Jollifications

Observations, lamentations and celebrations in roller derby, running and fitness. Profile photo by Simon Ayre -...

[jolly-pop]

Playing for the team...

... As opposed to with the team or on the team.

Anybody can play on a team. You just simply need to get a bunch of people together and play.

Well bonded and trusting skaters can play with each other as part of team. That takes time, patience and training.

But playing for the team? That is a state of mind. A focus. It takes dedication, continuous self improvement and occasional self sacrifice.

I have been thinking about this a lot over the last year.

It started in the run up to and the aftermath of the World Cup. Initially it came out of the difficulties I faced playing for 2 teams within which I have very different roles.

Within the Tiger Bay A team I have become primarily a blocker who sometimes (until recently) pivots in order to provide back up to our jammers. I am not the best communicator but I am a solid force with good breaks and an eye for necessary bridging.

Within Team Wales, I somehow became one of the players who gave direction on track, was regularly in the position to be the one to make the big hits and was also a primary jammer.

In the run up to the World Cup I had a number of games with both Team Wales and Tiger Bay and I struggled with the apparent dichotomy of the 2 roles.

At first I approached the Tiger Bay captains to see if I could jam more, but with the awareness that we have an array of extremely strong jammers as a team and it was not fair of me to put my own progress ahead of that of the team.

Similarly, I made no secret of the fact that I felt like I was dying for the whole World Cup tournament from something that I would have thought was the flu - apart from the fact that I was still (just about) standing. Feeling the way I did at that time meant that just blocking for Team Wales would have been a dream. But I knew that the team was relying on me to fulfil my part and I just dosed myself up on medicine, strapped on my skates and got on with it.

In the mean time, Tiger Bay began to adjust the way they made plans for the league, putting a much higher focus on growing and enabling all levels of skaters to achieve their potential. This put us with the long term goal of having a massively strong league that would not feel an adverse affect by the departure of any individual personality and encourage every member to learn and grow and perform to their very best.

With a league putting such a responsibility on itself to the individual skaters, it then follows that each individual skater also has their own responsibility to the league.

That's not to say that everyone must want to be a superstar international A Team player, in fact, a big part of what I am saying is that if you don't want that, your responsibility is to be clear about that to your league mates in order to manage expectations.

Conversely, if you do want to be a superstar international A Team player you have to play your part for the team. Your responsibility is to do what your team requires of you and not simply what you want to do.

As is the transient nature of teams, while you may be particularly good at something, the changing rosters and charters mean that you will quite likely play alongside other skaters who are better than you at that particular thing, or are better placed in your favourite lane, but in any given game roster you do what you are most needed to do when considered alongside everyone else.

This will probably seem obvious to some people, but in various leagues I have seen time and again people who expect certain roles or feel entitled to them.

I think this is often because where they have been and who they have been considered against previously has meant that they have been well placed to fulfil certain roles. But in the long run, your attitude and the mental effect you have on your buddies will carry considerably more weight than just how good you are at certain skills.

The great team is just that: a team. Not one person, or even a collection of people playing, but a well oiled machine / hive mind / organism.

Therefore, everyone on the team needs to be putting in 100% of *what they have got* at training, in games, in fitness regimes, with nutrition and with giving and taking feedback.

I put the caveat of *what they have got* in there as my very insightful team mate, Boba Fettish, pointed out that sometimes you can't give 100% of everything. You can only give 100% of what you have got to give. In her case, there was a period of time when she was completing her PhD where roller derby couldn't take up all of her energy. So, she was honest about what she could give to the team and then proceeded to give just that.

In more general terms, this is about when what you are putting in doesn't weigh up against what you want out of it. In these circumstances you need to be honest with yourself and either up your effort or be prepared to accept the consequences. 

For instance, my current situation has me in a particularly uncomfortable position. I really do want to be an international superstar A Team player, but other aspects of my life mean that I simply can't put in as much as I want to.

