Persevere

The following drill is a guest post by coach Nadia Kean (aka "Smarty Pants") of the Texas Rollergirls.

Alternative names: --

Objective: Jammer endurance, playing clean, Blocking: holding a block in a very tight pack, avoiding the need to reset to get more space

Typical length of drill: --

Materials needed: A track, a jammer cover, a stop watch, a ref (if possible)

Skill level required: Skaters should be contact cleared unless you use positional blocking only

Description: This drill was created for a few reasons. The first, my team needed more endurance in the pack. My team also needed to stay clean, even when up against massive walls. My blockers needed to stop running forward when opponents played offense against them. They needed to hold a block for as long as possible, even when their opponent was crowding their space, making it very hard for them.

Set up: pack with as few as 5 will work, but really about 7 or 8 would be best. Have 2 skaters start on the outside of the track, with the remaining skaters starting on the inside of the track. One person on the track will be designated the Jammer. Everyone else on the track is her opponent. The two people starting off of the track will be skating laps around the outside of the track around 85-100% of their ability. Of the two people starting off of the track, one will be the next jammer. The other person is pretending that she just jammed. The whole group will go for intervals. I recommend 60-90 seconds. During the set time frame, the jammer will try to get through the pack, the pack will try to shut her down and the two skaters on the outside will skate laps. As soon as the set amount of time is up, the person who just jammed will start to skate laps, along with the person who wants to jam next. The two skaters who had just been skating laps will jump back on the track. One of them will now be a jammer, the other will now be a blocker (pretending like she just completed he post-jamming laps). While in the pack, blockers should really try to block the jammer while also being completely crowded for space by the other pack skaters.

Additional notes: To see more of Smarty Pants' guest posts, click here.

Easy juking drill

Alternative names: Faking

Objective: Agility; to practice juking; to improve jammer (and blocker) skills

Typical length of drill: 10 minutes

Materials needed: A taped down track

Skill level required: None

Description: Count your skaters off by two so that you get two groups (ones and twos).  Have all the skaters spread out on the track and start skating.  On your first whistle the #1 skaters all stop and stay put on the track in a nice squat position.  At the same time, all the #2 skaters begin sprinting and juking around all the obstacles on the track.  Make sure you tell them that this is very specifically a juking drill so they should be skating right up to their stopped teammates and then juking around them; this is NOT a weaving drill.  Tell the skaters to challenge themselves, so if someone for instance has stopped very close to inside track boundary then this is an opportunity for them to try and juke to the inside line.  After 60 seconds blow the whistle again and at this point the #2s stop where they are and the #1s start sprinting and juking.  Repeat these 60-second cycles for up to 10 minutes.

Additional notes: I feel like one of my Helsinki Roller Derby teammates ran this drill at a practice a long time ago but I can't remember who so I'm sorry to say I have no credit to give (or take) here.  This is a really simple drill that's good for agility and beginner juking practice. Before doing a juking drill I like to really demonstrate to the skaters how jelly-like I want to see them act on their skates.  Lots of moving your body around and changing your height and direction to really confuse the opponent.  I've also been known to call juking "dancing on skates" and enjoy giving everyone a chance to embarrass themselves as a group before we begin the drill by doing a little group dancing.  It loosens everyone up and can actually have a great effect on their viscosity on the track.

Finally, I'd like to add that this is a good drill to do in the opposite direction!

For a quick juking lesson, watch this excellent Juking 101 -video with Bonnie D. Stroir and the San Diego Derby Dolls:

Six Stride Hell

Alternative names: --

Objective: Work on acceleration from pack speed

Typical length of drill: 5-10 minutes

Materials needed: a skating surface

Skill level required: cross overs and the ability to skate on one leg in corners and straight aways (to be effective)

Description: Have all skaters on "the track" skating at their own "pack speed" spaced out randomly around the track.

On the whistle, all skaters take six hard, fast sprint steps from wherever they are then return to normal skating. Repeat whistle randomly for drill length. 

Additional notes: Generally at Pioneer Valley we use this as an ending drill, something to bring the heart rate back up, before skating a few laps to cool down and stretch.

This could be used as a pack drill to get teams of people used to speeding up and slowing down together.

While everyone is on the track, this is a drill about individual performance. Skaters should have a sense of urgency to skate the hardest and fastest six strides they can on that whistle. If it's 5 or 7 it's not a failure. The point is to begin the sprint from wherever you are and handle it through people also on the track.

