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.

Ref Pace Line

The following drill was submitted by Riff Reff of the Stuttgart Valley Rollergirlz.

Alternative names: --
Objective: Getting used to make and pick up calls while skating
Typical length of drill: 15 minutes
Materials needed: --
Skill level required: --
Description: Form a pace line on the outside of the track. Skate at a moderate pace a good arm's length behind each other. The last person in line makes up a call (colour-number-verbal cue). The person in front repeats the call, then the next and so on until everyone has repeated the call. Once the first skater in the line made the call s/he takes off around the track and re-joins the pace line from behind. Then s/he makes a new call and so on.

You can increase the pace with every round. You should also change to non-derby direction halfway through the drill. Remind the participants to look back over their shoulder in the turns, towards the center of the track. The more experienced the participants are, the higher the call frequency and pace.

Variation: Form another pace line in the infield and zig zag the call across the track. Swap groups from inside to outside every couple minutes.

Additional notes: This is a good drill to take new and intermediate skaters' focus off their skating and getting them used to communicate calls and to look and listen for things around them. Also, this drill can be done while skaters are on the track.

Dodgeball

Alternative names: Roller Dodge, Between Two Fires / Kahden tulen välissä

Objective: To get comfortable moving around on your skates; to improve your agility; to improve your reaction time; to practice playing both offense and defense at the same time (if playing with more than one ball)

Typical length of drill: 30 mins

Materials needed: Many cones or brightly colored painter's tape to mark out the different areas; one or more large, soft foam balls; 10 or more skaters divided into two separate teams

Skill level required: A command of basic skills is important so that no one gets injured

Description: Decide in advance if you will use one, two, or more balls in this game (directions below are for a game using TWO balls).

Make a large rectangle on the floor using your cones or painter's tape, and split the rectangle in half creating two facing courts.  The end zone behind each side of the court is "the field".    One player from each team is stationed in the field behind the opposing team's court (see illustration).  This way both teams are flanked by opponents on each side.  For the purpose of this explanation we will call this person "the cow".  Each cow gets a ball at the beginning of the game, and when the whistle blows, the cows are the first to start throwing the balls.  Remember to always aim BELOW the neck when you throw the ball.

The object of the game is to hit people from the opposing team with the ball in order to send them to the field.  Once all members of one team are in the field, the opposing team wins the game.

The skaters who are on the court are allowed to catch and throw the balls as well.  If a ball is caught before it hits the ground, the thrower of the ball gets sent to the field.  In advanced game play, each time a ball is caught, a member of the catcher's team is simultanously allowed to return from the field to the court (you should decide in advance if you would like to play the game with this bonus, note that it makes the game longer).  Any time a ball hits a player before hitting the ground, that person is sent to the field.  This includes failed catches.  Players on the same team are allowed to pass the ball to one another, either by throwing or rolling (and you cannot send your own teammates to the field by doing this).  Players on the court are not allowed to retrieve balls from the field and players in the field are not allowed to retrieve balls from the court.  No one is permitted to retrieve balls from the opposing team's court or field.  Players in the field are allowed to pass the ball to the players on the court, and vice versa.

In the illustration below you will see that the field extends beyond the end zone to wrap around the courts completely.  Decide in advance if you wish to allow your cows to use the whole area around the court or only the end zone behind each court.

An illustration of a team of 6 yellow skaters playing
against a team of 6 green skaters, using an extended field.

Additional notes: Roller Dodge is an actual, legitimate sport, developed by Tom Green, a retired referee for the Dallas Derby Devils.  The version portrayed here in this drill is a bit different though, this one is based on a children's game.  I learned this one from my teammates in Finland and we had an incredible time playing it.  The game was not only fun but it was a great team builder, and I think this is an excellent way to do some bonding with the referees as they too like to have fun and they too need to work on their skating skills, agility, and reaction time!

Please note: This is a drill you can also do OFF skates!

RMRG’s Blocking Drill

Tigre Force's guest blogging series: 5 drills from the Skater Progression Diagram.