For me, trying to juggle a less than ideal job situation with trying to support family through extremely tough physical and emotional times, as well as dealing with what feels like a never ending string of injuries and health issues of my own, takes away a lot of the time and effort that I would like to be putting into the league. I really want to keep skating, as for me roller derby is a coping mechanism, without which I don't know how I would cope. But I know I can't give them 100% everything. I can only give 100% of what I have left.

Therefore, in the midst of this I have had to take a long hard look at myself and my situation and re-evaluate my priorities. It pains me to admit it, but I am not going to make as many practices as I want to, which in turn means I'm not going to be as bonded with my team mates as I would like to be, and in all likelihood I will get less track time in games as a result (if I even continue to make rosters!).

But I am aware of this, and as much as I would love to maintain my position on the team and my level of track time, I am happy to accept these consequences as ultimately, I want what is best for my team. And I honestly believe that the vast majority of my team mates feel the same...

My current motto is:

Be honest, be invested, be reliable and be excellent to each other!

[breaking-muscle]

How to Avoid Cargo Cult Science in Fitness Literature

Much of what we ready in fitness publications looks like science and feels like science, but it is missing something.

When it comes to research in the fields of nutrition and strength and conditioning, most studies report their findings as being “significant” or not. What this means is: did the intervention work or not?

But these fields lag behind other important sciences where studies report how much or how well an intervention worked. Applying this important distinction can provide us with a great deal more information when we are making health decisions.

read more

http://ift.tt/1e2izye

[jolly-pop]

A layer of scepticism is sometimes a good thing. Ask yourself, what are the facts? What is the source?

[jolly-pop]

A nice little breakdown of the options for those of you who have considered it and those who didn't know that this was even a thing. :)

[breaking-muscle]

You’re about to identify which muscles are working against you, and how to get them fired up for a bigger squat. The squat requires a complex coordination of a range of joints, muscles, and ligaments. When all are working in synergy, activating effectively, and performing...

[jolly-pop]

I don't know about you but I always want to squat more...

[jolly-pop]

2014: My roller derby year

For me, 2014 began in a cloud of utter sadness and emotional stress. Following the death of my father just a few days before New Years Eve, and while he was on holiday in India, I found myself in a world of confusion, legal paperwork and tears. At the risk of making an understatement, it was not a good way to start the year.

Luckily I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by great friends, from my personal life, work and through roller derby. I did sadly find that some people who I thought I could rely on didn't feel they could deal with me at that time, but that was more than over shadowed by the friends I have made throughout the year on my 2014 roller derby journey. Here is a low down of that journey, continuing on with my trusty Tiger Bay Brawlers and my new found derby family, Team Wales Roller Derby...

04/01/2014 - Team Wales Tryouts

Image by Dafydd Williams

On the 4th of January 2014 were the first Team Wales tryouts. In the aftermath of trying to get my father home from India I had pretty much written off going to the tryouts as firstly, I couldn't imagine that I would have anything left of me to give with everything that was going on, and secondly, I was very afraid that I wouldn't be able to hold it together on the day.

Fortunately I decided to go anyway - I absolutely needed a distraction and the thought that life is too short was at the very forefront of my mind. I was amazed to find that while the whole day passed in a blur, I came out feeling inspired by the people I had met and determined to follow it through if I got through to the next stage. And I did!

The second set of tryouts took place on the 8th of March and the decision on who had got though was announced on the 9th. And so began my training for the national squad!

Meanwhile at Tiger Bay Brawlers HQ I was making my way back to a position on the A Team following a long standing injury, and was equal parts delighted / apprehensive to be asked to get back to jamming for them in the new year.

08/02/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs London Brawling (away) TBB A 30 - 500 LRG LB

We began our bouting year down in Crystal Palace on the 8th of February at 'Defend the Palace', playing against London Brawling. Yes, the LRG A Team. As you might have expected we got absolutely owned on the points front but we all came out with massive smiles on our faces as we had played hard, demonstrated our team work and gained some valuable experience.

22/02/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs Central City Roller Girls (home) TBB A 258 - 174 CCR A

On the 22nd of February we hosted our one and only home game of 2014, which was a double header with our A Team taking on CCR and our B Team taking on Dolly Rockit Rollers. It was a glorious day with us taking a double win over the visiting teams, both of which have been good friends of ours over the years. 