Clusterfuck

Alternative names: Pinball

Objective: To practice offensive jamming; to get used to hitting whilst in the pack and practice effective timing and placements of hits within the pack; for the pack to communicate the location of the OJ at all times; to get used to being hit and possibly falling whilst in the pack

Typical length of drill: 15-20 mins

Materials needed: A WFTDA regulation-size track or some sort of a taped down track of similar measurements. Also, please please make sure that everyone is wearing all the appropriate safety gear!

Skill level required: Skaters must be cleared for contact

Description: This is an Endless Jammer -type of drill with boatloads of contact in it.  Have all of your skaters build one large pack.  One at a time you will send the skaters around the track and have them jam through the pack.  As they are jamming through the pack the skaters are hitting as many people as they can on their way to the front; jammers that don't make contact with at least 3 other skaters on their way through the pack have to do 15 crunches when they exit the pack.  Once the group understands the drill and a few skaters have passed through the pack, you can start sending more than one skater through at once, making it quite the clusterfuck indeed.  Choose in advance at what % the skaters in the pack will be blocking the jammers (if at all).  I suggest 25%.  Also, clarify before starting whether or not you will allow counter-blocking as you will definitely have skaters ask about that.

If you have a really large group of skaters you can split the pack in half and have two smaller packs going around the track at the same time, matching speeds and staying half-a-track away from the other pack at all times.  Send each skater through the other pack and when s/he returns to the back of her/his own pack have the next person from the same pack start.

Additional notes: In addition to being good for contact practice, this drill is also quite a good way to release pent up energy and aggression (you know, in a fun and loving kinda way :).  Nice for a Friday-night practice when everyone wants to let go of the past week's stresses.  It can definitely get a bit messy, but who hasn't played in a messy jam or two (or heck, a messy bout)?  This definitely gets skaters used to looking around them at all times as they learn that blockers will hit you HARD if they notice you're not looking.

Please note: Because this can be a power hitting training for some, it is important that you have your skaters properly stretch their necks and shoulders before and after practice.  You can get quite sore in that area after repeatedly taking hard hits.

Creating & Breaking Walls

WALLS! WALLS! WALLS!

Two is better than one, right? Yes! That's exactly why you want to be with your blocker friends when you're on the track. On your own, you might do some damage, but with a teammate or two you take up more of the track and your chances of catching that wily jammer more than double. Don't be an individual on the track - save that for the after-party.
The following is a two-hour practice with the theme of Creating & Breaking Walls. The practice is designed to progressive with each drill, so don't move on to the next drill until the skaters grasp the one before.
This practice is created for 20-40 skaters and should be executed on a WFTDA track. Coaches should demo each drill prior to beginning.

WARMUP | 20 MINS
1 min each | skate @ 75%, traverse the track, scissors, quick stepping, sprint
2 mins x 2 | One on One : Divide skaters in half, one half acts as slow-paced blockers, the other act as sprinting jammers. The blockers try to stop the jammers. After two mins switch.
3 mins | Stop on the whistle and explode after reaching a complete stop
3 mins | Dynamic Stretch
5 mins | Static Stretch

CREATING EFFECTIVE WALLS

The wall's inside skater must protect the inside line so the jammer never escapes through it. The inside blocker only steps as far away from the line as she can, knowing she can quickly return and stop the jammer. The wall's outside skater does most of the dirty work by swinging to the outside and back to her partner in order to stop the jammer on the outside. Remember to skate low and wide as to take up as much of the track as possible.

Great Wall of Ghina | 2 mins x 3

Repeat with new jammers
Cannonball Drill | 6 mins
Repeat if needed
Anchoring Drill | 5 mins
Repeat if needed
Great Wall of Ghina + Pacecar | 10 mins
Now that you have a few techniques to use in your wall, it's time to add pack definition to practice keeping your wall in play.



BREAKING WALLS

Persistence is key when breaking through a wall. Jammers don't always get through on the first try. With each attempt to pass through or around the wall gets weaker and less prepared. She must never give up and be ready to explode through the smallest opening.
Wall-Breaking Progression Drills | 25 mins



PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Let's put it all together and focus on both creating and breaking walls. In the next drills, if you are a wall, use all the techniques you've practiced. If you are breaking walls, use the wall-breaking techniques you've practiced.
The Homewrecker | 6 mins x 2
Repeat with Roving Jammers

Wall-Breaking Progression

Alternative names: n/a

Objective: to practice breaking through walls

Typical length of drill: 25 mins

Materials needed: WFTDA track, jammer panties

Skill level required: contact level

Description: Skaters are divided into threesomes and staggered around the track.

