournament), HR'd a few home games (home teams and B travel team), and front IPR'd for a sanctioned game. In 2013 I participated in 1 tournament (All 8 on the Floor - Worcester, MA). In 2014 I our league hosted a WFTDA Officiating Clinic (and had a Sanctioned game that Sat night, what a great feeling having fellow Officials in the stands!!), and participated in 2 tournaments (the Fresh and the Furious - Toronto, ONT and All 8).

I did quite a bit, but I plan to do a whole lot more. I am going to be working towards my WFTDA Certification this year, I'm pretty much decided if it doesn't happen this year, that's it. Not quitting refereeing; but not bothering to pursue the Cert. I'm getting older and more brokener and it's getting more difficult to commit to doing so much while actually maintaining some semblance of a life outside of Derby (such that it is).

That being said, I am working towards actually rebuilding myself as a skater and official. My skills are adequate and I can "get by," but certification or not it isn't enough if I intend to do my job well. There's a long road ahead of me, and a lot of work to do along that road; but so far I'm off to a pretty good start and keeping a steady eye on realistic, obtainable goals. First step: update the skates!

My first year at All 8 did a number on my R3s (a little issue with over-rosining the track), and I decided to go ahead and invest in new skates. I got a pair of Riedell 765s, which I thought would be amaze-balls awesome for my sometimes weak ankles and the like. They were HORRIBLE. Way too roomy in the ankle/Achilles heel area, the padding on the tongue was too thick and the faux leather was hard and unyielding. I experimented with doubling socks, in-skate padding, and finally bought a pair of Ezee Fits to help reduce some of the cavernous space between the skates and my ankles. They were functional, but I know it had a continuing impact on my agility and skating skill. I was unsure on my skates, I was uncomfortable on my skates. I was a sad little Zebra.

So, after some diligent budgeting and research I contacted Ilana at Turnaround Skates and we worked out a skate package; which needed to be altered a bit because the boot I wanted was out of stock. The final result: Jackson Competitor boot with Pilot Viper plate, Bionic XS Stoppers, Atom Poison Slim wheels (they came with Bionic abec 7 bearings, but I had a brand new box of Bones Reds at home, so she left the wheels and bearings in their packaging and tossed them in the bag).

I tried them out at our first scrimmage of the season. I nearly killed myself on the rounded toe stops! (yeah, I know, not the most intelligent move... but I survived).  I tried a new-to-me lacing scheme that didn't work so well (took too long to gear up), and took a bit to get the trucks right; and the toppers bit into my ankle somethin' fierce. I swapped out the Bionic toe stop with my old Gumballs, and pilfered the toe guards from my outdoor skates as I scuffed up one toe during scrimmage :(  I tried them at ref practice (the night after the above pic was taken), and between my long feet, flat arches, and skinny ankles... my heels were once again flopping around the skate :( So last night I stole the padded laces from the 765s, and dug out the Ezee fits, relaced the skates and tried them on and snug as a bug in a rug; and no skate top digging into my ankles. We'll see how that works at tonight's scrimmage.

I know new skates won't equal instant Supah-stah Skater Skillz... but I do know that poor-fitting skates were definitely a detriment to what skill I did have.

My plan is systematically replacing some of my gear (tho as of Sunday's scrimmage knee pads have moved up on the list... one of the straps is now hanging from 3 threads... WTF?), and when I picked up my skates I also picked up a SISU (low profile) mouth guard, and am going to try to start reffing with that tonight.

Another item on my list is coming up with a new approach to studying, comprehending, and adjusting to the newest (Dec 2014) ruleset. I'm just not as good at book learning in my adult years as I was in school; but in the past I've kind of shrugged it off and let "experience be my teacher." As a deputy Head Ref for our group; and occasional "senior" official on the track I should probably know my shit... so that is another  challenge for me to tackle; successful learning methods that work for ME.

Ah, and of course, a new item for the list is actually keeping this blog updated more than once a year. I know it rarely gets read, but besides pandering for attention my blogging is good for personal accountability; so here we go. No regular schedule, no particular themes for the moment. This blog was started to document my journey into becoming a Roller Derby Referee. The journey isn't over, by any stretch... there's still more story to tell.

Catching Up is Hard To Do

Forgive me readers, for I have slacked… it has been 26 days since my last blog entry…

Real life has side-tracked my brain processing right now, as I have been officially unemployed since 5/2. My time, my mental focus, and my life has for the most part revolved around finding another job, as securing a steady source of income takes precedence over feeding my ego and flexing my writing muscle… besides, no income means no Derby goodness means nothing to write about anyway!

