First scrimmage, I’m pooped.
Just thinking about the title makes me go back to Buffalo,NY when my super cool friend Stephanie (Miss Massacre then, now Peggy Pineapple) told me that English and Spanish definition didn’t always meant the same. For example the expression "I’m pooped" means tired but if I was speaking in Spanish it will mean I’m scared, and you know what: I was both at the same time.
Roller derby for me is a way of life that I didn’t know I wanted. I started the first group of girls that would play roller derby in Puerto Rico back in December 2010/January 2011 but I've never been on quads (skates) before. In my head I was awesome but on the track there was some things missing. My dedication to the administration of the group took most of my free time and I could barely practice while I was at practice because I was the [go to girl] and although I’m still that girl I found another girl that helped me as she was my right hand, as if she was my derby wife, she's The Naninator.
Back in January I had a derby wife, it was brief but I thought it ran deeper than time, she is in another team right now and we don’t talk anymore even though we were “soul mates“.
A derby marriage is a declaration of close friendship, but more than that, it is a commitment to support one another both in and out of derby. A wife is a person who always has your back. She will never insult you by taking it easy on you at practice.
That was my first roller derby hit months before getting in the track. The second hit was looking from the outside to my marriage [my real marriage to my husband], it was like I was a stranger and was seeing a marriage in the process of dissolving, roller derby practices and roller derby administration for a single gal could be really fun and fulfilling but for a married gal could mean divorce or being cheated on. By April 2011, we started the Reckless Bandidas and Nani came into my life helping me deal with all the problems of derby and the weight lifted up a bit. Right now I can say that I can count with more than one girl to help me take Tropic Terrors and Reckless Bandidas to the next level.
So the time has come, our first scrimmage (November 1, 2011). Two days before the game I couldn’t sleep well or eat and the day before was the worst, we practice until late and ate junk food at wee hours. And D-day came. The first scrimmage was two other teams and the winner will play us. It felt exciting and scary at the same time; I was both the killer and the dead. As the captain of my team I didn’t put myself to jam the first jam because I KNEW it will be too much, but I blocked. Two weeks ago I wasn’t the best blocker, I wasn’t a blocker at all, I didn’t hit or got hit in practice before but I was good pivoting with Nani pretty well, bush pushing the hell out of people. Everybody saw how good we are together; it was like a match made in roller derby hell because heaven is for good girls and they wouldn’t let nani in.
My turn, first time in that line that now I want to call my own. Lead Jammer for Niky Dee Stroys-u, really? The girl that wanted to be Pivot is Jamming and is ahead. Cool. I know I need more practice but I’ll keep going. 8 points- Stop the Jam; Stop the Jam, [slow motion] STOOOP THEEE JAMMM! *arms up and to the hip. OH MY GOD. Now I’m sure… I’m dead! I can’t see well. Sitting in that bench was like tasting god [raspberry iced tea] just what I needed. I jammed a couple more times, most of them Lead Jammer, but we lost.
How was my first scrimmage/bout?
Great!
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