PHASE ONE: THE BLIND SPOT Two skaters hold a wall, while the third skates close behind (just a foot or two) ducking and juking to find the wall's blind spot. Each skater in the wall tries to locate the jammer. She raises her hand when she can't find her. Switch every 2 mins so each skater practices finding the jammer and hiding from the wall.

PHASE TWO: TAKING THE INSIDE/MIDDLE Two skaters hold a wall, while the third acts as a jammer. The jammer tries to bait the wall, so she can blast through the middle. She does this by skating to the outside at the end of a corner (which causes the blockers to look at her and not the inside line) and then sprinting through the inside or middle of the wall. Explosive power is what gets her from point A to point B. See diagram below.

PHASE THREE: TAKING THE OUTSIDE Taking the outside is risky, but can be done on the straightaway using explosive power and giving your back to your opponent or avoiding contact by hopping. Two skaters hold a wall, while the third acts as a jammer. The wall stays close to the inside line. On the straightaway, the jammer turns on her jets and tries to blast around the wall. Usually when a blocker sees the jammer going for it, she'll commit to a big hit. The jammer should anticipate this and jump to the inside to avoid the blocker. If the blocker does not commit to a big hit, but instead swings out for a less-committed hit, the jammer should give her back and roll off the blocker using the momentum to propel her forward.

Additional notes: Persistence is key when breaking through a wall. Jammers don't always get through on the first try. With each attempt to pass through or around the wall gets weaker and less prepared. She must never give up and be ready to explode through the smallest opening.

Jericho

Alternative names: --

Objective: For jammers (and blockers) to practice breaking through walls; to boost self-confidence

Typical length of drill: Unknown
Materials needed: None
Skill level required: Only for skaters who have experience skating in a pack and can take a light, but solid, hit

Description: Depending on the number of skaters, break into groups of 6-8.  Three blockers form a wall with the innermost blocker riding the inside line.  Initially, blockers should be about 8 inches (ca. 20 cm) apart.  The remaining skaters line up behind the wall.  Once a pack pace is set, the first jammer tries to break through the wall.  The first few attempts, while the blockers are farther apart, are used to help the jammer gain confidence and get used to getting low, turning the shoulders, and stepping through.  Jammers MAY NOT pass on the outside, but rather MUST go through two blockers.  Blockers, DO NOT throw hits or blocks.  Just maintain the line. Once through, the jammer immediately sprints around the track to the back of the line.  The next jammer begins as soon as the first is through the wall.  As jammers gain confidence and skill, blockers should close the gap between them so that the jammer must get through a smaller space.  Rotate Blockers and Jammers as needed so that everyone gets a chance.
Additional notes: This drill was submitted, and created, by London Derriere of the K-Town Derby Girls.  It's cross-posted at Derby Dancing, London Derriere's own blog.  When asked where the name came from, she says: "it actually comes from the Old Testament... the whole battle of Jericho when Joshua's army marched around the city and the walls fell."  Very appropriate for a drill focused on breaking through walls! :)

Dogfight

Alternative Names: Aggressive Jamming
Objective: This drill is one we use to simulate aggressive jamming, so that our jammers know both how to engage from the start, and also to deal with a jammer who targets them straight off the start line.
Typical length of drill: 10-15 Minutes
Materials needed: Track outline, whistle
Skill level required: Approved for contact
Description: There's not a lot to this drill admittedly, but we've seen the benefits during scimmage ever since we started to use this one.

Very simply, the girls pair up and form a line behind the jammer line. Each pair will approach the jammer line, one pair at a time, and set themselves for a jammer start. The coach will then double whistle for them to start.

The whole idea of this drill is to engage from the offset. The jammers will be trying to knock the other down, put her out of bounds to render her ineligible for Lead Jammer, or just to gain the advantage over her so that she is in the lead.

The jammers are instructed to fight and engage with the other girl as much as possible, and the "winner" is the first girl who reaches turn 3, at which point they take a knee and return to the back of the line. The next pair will then start the drill.