26/03/2014 - Guest Coach: Demanda Riot

 Photo by Michael Dunn

On the 26th of March TBB were lucky enough to welcome Demanda Riot all the way from B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls. I'm sure I am not the only Brawler to agree that her presence in person is just as intense as it is on the track / derby news feed and we learned a hell of a lot from her in terms of strengthening our walls and using our edges, all of which we implemented in our run up to ECDX.

29/03/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs Glasgow Roller Derby (away) TBB A 162 - 130 GRD A

30/03/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs Auld Reekie Roller Girls (away) TBB A 111 - 125 ARRG A

I didn't actually play either of these games but the training in the run up to them was intense. By all accounts the team felt that they had managed to implement a good deal of new strategy that we had been working on and it was excellent prep for our pilgrimage to the States in June.

Obviously there were a lot of closed door games and scrimmages for the A Team in the run up to ECDX but I will refrain from mentioning those here. 

During the second week of June the Tiger Bay Brawlers A Team (and much appreciated friends) headed out to the U.S.A. to get some state side games under our belt and compete at ECDX (East Coast Derby Extravaganza).

14/06/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs Suburbia Roller Derby (away) TBB A 174 - 211 SRD A

The day after I travelled out to the States (along with my buddies Aga and Mustang Mitch), we took on Suburbia Roller Derby in Yonkers, New York. We controlled the first half but the home team took back the lead in the second half while TBB were clearly adapting to the time and climate difference. While we all felt we could have been victorious under different circumstances, we came out of the game feeling like we would be right on track by the time we got to ECDX. To finish off the day, Suburbia were fantastic hosts and put up the whole team, offering home comforts and veritable feasts of food.

16/06/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs Wall Street Traitors (closed door - away)

One of the most exciting things about being a roller girl in New York was being in the stomping ground of Gotham Girls Roller Derby. Not only did we get to see some of our old friends take on skaters from arguably the best roller derby league in the world, but we got to play a closed door game against their B Team. Obviously under closed door rules I cannot divulge the score, but I can say that we did ourselves proud and left no doubt that TBB deserved our spot at ECDX.

19/06/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs DC Rollergirls (away) TBB A 168 - 258 DCRG

TBB travelled from New York to Washington for our next sanctioned game. DC Rollergirls were a notably patriotic team and it was a strange experience having to sing at an image of the Welsh flag before a bout, especially considering many of the girls on TBB A are not Welsh. That strangeness aside, the home team were a strong one and totally deserved the win. Nonetheless it was a good experience and gave us some good last minute pointers prior to the tournament.

22/06/2014 - 22/06/2014 - ECDX 2014 (Philadelphia) 

The thing we had been working for over the past six months was finally here!!! We made our way excitedly from Washington to Philadelphia, buzzing about what the weekend had in store for us. The atmosphere was fantastic, the organisation was smooth and opponents were gracious.

21/06/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs Providence Roller Derby (ECDX) TBB A 253 - 167 PRD

On the public polls prior to the tournament there was an overwhelming opinion that TBB were going to get smashed. This game was therefore somewhat of a surprise to the ECDX roller derby community and it's safe to say people started paying attention!

22/06/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs Garden State Rollergirls (ECDX) TBB A 215 - 133 GSR

Coming out of this game TBB had placed ourselves firmly on the international derby map and had been dubbed 'biggest upset' of the tournament - a banner we held proudly, especially since our old mentor Tui Lyon (aka BB Bombshell) was there to share in our celebrations as her home league VRDL (Victorian Roller Derby League) were also playing at ECDX.

Another major factor for the Brawlers following ECDX was the departure of our long standing coach and many time captain, Kid Block as she planned to move to London and join LRG. It was bittersweet news but I knew it was the absolute best thing for her to do. And, of course, I knew we would continue to see her on a regular basis!

On my return from a lovely little New York break with my significant other, the next big roller derby focus was a European tournament with my Team Wales comrades.