DRILL TWO
Blocking: Positional and contact: RMRG's Blocking Drill

Alternative names: I bet this drill has a real name too, I learned it from the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls and so I named it after them
Objective: To keep the jammer behind a blocker wall of two
Typical length of drill: 20-30 mins
Materials needed: 8 cones
Skill level required: WFTDA minimum skills
Description: (see attachment)

The skaters are divided into four groups. Everybody gets to practice each position: inside blocker, outside blocker, jammer. The skaters form four lines inside the track on each turn. There are blockers in a line by the pivot line and jammers in a line by the jammer line. Both pivot and jammer lines are marked on each side of the track (four groups of skaters allow the skaters more time to practice this, since the rotation time is faster with more groups).

The blockers form a wall of two (on the pivot line on each side of the track), and their purpose is to keep the jammer behind them as long as they can. They should not pass the line marked by cones right behind the jammer line. If there is some heavy blocking, pushing or hitting involved, make sure the action ends at the cones, to make sure no one bumps into the jammers getting ready for their round.

Rotate the groups every 5 mins so that every skater gets to practice both blocking and jamming. The blockers should make sure they switch from inside to outside (and vice versa) on each round.

Additional notes: The drill probably has an official name. I didn’t catch it while skating with Rocky Mountain Rollergirls in August, 2011.

If you can dodge a wrench...

Alternative names: --
Objective: Agility, balance, reaction time
Typical length of drill: 5-15 minutes (depends on the number of participants)
Materials needed: Four cones and 1 soft ball (or ball-like substitute, i.e. bunched up shirts or socks -- having to dodge your teammates' sweaty gear makes this drill even more effective)
Skill level required: None
Description: Mark out a medium-sized square on the floor with the cones. Each skater is going to stand in the middle of this square for 60 seconds (or until they get hit out) while the other skaters try to throw the ball at them. The skater's job is to dodge, duck, and avoid the ball, making this an excellent practice in balance, agility, and reaction time. If you want to make it competitive, time all of the skaters while they are in the middle to see who can avoid being hit by the ball the longest. Alternatively, create multiple groups of three and have two skaters on the outside of the square tossing the ball to each other while trying to hit the person in the middle. This way everyone can get more time inside the square, plus the skaters on the outside get practice as well. To challenge your skaters, shrink the size of the square.
Additional notes: This is a fun and easy drill that can really help people with their reaction skills and balance. I love sneaky drills like this where you are learning things without even realizing it. You are focusing so much on the ball and where it is being tossed that you forget your are on skates. This drill is appropriate for newer skaters, and it's also great if you're struggling with a small practice space!

If you like this drill, you might also enjoy dodgeball on skates!

Redbull and Cheetos and French Fries OH MY! Eating on the road when you travel for derby

Away games! YAY! Its always so exciting to travel for derby. You get to see new places, meet new people, and knock over total strangers. But what always remains constant is the ever pressing question of "Oh crap, what are we gonna eat?"

Traveling as an athlete can be tricky. Its not like that college road trip where Cheetos, Big Macs, and unlimited Mountain Dew become totally acceptable for the long weekend. Nope. You've got a game (or games) to skate and traveling alone will take enough out of you so its important to fuel yourself properly to be ready to dish out a health serving of ass kicking once you get there. 

So how the F*#k do you travel and manage to stay game ready?

One word for you: PREPLAN

Its key to preplan and pack what you're going to need for the weekend instead of hoping you can just wing it through the weekend.

My Packing list for Dust Devil last weekend included:

Formula 1  and Protein Drink Mix (2 scoops of each of these two together can be a 200 calories 24 grams of protein healthy meal anywhere you get stuck. just add water)

Protein Bars - so much better than snickers or other gas station crap. Having it packed ahead of time makes those gas stops easier to avoid making bad decisions.

Almonds and Cranberries- a great snack just don't eat the whole bag! Raw or roasted, skip the salted or sugar coated...or chocolate covered.

