Making walls that will make jammers cry

Alternative names: Making Jammers Cry/Chop Stop

Objective: Starting with the basics of a chop stop and building into insanely solid walls.

Typical length of drill: 15-20

Skill level required: intermediate

Description: CLICK LINK FOR VIDEO

Additional notes: 

XOXO
Krissy Krash
www.krissykrash.com

Chumbawamba

This drill is a reader submission from G-Wrex of East Vic Roller Derby
 
Alternative names: --

Objective: Controlled single knee taps, maintaining momentum; endurance

Typical length of drill: 3 1/2 minutes

Materials needed: A copy of the song "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba and amplification of some sort.

Skill level required: Safe falling skills - non-contact

Description: Skaters skate around the track in derby direction. "Tubthumping" is played and every time "down" appears in the lyrics, skaters must do a single knee tap, then get up again... 'cause they're never gonna keep you down. Skaters continue for the entire song, without using their hands to help them get up and without coming to a stop if possible.

Additional notes: If you'd like you can add extra lyrics-based instructions, e.g. a transition for every "pissing the night away" or a C-curve every time "he takes a ______ drink"

Musical Stops

Alternative names: --

Objective: Stopping on command in small spaces; pacing

Typical length of drill: 10 mins

Materials needed: Varies -- I use a track that is permanently laid down and create "boxes" between 10 ft -markers, but you can also choose to create boxes elsewhere in your space, and depending on your skaters' skill level they can be either large or small boxes.  At the very least you will need either chalk, masking tape, or cones to mark out the boxes that you will want your skaters to stop in.

Skill level required: Safe stopping and falling skills

Description: For the original version of Musical Stops you will need a laid out track with the 10 ft -markers included.  Use chalk, cones, or masking tape to mark out the boxes.  What I'm referring to here are small areas in which your skaters will be required to stop.  For my freshmeat, I mark out five 10 ft -boxes as in the illustration to the right.

Now comes the fun part: While you play music, the skaters skate around the track in a counter-clockwise direction.  Each time you abruptly stop the music, the skaters come to a complete stop within one of the boxes on the track.  The last person to come to a stop within each of the five boxes is out of the game (this is on the honor system, people).  If a skater is all by herself in a box, s/he can remain in the game.  The game is over when you decide--I usually end it when it's clear that the five people left on the track have set a pace that allows each of them to get to a box by themselves when the music ends, but, what you can do alternatively is reduce the number of boxes once you get down to the same number of skaters as there are boxes, and from here go with the traditional musical chairs -route: The last person standing wins.  Depending on the skill level of your skaters this can be a fun way to end it.

If you have really skilled skaters, this game can be adapted and made more challenging:

• Mark out the boxes in different parts of the space
• Don't dictate what direction skaters can skate in
• Reduce the size of the boxes
• Increase the number of boxes while limiting the number of skaters allowed per box like traditional musical chairs
• ALL of the above as in the illustration to the right

Additional notes: This is a really fun drill that I came up with while training the freshmeat in Boston.  I really like to always end every practice with a game that uses the skills we've practiced over the course of the three hours, because games (and especially competitive ones) gets the skaters to think about the object of the GAME and not about their feet.  This one is good for pacing and stopping in short distances.

Obstacle Course

Alternative names: Popsicle Horse

Objective: Customizable, but a basic obstacle course is great for developing agility

Typical length of drill: 15 minutes

Materials needed: Whatever you can think of!  Lots of cones to jump over, people to juke around around, pads to step over, lines at which to perform a fall, etc.

Skill level required: None -- you can customize every obstacle course to the skill level of your skaters

Description: Decide in advance if you want your obstacle course to be a continuous loop or a one-at-a-time set up where the other skaters do squats (or something similar) while waiting in line for their turn.  Set up obstacles around the track that create situations for skaters to practice something that you have been working on recently or something that they need to work on in particular (e.g. weaving, jumping, hopping, crossovers, backwards skating, falls, slides, stops, communication, sideways skating, stepping, etc.).  Once you are finished and have demonstrated for the skaters what they should be doing through the course, let them have at it!  Run the course for as long as needed, or until everyone has gotten to try it a couple of times.  The illustrations below show examples of obstacle courses.

Illustration of a one-at-a-time obstacle course.

Illustration of a continuous obstacle course with TWO paths to choose from.

Additional notes: This is a simple classic that can be customized to whatever your needs are.  The obstacle course can incorporate both simple and complex exercises, from toe stop walking and double knee slides to hits and turns.

Derby Burpee

Alternative names: sonsabitches
Objective: endurance and balance
Typical length of drill: 3 sets for two minutes each. 10 second break between sets
Materials needed: Full derby gear and whistle for the leader
Skill level required: Pass the fresh meat/level 1 test. There will be some falling, hopping and jumping.