06/09/2014 - 07/09/2014 - European Roller Derby Tournament (Mons, Belgium)

Team Wales Roller Derby had a lovely coach trip to Belgium to take part in a tournament involving 8 national roller derby teams. We came in 5th overall and as we were still settling in with our team mates and strategies we were fairly satisfied with the outcome. Here's how it went down: 

06/09/2014 - Team Wales Roller Derby vs Team Nederland (ERDT) WAL 82 - 113 NED

We were clearly still finding our feet during this game, but Team Nederland were a classy opponent and got our blood pumping for the rest of the tournament.

06/09/2014 - Team Wales Roller Derby vs Team Portugal (ERDT) WAL 167 - 78 POR

Team Portugal were clearly new to playing with each other but they were a lovely team to play. This bout saw our team work come together and we put into practice everything that we had been practicing in our training sessions. 

07/09/2014 - Team Wales Roller Derby vs Team Denmark (ERDT) WAL 264 - 200 DEN

Warmed up from the previous day we were pumped to play Team Denmark and they provided us with a great level of opposition to continue cementing our team work and strategies. We finished the tournament on a high.

And back once again to Brawler HQ...

11/10/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs Middlesbrough Milk Rollers and Hot Wheel Roller Derby (away)

This was an extremely significant bout day for TBB A. These were to be our first games following the departure of Kid Block and while we were confident that no one player makes the success of a team, we knew that there were those in the UK roller derby community that were watching closely to see how we would perform without her. We were happy to answer that query with aback to back double win with a convincing score margin against two very capable teams:

TBB A 151 - 127 MMR

TBB A 214 - 115 HWRD

Next in line was our very own Team Wales hosted tournament...

18/10/2014 - 19/10/2014 - Road to Dallas (Newport, Wales)

We brought together Team Wales, Team Ireland, Team Scotland and Team West Indies for a final national warm-up before the World Cup.

The aim of the tournament for Team Wales was to ascertain the right final squad for the World Cup and to cement the strategies and team work that we had been working on in training. This meant that we were doing things like playing unusual line ups, people in different positions, and so while we were sad to come out on the bottom ranking we were not disheartened by it. 

In my quest to make the most of every opportunity of 2014, I clearly allowed no time for rest. Back to Brawler HQ yet again! This time for a voyage to Sweden!

14/11/2014 - 16/11/2014 - WFTDA European Tournament 2014 (Malmo, Sweden)

Tiger Bay Brawlers A Team had a massive overhaul prior to this tournament. Some people were off on injury, some people had parted ways with the league and others simply weren't available. The team we went with was very different to any that we had presented at a tournament before. We knew going out that it would be a learning experience and a challenge and that is exactly what we got.

14/11/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs Stockholm Roller Derby (WET 2014) TBB A 161 - 305 STRD

STRD are a strong team and have been established as such for quite some time. With TBB finding their feet with the new team set up this was a fair outcome.

14/11/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs Copenhagen Roller Derby (WET 2014) TBB A 255 - 81 CRD

Having warmed up a bit from our first game this was a nice opportunity to build on our team work and carry the momentum forward.

15/11/2014 - Tiger Bay Brawlers vs Crime City Rollers (WET 2014) TBB A 162 - 290 CCR

This game was always going to be a tough one. We had met with CCR on a number of occasions before and we knew that they would have been working for a win since we last faced off. Credit where it is due, they played a good game and left us all with a lot of goals for improvement. Watch out next time Crime! ;)

Needless to say, WET left me totally pumped up for the World Cup. And that is where I was headed next!

04/12/2014 - 07/12/2014 - Blood & Thunder Roller Derby World Cup (Dallas, Texas)

This was to be the awesome highlight of the year that began so badly. And it did not disappoint!

I stood beside Captain Jen-Clawed Van Slamme, as Vice Captain for Team Wales, along with all of my wonderful team mates. It was a humbling and soul-filling journey. I won't say too much about this as I am still reflecting on my experience and will more than likely write a separate post providing more detail. So straight down to business! 