Celery and Peanut Butter is a great on the go healthy snack as well but again, if you find yourself licking the bottom of the jar you may have gone too far.

Apples and Cucumbers and Banannas and other easily portable fruits and veggies

Hydrate - low calories electrolytes to drink throughout the day because car rides and planes dehydrate you but you don't need the sugars from a sugary hydration drink if you're sitting around. Ever notice you get a headache when you travel? Sip a hydrate and you'll likely feel loads better.

Restore - take 2 at night to reduce exercise induced inflammation and keep you from getting super sore the next day. This is a lifesaver for tournament weekends. While your opponents wake up day two of a tourney and feel like 80 year old grannies, you will wake up ready to hip check the world!

Best Defense - Airplanes especially carry butt loads of germs. I start taking best defense before I even get on the flight and take it throughout an entire tournament weekend. You will be exchanging sweat with lots of ladies over the weekend (both at the bar and on the track) so its important to keep your immune system strong. The echinacea and vitamin C in here will keep your immune system game ready all weekend.

Prepare, Prolong, Liftoff, Rebuild Endurance my pre/during/post game ritual of awesomeness... you can read about these in my other blogs. Today we're talking about travel eating.

 I also suggest that you ask your hotels to give you a fridge and then find the nearest grocery store and stock up on veggies, fruits and hopefully fresh deli meat.  Usually the hotel breakfast is carb city with minimal protein options and its always good to try and keep your travel food routine as close to your home eating routine as possible so I will always make a shake in the room for breakfast then swing by the Hotel complimentary breakfast to grab some fruit, yogurt and granola to take to the track a mid morning snack if they have it. But, the great thing about preplanning and packing what i mentioned above is I can have a shake for breakfast, a shake pregame, a few snacks and only really have to find one solid meal out in the traveling madness each day.

This is Krissy Krash, signing off! You can always hit me up with questions, for advice, to give feed back, or for a free nutrition and performance profile at krissykrash.derbalife@gmail.com Plus if you want to try out anything I mentioned above or you are are ready to get your ass in gear, you can get 10% off plus free 1:1 coaching from yours truely by hitting up www.goherbalife.com/krissykrash by using the coupon code  AllDerbyDrills 

Food is Fuel - The Skinny on Carbs, Calories and Proteins

                                                                    

Food is fuel. 

Your body is a lean, mean, roller derby machine....or a broken down junker...depending on the kind of fuel you put in it and how long you leave it sitting stagnant in the garage (or in front of the TV). Its important that as athletes we get a combination of whole foods and supplementation in order to get everything the body needs. So how do we weed through the crap and look at nutritional facts to know whats right for what? Especially with so many high tech nutrition products on the market, its hard to know what you are supposed to take for what and why.

A lot of times when I sit down with skaters to do a free nutrition profile one of the first things I see is that their diet is very high in carbs and very low in protein (yes, you can have one too. click here and send me your info). On average a woman needs between 90-150 grams of protein depending on her height and weight (1 gram for every pound of lean body mass, not over all weight). Most women I talk to get about 30 per day. If are an active person, you need protein to maintain and build lean body mass, ward off hunger, maintain great energy, and keep your blood sugar even. One of the first things I work on with someone is becoming are of how much protein is in the food they are eating which means reading nutrition labels!

Lets compare 3 labels and talk about what a roller derby athletes should look for on a lable based on Meal, Snack, or Workout fuel.

3 main pieces to look at when you are first learning to read lables. 1) Protein 2) Carbohydrates - mainly sugar and fiber 3) Calories

Formula 1 Sport

         

Protein MEALS Shoot for about 15-30 grams of protein depending on your protein requirement  (yes, I can map out your protein requirement, click here and send me your info with PROTEIN in the notes section). Pre-workout meal I always opt for a Formula 1 sport  because I hate burping up dinner during practice. Or if making a meal 1/3 lean protein 2/3 complex carbs.

