We all know the feeling when we first start skating.
You're filled with glee, excitement, new ideas - you absolutely cannot wait to put your skates on your feet and get on the track with all your rookie teammates... your new drafted team...
There's a buzz. A high when you first start derby.
It's all you think about, all you talk about.
Your non-derby friends get tired of hearing you talk about derby. Your (biological) family tires of hearing you talk about derby.
Maybe the fresh excitement and busy schedule causes your boyfriend/girlfriend to tire of you...
But no one gets it unless they skate, too.
No one understand the adrenaline, the speed, the sweat, the determination.
No one understands the lessons we learn practice after practice, getting knocked down, getting back up (whether it's immediately, or crawling to our feet... or off the track so the practice can keep going while we nurse whatever chronically-injured part of our body hurts the most that day)....
No one gets it quite like derby kids.
2, 3, 4, 5 days of practice a week - plus additionals.
7 weekends in a row of derby games.
Committee meetings.
Board meetings.
Fundraisers.
Benefits.
Event planning meetings.
Email after email after email.
Not being able to hang out with skaters without the conversation turning to Derby.
Bout day.
Not getting rostered.
Getting rostered.
Injuries.
Not being able to pay dues.
Selling tickets... or not selling tickets.
Buying bout-day supplies, and keeping track of said expenditures.
Needing a bandaid because your non-skate bout shoes gave you a big ugly blister...
You get the point.
We pride ourselves on being skater owned and operated, and we pride ourselves in doing it as a league, as a team - but we get so bogged down with all the things we have to do, and we forget to enjoy what derby is about.
Last night after practice, I was feeling a bit crab-ass and overwhelmed.
Half of roller derby is not taking things personally - but I took something silly personally; it hurt my feelings and got me all worked up.
It was nothing. NOTHING. But I took it personally.
I was feeling super crabby and down about it.
So, I twittered about my stress/anxiety/stupid hurt feelings.
A derby sister/BB teammate texted me.
"Hey. I saw your tweet. Come over."
So I did.
At midnight, I drove to her apartment because I needed a proverbial ass-kicking/slap-in-the-face for being ridiculous... and maybe some coddling.
We sat on her balcony, had a few crappy beers and talked for 3 hours.
I think that what I loved best was that we both chatted our our stresses, our anxieties, our hurt feelings.. and then we moved on to real life topics.. like family, and jobs and dating.
Although we are grown up women... we're still a group of women.
We still have disagreements, we still have concerns and lots of things to bitch about..
And yeah, cutting the shit - I get a little wah-wah sometimes. I'm a girl! I have hormones! It happens!
It usually passes, and when it doesn't, I talk to a teammate.
Which brings me back to my original point - avoiding the burnout.
It's easy to get burnt out, we all know this.
It's far easier to let league business, and grievances and whatever drama there may be and derby crushes and... everything.. get you down, make you pissy and crabby and threaten to quit.
(And PS, if you don't know how that feels A, you're damn lucky and B, maybe you should get more involved in your league lol)
So. How do we avoid the burnout?
Here's, in my infinite rookie wisdom, how I think we can avoid the burnout...
-Have someone on your team be a trusted friend.. not a teammate, not a league sister.. but a trusted friend that you can bitch to, and she won't judge you.
-Talk about what's bothering you. Maybe you're being irhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrational or ridiculous... but maybe you're not. And maybe your concern is actually valid. An objective opinion could help you decide.
-Take a break. Have a derby free day. Or..
-Go skating just for the hell of it and remember why you love it. Strap on your skates and your Sonics or Sugars or whatever you're rolling on.. and go skating. Feel the wind, enjoy the sunshine, take a friend.. I used to take my old roomie, Ellie, skating with me. She'd be on her inlines, and I'd be rocking my quads, and we'd just enjhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifoying the path or the weather or laugh a lot when one or the other fell down...
-Do something physical that isn't derby. Again, Ellie used to make me go running.. I loved it, because it made me feel good, and all I had to think about was my stride and my breathing.
-Look forward to things. This month my league was accepted into full WFTDA status, something we've been working towards for a long, long time. It is a HUGE deal - we can be ranked, perhaps attend Regionals, maybe someday Nationals... SO EXCITING. SOOOOOO, I'm excited for our WE'RE LEGIT party tomorrow. It's a time to hang out with the team outside of practice/bouts/meetings. And as excited as I am for the Legit party, I am equally as excited to to street clean-up tomorrow! I love the volunteering/community development side of Derby. LOVE. I love volunteering. love love love!
-Consider the place you want to be in the league. For me, it's Rookie of the Year.. it's a spot on the All-Stars.. it's being a hard, hard hitter... Which makes me work all that much harder.
Basically... talk it out, look forward to things, and work harder...
Although the latter seems a bit ironic, it's not.
Oh, and also?
Don't take things so damn personal.. which is what I need to work on the most.
:)
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