However, since my last post I have skated as OPR in 1 Closed Bout and 1 Home Bout, plus the “Ref Side” of observations from the Oz Bout, and there are things that I should write about before they’re completely lost in the sea of cover letters and follow up emails and juggling living expenses.

I guess the best way to handle this is to go back to the 8 Feb post, because I raised some concerns about skating in my first bout and I’d like to address them. Observations were pretty much the same from the Closed Bout to Stop Drop and Roll, so I’ll cover them first.

1. Noise Level – For all the auditory stimuli, when you get into the “Ref Zone” you tune it out, you don’t notice it, you don’t let it distract you. Once the ball got rolling and the National Anthem(s) were done, my brain just tuned out all of the noise around me and I what I heard were my fellow Refs, the skaters, the coaches… between jams and during time-outs I was aware of the background music and the announcer commentary; but it was like hearing it from another room.

Related to that concern was being heard. I am still working on my brain registering what it sees in the order the calls are supposed to be made… so I have made it a habit to repeat every call I make just to make sure I have all of the required elements. Standard Procedure is Color-Number-Penalty/~WHISTLE~Color-Number-Penalty-Major~Direct off track~. Yeah, I’m still screwing that up, because what my brain registers is Penalty-->Color/Number-->ooh that was a Major/Minor… so there’s a little bit of mental transcription before I can call the penalty properly; and it needs work.

In my favor tho, is my big freakin’ mouth. If I can do anything, it is Verbal Projection. Even being tired and out of breath and thirsty… when I do make the call it is loud and understandable; or so sayeth folks around me. Psi’d Kick said that he heard me make a call in Oswego from the far end of Inside Track; and Queen Kicktoria commented that at the Travel Team tryouts someone from the bleachers said they heard my call on her loud and clear (too bad I screwed up the call… got the whistle, got the color/number, got the hand signal… forgot to tell Outside White Board it was a Major). Ah well… progress is being made, and I accept that I’m gonna screw up for awhile until it all becomes second nature.

2. Visual Stimuli – Again, chock it up to being in the Zone and Total Concentration. I’ve become a bit more confident in my peripheral vision (and the hope that someone [coaches, folks exiting penalty box, etc] will see me and move out of the way), I have been keeping my eyes more on the pack and glancing at the floor to make sure I stay as close to the outside edge of the track as possible… without skating onto the track. I’ve gotten bumped and pushed by skaters who’ve been blocked out of bounds; fortunately I haven’t been part of the pile-up… yet.

What I have noticed, tho… is that one gets spoiled with a full 10-ft safety/ref zone… after skating in Oswego, the first practice back at Horizons I was constantly skimming the walls and highly cognizant of where the edge of The Beach was. There is definitely a level of confidence that comes from knowing you have a full 10 feet to dodge a skater or take your time stopping/turning around, etc. That’s a luxury we OPRs definitely do not have at Horizons! Also makes me even more sympathetic for those skating in Buffalo, because I believe even that is a “tight” 5-ft safety zone. Eventually I will be on the floor at Rainbow Rink… should be an interesting evening LOL

3. Speed – I believe I have not yet been exposed to the true level of speed that RCRD (and particularly the Roc Stars) can hit. Oswego had a pair of relatively new leagues, skating on deteriorating surface conditions. The Closed Bout had the Roc Stars skating against a mixed team from Tri-City… who were not used to Sport Court at all, and it seemed the Roc Stars were playing more with strategy than all out speed (or just getting their Sport Court legs as well). I am doing better with staying with the pack; but after some comments between the Bout on 5/14 and the Travel Team tryouts last Thursday I have to work on better OPR placement again.

I am admittedly a bit nervous about the Travel Season kicking in… I have this expectation that things are really gonna kick into high gear; and with the hazy hot n humid season kicking in I will have my work cut out for me. I should mention here that I had a bit of an issue with the hot and humid air in the Dome on 5/14. I skated the bout, pulled up part of the track, went to talk to a few people, and nearly passed out from heat exhaustion. I wasn’t dehydrated, it was just my body not being used to high level of exertion in that level of heat and humidity (can we say Fencing in the Woods Battle at Pennsic? LOL)

4. Pressure – Yep, there was pressure. There were butterflies. And then it was game time and the pressure was kind of like the music and the announcers, et al… they were all in another room. I knew they were there; but I was busy in this room and had no choice but to deal with that other stuff later.

