photo by Thia Penta

One just doesn’t slap on a pair of skates and suddenly become a Windy City Roller. There’s a grueling tryout process and, if you’re smart, a grueling training program to get you ready for that tryout.

I joined the WCR recruit board in September and received a lot of helpful advice that can be simplified to these three tenants – work out, skate, and do it all FREQUENTLY. But what exactly does that mean? Where do you even begin?

I pretty much started from square one. I had been in school for five years in a very challenging nursing program. Working out had, unfortunately, become a very low priority. I dusted off my gym shoes and gym membership and started doing 30 minutes of cardio and light weight lifting about 3 times a week, gradually increasing the time and intensity. Nothing was super planned or thought out, except my desire to get better and better.

After a few weeks of re-establishing my overall fitness, I decided to give the old eight wheels a whirl. Doing some skating if you want to do roller derby seems obvious enough, right? Unfortunately, living in the city and being carless is not the best formula, as the rinks are located in the suburbs. In my derby preparation, I learned to read a Metra schedule AND how to set up an effective car pool!

I started off gradually with the rolling, going to open skates and open derby practices held at the Orbit in Palatine, where I also purchased my first pair of skates and basic gear. As my confidence grew, I decided to try one of the speed skating classes I had heard so much about on the recruit board.

The first time I did a speed class it was intimidating, to say the least. I woke up disgustingly early on a Saturday to head out to Summit to go to Fleetwood’s speed practice at 7am. I arrived embarrassingly early. Not really sure what to do, I threw on my gear and started doing some laps, very aware of my shoddy form and serious lack of speed as pint sized 8 year olds and muscular men in spandex whizzed by me. What had I gotten myself into?

What happens in a speed skating class varies, depending on who leads it and who’s there, but usually consists of pace lines, relays, ridiculous amounts of laps, working on starts, and breaking down form. To this day, I still get a little nervous about going to speed. They guarantee to be one hell of a workout, and can sometimes leave you a bit deflated when you feel like the pokiest of the bunch. However, the results are fantastic. Going to speed has improved my skating ability and cardiovascular fitness tenfold. (And sometimes you DO beat the 8 year olds!)

Other things I did to prepare included attending area-specific classes at my gym (abs, legs), going to the recruit clinics offered through WCR, working on skating skills at open skates (stopping, turning, passing people, etc.), and getting to know WCR people. As the tryout day approached, I was skating and working out about 5 days a week.

I won’t go too in depth about the tryout as a. it seems to change slightly each time, so specifics aren’t super critical and b. an air of mystery is SEXY, of course. The tryout consisted of about an hour of off skate work to assess physical fitness, an hour of on skates to assess skating abilities, and a 10 minute interview with WCR leadership. It was hardcore. Even with the months of preparation I had put forth, I was completely drained, body and mind, after the tryout. Not only was it incredibly physically challenging, but very stressful, wondering if you had done enough to make the cut. When I got the email that I made it, it made all of those early mornings and late nights seem so worth it.

Of course, all of this was only the beginning.  Next blog, next challenge – getting cleared for practices!

Talk Derby with your Friends!

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