04/12/2014 - Team Wales Roller Derby vs Team South Africa (RDWC) WAL 200 - 97 ZA

Our opening game was against South Africa. They were a wonderful team that played with passion and great sportsmanship. They had not previously played an international game together and so were finding their feet throughout the game. It was a great game to allow us to get our wheels in motion and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

04/12/2014 - Team Wales Roller Derby vs Team Norway (RDWC) WAL 105 - 150 NOR

Team Norway were a challenging opponent with whom we felt on a similar level. Although we drew a loss by the end of the game we felt we had played well and and Norway deserved the win.

05/12/2014 - Team Wales Roller Derby vs Team New Zealand (RDWC) WAL 60 - 250 NZ

As anticipated, this was an extremely tough game and the amount of strength and experience NZ had on us showed through. It gave us a lot to aim for in 2015.

06/12/2014 - Team Wales Roller Derby vs Team Puerto Rico (RDWC) WAL 395 - 75 PR

This was potentially the most fun game of the tournament for Team Wales. While we did leave the bout with some pretty horrible injuries this was a fantastic way to end our play time and we provided some upset by having one of the biggest score differentials for the tournament!

07/12/2014 - Live spectating of the final stages of Roller Derby World Cup 2014 and the after party!!!

Awesome. That is all that needs to be said. I absolutely loved partying with my Team Wales buddies and long lost team mates Kid Block and Tui Lyon. Smiles all round. :D

Overall 2014 has strengthened my faith in the family I have built in the now world wide-roller derby community. Team Wales has provided me with some amazing friendships which I hope will last way after my battered body can deal with this beautiful, brutal sport. As for those existing friends from TBB - you're a good bunch and I plan on keeping you around.  Last but not least, my partner, family and non-derby friends have been well recognised for the support provided throughout the year and I cannot thank them enough.

From feeling sorry to jolly in one fine year.

Here's to a bigger and better 2015!!!

[jolly-pop]

Operation own it

The goal time has come! I leave on my journey to Dallas TODAY!!! (I am literally on my way to London now!)

As with the food mood diary, I am not sure if I will continue to make this public when I come back from the Roller Derby World Cup but I will let you know what I decide when I get back.

I still have a long way to go but am happy with the progress I have made. Even though my weight has changed very little I can definitely see more muscle definition in my legs (much more) and stomach, and my arms look much leaner than when I started. My gains in the gym have been evident since I have been keeping a log of what I have been lifting and how long I have been running my HIIT intervals for, and I have seen a good improvement.

Here is where I am at:

I don’t think I will ever be completely happy with my progress, as dedicating my time to improvement for what is essentially an amateur sport means I will never have enough time, or the correct lifestyle, to fully immerse myself in it all. But based on the situation I am in, it is all heading in the right direction.

Now I am going to forget about all of this logging everything down for a week and get stuck in to playing some derby!

Team Wales! Cymru am byth!!!

[jolly-pop]

Food mood diary week 8 & 9

This is the last food mood update before I leave Cardiff on my journey to the Blood & Thunder Roller Derby World Cup!

While I have been doing the whole food mood thing to keep myself accountable generally, a large part of my motivation has been getting to the World Cup in a healthy body which can perform better as a result of better fuel (I am reluctant to say excellent or any other such descriptor as I know I still have many improvements to make).

So it is nice to see that my diet and energy record seems to have gone in the direction I had planned and I feel much better for it.

Here’s hoping I can see the results during the competition!

I am undecided at the moment as to whether I will continue to post these things after the World Cup or whether I will continue to do it just for myself. I’ll get back to you on that when I’m back in the UK.

Anyway, for those of you that have been keeping up to date with this: I hope this has been useful / helpful in thinking about your own energy levels and body fuelling and if I have anything else to share I most certainly will.

Look after your body and it will look after you! :)

[jolly-pop]

British teams, divisions, set competition structure. Well this IS exciting! :)

[jolly-pop]

Week 6 & 7 food mood diary

Oh my goodness! With all the excitement of preparing for the World Cup and playing at WET with Tiger Bay I totally lost track of this. (Well, I kept a diary but I forgot to share it).

