A not too long time ago, in a Wiltshire not too far away…
From Fresh Meat to Main League, my journey into the depths of Roller Derby with WRD backing me up has so far been an intense and amazing experience. And upon the risk of sounding cliché, it really is a case of putting in the effort to reap the rewards.
For context, I’ve hadn’t ever fully committed to skating before. Sure, I may have strapped on a pair of bulky inlines (Shudder…) for maybe an hour as a preadolescent nuisance for my parents, and a few dabbles in the roller disco as an out of touch 30 year old adult rediscovering his life after a period of darkness. But I feel that didn’t prepare me for the ride I was about to go on, which in itself was half the fun and excitement.
I’ve always prided myself on having background in fitness, whether that be my own personal fitness or applying it to other hobby endeavours, such as my time spent wrestling for a few years, and time spent with my airsoft team for many more. So, having that a craving for something physically challenging scratching away under the surface helps to give more purpose to the regular physical work that I do. Whether that’s walking the streets as a postman everyday or exercising at the gym. But the real tricky part was finding a niche hobby that allowed me to mentally invest myself and passionately get into it.
That’s when I found Wiltshire Roller Derby.
The first time I witnessed roller derby was a bout hosted by WRD. It was surreal and entrancing watching all the skaters seemingly skate like the skates were another body part and without a second thought. Due to my own low self-esteem, I thought I’d never be able to do that. But I wanted to try. This lead me to joining Skate Academy, a decision I will never regret.
When it comes to Roller Derby and building myself up to main League, I found that it’s a two part process.
1. Learning to skate safely
2. Learning to play Roller Derby
You can’t play Roller Derby without learning to skate first. Which is why putting the reps into Skate Academy is so important and integral to the process.
I suppose you could say that my point to all this is, if YOU take a chance and push to explore you will open up avenues that will enrich your life and fill it with purpose. It did for me.
#739 - Mr Hazard
Peace.
Photo credit: www.mikegatissphoto.com