SNACKS - Shoot for 10-15 grams of protein...20 if youre a beast like me :-). The protein bars a re good snack because its not too high in sugar but greek yogurt and fruit/veggies is a good one too. 

Herbalife 24 Prolong

WORKOUT FUEL -  5 grams of protein is enough during workouts to prevent muscle breakdown. You don't want your body eating your muscle for fuel but you don't want to be gobbling down a chicken breast in between jams either.

Carbohydrates First off let me say CARBS ARE NOT BAD! You need them for fuel! If you are doing any type of long over 2 hour plus endurance exercise, you want to be sure to get upwards of 60-70 grams of carbs HOWEVER, this is NON STOP 2 hours of exercise! Like cycling, distance running, etc. 

When checking out labels know where you carbs are coming from. Are they sugars, fiber, other carbs? 

MEALS - When looking at carb contents of dinners you want 2/3 of the calories to come from carbs (ideally complex carbs high in fiber). Before I became a health coach and learned about nutrition I used to eat a box of Cheese Its for lunch...don't laugh, I did! But I was always hungry soon after and never felt energized. This is because there was 18 grams of carbs, 4 grams of protein and 8 grams of fat PER SERVING! Mind you I was eating about 10 servings of Cheese Its which is 180 g carbs and 80 grams of fat in one meal! That means 45% of my calories were from carbs and 45 from fat and only 10% from protein which left me feeling sluggish. The formula 1 shake alternatively has 13grams carbs, 9 grams protein and 1 gram fat.

Herbalife Protein Bar Deluxe

SNACKS - Watch the carb content of your snacks. Too many carbs and you are doomed for a blood sugar crash! I tend to keep the sugars low (below 12 grams) and fiber high (you need 28 grams a day!!) in my snacks. A protein bar and some veggies is a perfect snack. Or use greek yogurt as dip for your fiber packed veggies ( I add protein soup mix to mine for low carb high protein salty amazingness) Power Bars and Lara Bars are very high sugar/high carb snacks intended for those who are doing endurance workouts.

WORKOUT FUEL -   Sugars are important during your workouts. Yes I said it, you need some sugar while you work out. This is your bodies easy access fuel source. Shoot for no atrifical sweeteners/colors and also a combination of fast and slow carbs (frutose and maltodextrin) like prolong. 30-60 grams is perfect workout fuel plus electrolytes. If you are only doing a 1-2 hour workout just use 1 scoop prolong.  Most sports drinks use glucose and processed sugar which are faster absorbing sugars and wont give you a long lasting sustained energy. 

Calories MEALS 200-500 calories depending on your caloric requirement (yes, I can map out your RMR, click here and send me your info with CALORIES in the notes section). If you goal is to maintain you need to consume as much as you burn, to lose you can consume less (but only 500 calories less), to gain just eat more than you burn.

SNACKS- 150-300 calories depending on your total caloric requirement. Remember this is not a meal, its just a snack to keep your blood sugar up, tummy happy, and metabolism burning, you're not supposed to feel like you just at thanksgiving dinner.

WORKOUT FUEL A few hundred calories per hour is sufficient for derby. If you are trying to lose weight/lean out, be careful how much you over compensate. Not all calorie burned are created equal. While your body bug may say 1500 calorie burned, most of that came from glycogen (sugar) stores in your muscles as well as food you had in your system and is NOT equivalent to that burger, fries, and a beer you totally justified consuming at the bar after practice.

Bottom line is its all about balance and finding out whats right for you and your body. As you begin to eat healthier you will be more in tuned with what your body needs. You don't have to be a nutrition label reader extraordinaire right away but just start to be aware of what your are putting in your body and make small adjustments. And, as always, feel free to contact me with questions, comments, and love! krissykrash.derbalife@gmail.com

Ready to get your ass in gear? Get 10% off www.goherbalife.com/krissykrash by using the coupon code  AllDerbyDrills

A little motivational amazingness for you! Enjoy!

See more extended nutritional details