It's never a if......

It's a when.

Any and all sports have one major thing in common. Injuries.

First I want to list a few sports that injuries occur in. I am doing this because I think a lot of people are blind to the fact that so many of the sports people partake in, can lead to injury. We don’t play these sports because we WANT to get injured; we play them because we have a passion for them. You can never enjoy life until you start living, and some of these sports bring life back to people.

Cheerleading, Bull Riding, Gymnastics, Football, Hockey, Lacrosse, Motocross, Rugby, Soccer, Boxing, Parkour, Karate, BMX, Softball, Wrestling, Ultra-Marathons, Mountain Climbing, Roller Derby, and the list can go on and on including EVERYTHING!

Each sport starts with the basics for that individual sport. (lets look at Soccer and Derby)

• Soccer starts with how to kick the ball, and then you begin to aim that ball into the net. You progress to keep the ball away from players and running while kicking the ball towards the goal.
• Roller Derby starts with teaching skaters how to fall correctly and stay in a specific stance to reduce injuries. Then it progresses to basic skating techniques and how to perform the properly. Then skaters are taught how to properly give and take blocks, using the falling techniques if needed.

So knowing that each sport takes measures to protect the team, why is it harder during any sport when you injure a team-mate? We all understand it is NOT intentional. We all practice our best so that we can learn what we must do in a real scenario.

In Roller Derby, we begin blocking with a small amount of force and slowly build up. Over time, we GROW as a skater and are able to utilize that growth in our skills. If I hit my team-mate too hard and she gets hurt, I feel like shit. I want to cry, I feel like I shouldn't do this sport because I didn't want to hurt my sister. I have sincerely felt this, and I KNOW all skaters in this situation feel the same.

Any of us who have been injured during practice also know what it’s like to be on the other side. We don’t blame ANYONE, we can almost immediately see what we can do to avoid that situation in the future. We take our time off, support our team and come back!

The ability to GROW as a skater and a teammate means possibly getting injured and injuring others. It also means that you must learn from that (whether it’s a bruise or a concussion or anything else that can happen). Learn how to fall instead of trying to recover, learn how to keep your peripherals open for all other blockers, learn how to judge a pack, learn how to stand properly. All this is possible because of things that go wrong.

The last thing I want to say is something that my Coach Bits has told me over and over. This is a accurate statement and I want to share it. I would rather have my derby sister hit me as hard as she can, so I can learn how to take that hit, or learn from the fall. I would not like it if my derby sister babies me and does not hit me hard, because I will never learn from it. If my derby sister does not help me learn, the other teams will, and I will get hurt even worse.

I love all my Derby Sisters and I am proud of all of you. You guys make my life better. Derby saved my life and I am proud to call you my teammates.