I was aware of when my level of concentration faltered, tho… especially in the 5/14 bout. I hit a point where I was skating and looking at the skaters, but not seeing them as a Referee should see them. I can’t say I was “spectating,” but the level of awareness wasn’t there. Once I was consciously aware of what my brain was doing (apparently, in the case of the 5/14 bout… it was attempting to shut down from overheating), I made the conscious effort to get my head back in the game, and things got better.

So, now that I have these few observations in hand… a new set of “areas of improvement” are taking shape. Some are building on what I haven’t already mastered, some are things that haven’t until now been a concern because I just wouldn’t have realized they were issues until after I’d skated a bout or two.

First, tackling my stamina/endurance… especially coming into the hot season in WNY. It really is no different from acclimating to fencing outdoors after being cooped up in a gym or classroom all winter. The body just needs to get used to the higher level of exertion and the less that optimum breathing conditions and body cooling, etc.

I’ve been skating in a knock-off UnderArmor shirt that I wear under my Referee Jersey… mostly because the stripes are rather THIN; but also because the shirt wicks away the sweat. However, I’m wondering now if that’s going to be too many layers in the oncoming months. Eventually I will maybe invest a few genuine UnderArmor sports bra/halters and modestly be damned. I also would very much like to get my braids put in my hair so that it isn’t destroyed by the constant sweating (and I won’t feel so annoyed about people trying to dump water over my head to cool me off… they don’t have to deal with High Maintenance Hair that takes 3 hours to look presentable :P) Mostly, I just need to kick up the amount of skating and start working on endurance. GVA is a sauna, and it should now be open for “Open Skate Time” during the day. Since I currently have my days free anyway, might as well put them to use.

I also need to figure out what to do about the Riedell Dash skates. I am considering trying to throw my outdoor wheels on them anyway and see how badly they roll. I should have contacted Riedell about sending me a replacement Truck, but I never got around to it and it’s been 3 months so it’s probably too late. Eventually, I need to start skating outside… not only because of the heat and humidity; but because rolling on asphalt is very different and a lot more work than polished concrete or varnished wood or Sport Court.

Second, work on the Verbals… not just Color/Number/Penalty vs Whistle-Color/Number/Penalty/Major-point… but actually using the [correct] Standard Verbal Cues. I’m still kicking myself about screwing up an Illegal Procedure call last Thursday… I knew it wasn’t right but I was tongue-tied too much with trying to get the call out of my mouth and called the wrong Verbal Cue (Skater with Mouth Guard dangling = Equipment Violation, NOT Improper Uniform). Yeah I know people make mistakes it happens blah blah blah… doesn’t mean I’m not still gonna be pissed at myself about it because I knew what it was and couldn’t get the words out.

Third, Self-Confidence. I’m still afraid of screwing up… I call maybe 1/3 of the calls I actually see; because I am taking too long weighing the impact of the action-->result. Did that cause the skater to wobble vs fall, was that actual contact to the head or just an illusion, is that skating out of bounds or does it fall into legal skating, etc.

In this case, what needs to happen is I need to develop a personal gauge by which to measure/rate what I see… that is, of course, consistent with the Rules Set and Standard Practice. I’m not there yet, I haven’t established for myself what the “baseline” for acceptable contact/skating/motion is… I think once I have that baseline in my mind, I will move a significant step closer to having more confidence in the calls I make.

I have an opportunity to skate in Watertown this weekend, as they are looking for Referees… however I’m going to have to pass on it because the fact is, I’m unemployed and have no source of income save Unemployment Insurance; which is about 1/3 what my take-home was. I haven’t filled my tank in over two weeks… just adding what equates to about ½ a tank every 5 days or so. My insurance runs out on 5/31, and without personal insurance I can’t skate, per the League’s rules. Now, there is an alternative, a $25/mo Sports Insurance… but I really have to look at whether or not that is an expense I really need to be investing in right now.

Fact is… I said I would skate in the 6/11 bout, which is a Double-Header and end of the Home Season… and I will. I will buy this insurance at least for 1 month. It may be that for the first part of the travel season I’ll just have to rely on GVA and Horizon Open Skate to get my skate on.

I’m starting to feel the pressure of being unemployed… today begins week 4, and I was really aiming for securing something by now. I’m not feeling defeated yet, but the reality check is taking some of the wind out of my sails.

I am concerned… but I’m not worried. Ask me again in two weeks.

video courtesy of Derby Mom & Ziggy Eat My Stardust

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