Description: Inside referee's are really the only people that skate the full 60 minutes of a bout. The jam ref's really need to be in tip top shape in order to keep up with the jammers. There's nothing worse than a jam ref getting winded and lagging behind, thus missing out on points and penalties. This drill is a re-work of the classic burpee excercise. If you don't know what they are check out this video:



Make a circle. Put yourself in the middle. Start off in derby stance and start picking up your feet, alternating between left and right. Sort of like running in place. Get those knees high. When you blow the whistle everyone does a double knee fall then goes down into a four point (knees and elbows). Then immediately get to your feet and start running in place again. You can take it to the next level with a short jump when you get to your feet. Blow the whistle at random intervals. This really gets your heart rate up. See if you can go for two minutes. See if you can go longer. Take a short break and get back into it.

Additional notes: If you (as the leader) want to do this drill too then yell "down". I tell the group that the one that does it the best during the second time gets to come to the middle and lead the third. Make sure they're landing on all four wheels. It doesn't take much to twist an ankle or worse.

Suicides

Alternative names: Charlie Sheens

Objective: Conditioning; to practice stops/slides/falls

Typical length of drill: 7 minutes timed

Materials needed: 6 cones

Skill level required: None

Description: Have all of your skaters line up at the short end of your space next to each other with their backs against the wall.  Along the wall on the long end of your space place one cone about 20 feet (ca. 6+ meters) ahead of the skaters, another cone about 20 feet ahead of that, and a third cone about 20 feet ahead of that.  Place matching cones along the other wall.  These will serve as the markers for the skaters.  Depending on the size of your space you may simply want to divide it into thirds and place the cones at the divides.  The diagram below the description should help you visualize.  For the duration of the drill the skaters are going to sprint to the cones and do a specific fall/slide/stop, then sprint back to the wall to turn around and repeat.  Tell the skaters in advance what fall/slide/stop you want them to do at which cone.  This should be selected based on what your skaters need to work on.  In the diagram below I have suggested the double knee slide at the first cone, a single knee slide at the second, and a baseball slide at the third.  I like to have them practice turning toe stops or transitions when they get back to the wall.

-------------------------------------
       *skaters start*

o  double knee slide  o


o   single knee slide  o


o    baseball slide     o   

------------------------------------- 

So, here's what it looks like: A timer blows the whistle to start the drill and starts timing.  Skaters immediately sprint to the first cone, do a double knee slide, sprint back to the wall, do a turning toe stop, sprint to the second cone, do a single knee slide, sprint back to the wall, do a turning toe stop, sprint to the last cone, do a baseball slide, sprint back to the wall, do a turning toe stop, sprint to the first cone, do a double knee slide, sprint back to the wall, do a turning toe stop, etc. etc.  This continues for the specified time.  If they are pushing themselves they should be quite tired at the end of the 7 minutes, and they should have gotten the chance to practice your choice of falls/slides/stops quite a few times. 

Additional notes: This is another classic drill that's been around for a very long time.  This one can be done both on and off skates and is practiced in many different sports (I even remember my high school sweetheart doing this at wrestling practice).  I learned the derby use for it while skating with New Hampshire Roller Derby.  There are many different variations on this one as well which will be posted over time.  This drill can also be used for warm-ups.  Please note that because all the skaters will be doing this at their own pace it should not be a problem that they are all lined up next to each other at the start, everyone will quickly be at different speeds and parts of the track.  This is also a good way to practice looking ahead while skating and dodging other skaters :) 

Whether or not they are open about it, many skaters' lives have been touched by suicide and it's not something you want to remind them of at practice.  For this reason I suggest you call this drill something else (and please share your creative names with the rest of us in the comments below!).  I have playfully given it the nick-name Charlie Sheens because after only 5 minutes you want this to end...

Photo by Mick Dagger, Helsinki Roller Derby

Back & Forth

Alternative names: B.N.F.s

Objective: To practice falling; to practice repeated quick blasts of power/sprinting; to practice getting up off the floor quickly; to get a good workout

Typical length of drill: 7 minutes timed (or more if you want to give them a really good workout)

Materials needed: Minimum four cones, and a time-keeper/whistler.  If you have a large group of skaters in a small space and you divide them in half, you will need a minimum of six cones.

Skill level required: None

Description: This is a variation on the classic sprints and there is a diagram under the description to help you visualize the set up of the room.  First, set up your four cones in the four corners of the room/space, leaving about 3 meters between the cones and the wall (or however many meters/feet you feel that your skaters need to comfortably slide without hitting the wall).  Then, have all your skaters line up next to each other along the wall, with at least one arm's distance between them.  Before you start the drill specify to the skaters what slide/fall they are expected to be doing at the cones.  On the first whistle the timer starts and all the skaters sprint to the cones at the other side of the room and do the specified slide, after which they immediately lay down on their stomachs where they stopped.  Once everyone has laid down, the time-keeper blows the whistle and all the skaters sprint to the other side where they again do the specified slide and then get on their stomachs.  Once everyone has laid down, the time-keeper blows the whistle again and the sprinting-sliding-stomaching repeats until the end of the timed minutes.  The idea is for this to be a quick drill where everyone is sprinting, sliding, getting down, getting up, sprinting, sliding, getting down, getting up, etc. etc. as quickly as possible.  The coach can remind the skaters that the quicker you get to the other side the more down-time you have to "relax" while you wait for the other skaters to finish.  This drill is different from sprints because it's not at your own pace, it's more of a team effort, where everyone waits for each other to finish before going the next round.