When every pair has had their turn, the drill is repeated, but with the girls alternating their positions, ie if a girl was on the inside line first time around, her partner will take the inside line on the second run.

So there it is! As I said, not the most complicated of drills, but we've noticed the jammers getting more confident in throwing and taking hits for themselves ever since the day we first ran this drill. It has also forced the jammers to think about their starting stance and starting position along the line before the whistle.

Additional notes: Initially, this drill just sorta happened as a natural progression. We'd been working on toe-stop starts for a few weeks, and I wanted to spice things up with some contact and aggression! I'd noticed that with scrimmage, the girls didnt get a lot of chances to work on a startegy like this one, so the drill just sort of evolved. It's one we use quite regularly with our intermediate group and I've been delighted with the results we've seen from this one.

try it!
-vb-

Minefield

Objective: This is a drill we use for our jammers to help them switch quickly between flat-out skating, and quick feet for moving and juking through a pack. 
Typical length of drill: 15 minutes or so. 
Materials needed: Track outline, whistle 
Skill level required: Intermediate 
Description: The entire team will skate out as a pack at moderate speed. Two volunteers will be chosen, and they drop 10 feet behind the pack.  On the whistle, the pack will take a knee and remain on one knee. The jammers will then race one another. They attack the pack, slowing their speed, and without rolling, they must use quick steps, hops, jumps, toe-stop steps and footwork to step their way cleanly through the kneeling pack without bumping or back-blocking.  When they emerge at the front of the pack, they will then accelerate, skate a lap, and approach the pack again, repeating the above drill by stepping through the kneeling pack. The first jammer through the pack for a 2nd time is declared the winner.  2 new volunteers are then chosen, and the drill is repeated until everyone has had a chance to jam.

To make the drill extra challenging, the kneeling skaters can be instructed to "sway" from side to side to make the pass a little harder for the jammers.

It's a simple drill, but it's one we've found to be particularly effective in teaching our skaters how to go from a sprint, to a stop, to depending solely on their agility, and then back to sprinting again. It has also really helped our newer skaters to understand the importance of the stepping drills we do during their freshmeat training!

Enjoy!

-Violent Bob-

Sliding Doors

Alternative names: Elevator Doors 
Objective: We've found this drill to work on a few levels, and we have a few variations on it that change the objective and the focus up. We start simple, and then step up the difficulty for all skaters as we go along.  This drill was originally run by Quadzilla at a Blood and Thunder Bootcamp in the UK last year, and once I felt the girls had a good grasp of his version, we changed the drill up a little bit to make it extra challenging and make everyone think fast!

Typical length of drill: We usually run this for about 15-20 minutes, depending on how many girls we have, as we like to give everyone a turn in each position.
Materials needed: Jammer covers (multiple), whistle, track outline. 
Skill level required: Approved for contact

Description: As I mentioned, there are 4 variations of this drill that we run, so in the order in which we run them:

Sliding Doors V.1 
3 skaters - 2 blockers who form a 2 wall, and a jammer (their teammate) floating a few feet behind them. The group skates out.

On the whistle, the 2-wall separates for a count of three seconds, then slams shut again. During this 3-second window the jammer must up her speed and sprint through the hole before the space is closed again.

I usually run 5 reps each with a 3-second window, then drop it to 2 seconds for 5 reps, then 1 second for 5 reps. It really makes the jammers more reactive, spotting a hole for even the shortest length of time and attacking it.

Sliding Doors V. 2 
So, once the skaters have grasped the idea of the drill with a teammate behind them, we up the pressure.

For Version 2, we put 2 jammers in single file behind the 2-wall. The girl closest to them is their teammate, the girl at the very back acts as an opposing jammer.

On the whistle, the wall will split apart for long enough to allow their teammate through, but then come together again fast enough to block the opposing player.

This does 2 things - it forces the blockers to focus and watch what's happening behind them, ensuring that their teammate is lined up and ready to go, and also puts their positional blocking to the test as they have to lateral back in and block out the opposing blocker cleanly. It also helps the jammers practice that explosive burst of speed that can make all the difference, as soon as that whistle goes, both of them really have to attack the space. And finally, especially for the opposing jammer, it puts her plow stop to the test to avoid back blocking.

Sliding Doors V.3 
Without doubt, my favourite variation of the drill. It really puts everyone to the test.