So here's the last 2 weeks!

I'll be honest - while I did try to keep it healthy, having work days out with limited food choice, a baby shower and generally travelling a lot did have an impact but I feel good overall and that is the main point, right? :)

Here's til next time! :D

[breaking-muscle]

5 Unconventional Tips for Coaching Kids

I’m not going to give you the usual boring advice. Instead, I’m here to offer some not-so-expected tips on how to handle kids.

An old colleague of mine used to have this fantastic saying he’d express at least once a week, “I love kids! Of course, I couldn’t eat a whole one.”

read more

http://ift.tt/1vqlOYb

[jolly-pop]

What a great article and absolutely applicable to junior roller derby. I practice quite a few of these already and find they work just fine (most of the time). Good read. :)

[jolly-pop]

This article is definitely worth a read. I got my latest set up from these guys and can’t recommend them enough.

In fact, it was Gaz herself that gave me advice on fit and all I can say is that she knows her stuff.

I have had my latest skates for a month or so now and when we do skill drills I am still amazed at how much difference it makes having a boot that fits so closely to my foot.

After struggling for months trying to do hockey stops on my ‘weak side’ I could suddenly do them with half as much effort as before. One footed ploughs suddenly gained equal traction on both legs. I could suddenly side-surf around the track with either foot leading.

This was easily the most money I have spent (and probably ever will) on a skate set up, but it is also the most well spent money I have ever spent. Seriously.

The only thing I can add is that it helps to identify people in your league that have similar size feet and skating style to you and see if they will let you have a go at skating in their boots. It will give you a much better place to start from and also will give you piece of mind in terms of how a boot will wear even if it feels a little stiff and closer to your toes than you’re used to when you try in the shop.

Anyway. Just some food for thought. :)

[nevver]

Design Milk

[breaking-muscle]

5 Simple Solutions for Anterior Knee Pain

Does the front of your knee hurt? These solutions need no fancy equipment, and will get you back to setting personal records.

Patella-femoral pain syndrome, otherwise known as PFPS, is characterized by recurring pain and irritation in the front of the knee, typically directly below the patella. PFPS is one of the more amusing clinical diagnoses because it’s basically a complex and scientific way of saying, “I honestly have no idea why your knee hurts.”

read more

http://ift.tt/1Efsl8G

[jolly-pop]

Operation Own It - Update 5

This is a bit of a non update.

I'm not going to post a weight / measurement update this time as I have had a nasty bug and had not eaten or hydrated properly in a couple of days at the point of my weigh in date. I therefore don't feel that this would be a true reflection of my progress.

So watch this space for the next (proper) one.

[jolly-pop]

Week 5 food mood diary

This has been an odd week. I ate well for the majority of the week but did eat a little party food on Friday night (family Halloween gathering involving children). However I think this was completely cancelled out by the tummy bug that kicked in on Saturday afternoon. Although it completely messed up my hydration levels. Sad times.

Back on track from Monday. Over and out. :)

[jolly-pop]

Week 4 food mood diary

I feel like I was doing really well this week, and then the weekend happened. Well just Saturday really, but you know...

I got loads of veggies in during the week - I really needed it after the battering my body took the previous week at the tournament - and felt great, full of energy, happy, etc., etc.. And then I had a day which was completely out of the norm, modelling (yes, me modelling - what was I thinking?!) for my wonderful friend who makes wonderful leggings (The Power of Greyskull if you want to have a gander) and she laid on loads of treats as a thank you. And I just couldn't resist!

I then followed in the evening (of that very same day) with a 6 course meal as part of a catch up with a friend I had not seen in a while and wanted to treat. That was pre-planned though, so although it was naughty it wasn't down to weakness in temptation so I don't feel quite so bad about that.

I also strained my groin from the tournament so tried to keep up with my exercise this week but had to take it down a little.

Onwards and upwards! :)

[jolly-pop]

This is a wonderful blog post by my wonderful team mate. She pretty much mirrors my thoughts on the whole thing. So much love. Xxx