Normal cone set-up:

--------------------------
   *falling zone*
o                       o




o                       o
   *falling zone*
-------------------------

If you have a large number of skaters or are dealing with a really narrow or small space you may want to split the room in half and have half the skaters start in the middle of the room and the other half start at the wall.  On the whistle the skaters all skate in the same direction but they never hit each other because they only skate a half-distance before sliding, stomaching, and turning around to go in the other direction.

Cone set-up for a split space:

-------------------------
   *falling zone*
o                       o



o  *falling zone* o



o                       o
   *falling zone*
--------------------------

Additional notes: I learned this drill while skating with New Hampshire Roller Derby.  I don't know who the originator of the drill is so I apologize for not being able to give appropriate credit.  I really like this drill a lot.  It gives you a good workout, it's an easy way to practice getting up quickly and using your tripod (= using your toestop to stand up), it's a great way to build muscle memory for correct falls because you're repeating the same fall over and over again, and people often start cheering for each other during this drill, giving their teammates support like "You can do it!" and "Push yourself!"  It can be done in small practice spaces, and although I recommend having someone who is NOT participating keeping the time and whistling, it is possible to do this as a skater-coach.

Surprise!

Alternative names: --

Objective: To practice falling safely; to prepare for accidental falls on the track; agility practice (for those who are not falling in the pack)

Typical length of drill: Unknown

Materials needed: A full track

Skill level required: None

Description: Start with a small pack first, about 6 skaters. Number the skaters 1,2,1,2,1,2.  Get them to skate around the track at a comfortable speed.  Don't let the 1s know that 2s are going to do a double knee fall, and don't let 2s know that the 1s will do a single knee dip + recovery (not a complete stop; also known as a "knee tap").  On one whistle, the 1s fall and the 2s dodge.  On a double whistle, the 2s fall and the 1s dodge.  When you want to amp it up, change the falls, add more skaters, add more speed.  Number the skaters 1,2,3,4 if you can and have many different types of falls.  During this drill the coach should make sure that skaters aren't skating around the outer edges of the pack or just skating out of bounds to avoid others.  Skaters should be taking advantage of a gap/fallen opponent and get to the front of the pack/stay in play.  It's about independent footwork and awareness, and there shouldn't be any grabbing.

Additional notes: This drill was originally posted on the roller derby coaches Yahoo group by Bitchy N Scratchy of Sydney Roller Derbe League (re-posted here with permission).  Bitchy says that the drill is "easy enough to modify with amount of girls falling, pace and how many skate in a pack."  She also says of the skaters: "You want to see them moving around the pack to get used to it from every angle.  Maybe get them to fight for the front the whole time.  This will keep up the speed and build 'skating in a pack' skills.  It also builds awareness to skate in a pack and still hear calls from inside the track."

If you like this drill you may also like Asshole or Angel 'n' Asshole

Sprints

Alternative names: --

Objective: To practice repeated quick blasts of power/sprinting (good for jammers); to get some good exercise; to practice transitions (if you so choose)

Typical length of drill: 7 mins timed (add or subtract minutes depending on your skaters' abilities)

Materials needed: None

Skill level required: None

Description: Have all your skaters line up next to each other along the long side of your rink/space.  It's good for them to stand at least one arm's length away from the person next to them, so that they don't risk running into each other once the drill is going.  The timer and the skaters start on a whistle blast.  The skaters sprint from one long side of the space to the other.  At each end they perform your choice of turning toe stop, hockey stop, T-stop or knee slide and then get right back to sprinting to the other side.  That's it.  The skaters simply sprint back and forth like this, over and over again for the entire time.

Additional notes: It's a classic, it's simple, some might perhaps call it boring, but it's effective.  This kind of drill is done in a lot of different sports, and in fact, it also works really well off-skates where the skaters just touch a line or cone at each end instead of performing any sort of transition or stop.  It's also a good base for variations.  We will be posting some soon.

Stop, Drop & Roll

Alternative names: --

Objective: To practice getting up off the ground quickly; to get used to skating as fast as you can in short bursts; to build endurance and strength

Typical length of drill: 7 minutes timed

Materials needed: A full track or just four cones to mark the inside track line

Skill level required: Skaters must know how to stop effectively

Description: The skaters all sprint around the track and on each whistle blow they immediately drop to the floor and do five push-ups followed by five crunches in rapid succession.  Then the skaters jolt back up and go back to sprinting around the track.  Typically the skaters get about 15 seconds of sprinting in-between the calisthenics.

Additional notes: This is a really simple drill but really good for exercising and exhausting skaters.  I learned it while skating with New Hampshire Roller Derby and when coaching Helsinki Roller Derby we used this drill during every freshmeat training period to show the freshmeat at the very beginning that roller derby is definitely a sport.  Counting all the push-ups and crunches out loud together helps the quiet skaters practice their outside voice and keeps everyone going at the same rapid pace.  I'd also like to add that this is a great drill to do in the clockwise direction.

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