Version 3 is a simple change to Version 2 - switch the jammers.

Set up the skaters as in Version 2, but this time, the opposing jammer is the one closest to the wall, and therefore the teammate jammer is now furthest from the wall.

This is to teach your jammers that sometimes they'll have to get aggressive and do their own dirty work!

There is no whistle used for this drill. It is the jammer's responsibility to get to her teammates - she must attack the opposing jammer to take her place, and once the blockers see that their teammate is now closest to them, they can separate, letting their teammate through, and then slamming together again, closing the path for the opponent and blocking her out.

This variation of the drill is the one where everyone really needs to focus their attention in several places. The blockers must successfully keep the other jammer at bay while their teammate attacks. Jammer "1" must use her skills to gain the advantage over her opponent, communicate to her teammates, and then use a burst of speed to break through the hole. The opposing jammer should be resisting all attempts from the other players to restrain her, and should attempt to hit the hole when it opens.

Sliding Doors V.4 
This version incorporates every skater.

Take one volunteer and give her the jammer star. Pair everyone else up and have them skate in 2 parallel pacelines, arms length behind one another, and forming a wall with the girl beside her (for example, if you have 11 girls, you've set up five 2-walls plus one jammer). The jammer skates at the back of the 2 lines.

The pacelines will set a moderate speed, skating the centre of the track (lanes 2 & 3 as we call them), and on every whistle, the lines will separate, so the girl on the inside of each pair goes to the inside line, the other goes to the outside line.

Once the lines split, the jammer attacks. With quick acceleration, she makes her way through the gap. The coach will blow another whistle at random, and the lines will close up again - this forces the jammer to make a quick decision as to whether or not she should stop and avoid a back block, or try to squeeze past one more wall. When the whistle blows again, the walls separate, she attacks again, whistle blows, walls close... and so on until she makes it to the front of the lines.

We've only tried this variation a couple of times, and I want to give credit to Loco Lena and Hazed & Contused of Arizona for the idea. This version really forces a jammer to think and evaluate on the spot - should I slow down? Should I attack? Is that space big enough? Am I in danger of a back blocking penalty? It works really nicely.

Give these a try - they're a favourite not only of mine, but the DRG really enjoy this one!

-Violent Bob-

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.

Back Bump Drill

Alternative names: --

Objective: To teach skaters to avoid back-blocking; to practice partner blocking at zero speed

Typical length of drill: 10-15 mins
Materials needed: A full track

Skill level required: None
Description: Split the league in half. One half lines up outside the track. The other half pairs up and staggers around the track, preferably ten feet between each pair.  The skaters in line sprint toward each pair and try to get around them while staying in bounds and not back-blocking. The pairs shuffle across the track, staying together, and use their backs to engage the skater sprinting toward them. (They can also lean, hip check or sternum block to knock the skater out of bounds.) If the skater trying to get through the wall is leaned or knocked out of bounds she must re-enter legally (behind the wall) and try again.  After five minutes, switch so everyone gets a chance to build the wall with a partner and break through the wall alone.  If a skater back-blocks someone during the drill, she has to drop to the side of the track and do ten push-ups.

Additional notes: Originally posted on the roller derby coaches Yahoo group by Punchy O'Guts of Maine Roller Derby, but she credits it to the Boston Derby Dames.

If you enjoy this drill you may also like the drill Bouncy Blockers.

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Three Team Mayhem

Alternative names: --

Objective: To practice jamming; to practice helping your jammer through the pack; to practice blocking the opposing jammer

Typical length of drill: Depends entirely on the number of skaters you have, but reserve at least 15 mins for this

Materials needed: A full track

Skill level required: None if you choose to run this as a non-contact drill

Description: Divide skaters into three even groups. Each group sends a pair consisting of a jammer and a blocker to make their way through the other two opposing groups. When the jammer breaks through a group, she and her blocker should move onto the next pack of opposing blockers. Once the jammer/blocker pair makes it back to their original group, a new pair is sent off to fight their way through the opposing packs. Dependent on time, each skater should go through the drill as both a blocker and a jammer.

Additional notes: Created by Frida Beater of the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, this drill has also appeared in fiveonfive magazine.  Posted here with permission from the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls.  This is part of our WFTDA Champions -series: Rocky Mountain Rollergirls.

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