Cruz to the rescue...

Tuesday's practice was a good one.  I was dreading it a bit since my wrist still hurts some and I know how much Bunny hates excuses...and since my wrist is not wrapped telling her I couldn't do any sort of hitting drills probably looked like nothing more than an excuse to her (do we bring doctor's notes to derby??).  That and also because I had loosened my trucks some which made me nervous.  Loose trucks feel super wobbly to me and even though I know I need to get more comfortable with them for a variety of reasons I was still leery of skating in a pack with them like that.

I also still felt like a total douche after having to be pushed and pulled by the team leaders during pack drills in order to keep up.  My pride still stings from that one. 

Thankfully Bunny didn't seem too put off when I told her I couldn't do any hitting drills.  Also Cruz and Keela were there as well and Keela isn't able to do much pack practice due to a knee injury...so it just made more sense for us to head off to the side of the court to do some drills on our own.

Bunny came over at one point and gave us a little pep talk and let us know that she did not expect us to be able to keep up, cut hard, hit hard, or manage all of the drills yet.  That was nice to hear.  It's nice to be part of a team lead by women that genuinely seem to want you to succeed.  I read other blogs by freshies who are part of bigger organizations where it's "hit such and such milestone by such and such date or hit the road until next year's freshie training camp" so I feel grateful that the ACRG leadership is so willing to keep you around until you get it...or, if you simply can't, find some way in which you can still be a part of the fun.

So Cruz took the helm and lead the three of us in some basics.  It was good to do some more basic muscle building drills like sticky crossovers, knee drops, and weaving.  Turns out I have been leading with the wrong foot while weaving so I did even learn something new.  Thanks to Cruz's drilling I even learned where I was screwing up while doing my plow stops so I feel much more confidant in that and can stop a lot quicker. 

She was even making plans with me to meet a little early for tonight's practice so she could count off and time my 25 laps so I can get an idea of where I am with that minimum requirement.  The problem is that it has been raining all day so I can't imagine how icky the court is.  The rain has stopped but I am sure the court has to be puddled up...and it's cold and windy.  It feels closer to March than June out there today...bleck!

Also, Karen (who is officially out due to a tailbone injury) is selling me her Poison's today for $10 less than anything online.  Woot woot!!  I have been itching to get my hands on some quality wheels, yay!

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Also...I think I have decided on upgrading to the Sure Grip Rebel Invaders.  They're leather, so they will hold up better, but also padded so they should be a lot more comfortable than what I am rolling on now.  They also have the DA45 plates that Mouth is so in love with.  I'm looking forward to having a more solid metal plate rather than a cheapo nylon one (not that nylon is bad...but the ones on my skates are super-de-duper cheap) but am a little nervous about the fact that they are forward mounted.  I tend to lean back some while doing crossovers so I fear my ass will be meeting the concrete while I grow accustomed to having my wheels more centered beneath my feet...but I also know that I won't be able to help but correct my form then.  And they're going to be so much more responsive than the  ones I have now...I will probably try to go a little to the left and end up across the court a few times before I learn their nuances, heh. 

So now the choice is green boots or black.  Decisions, decisions...