The start of an 8 wheeled journey

It all started last February. I somehow decided that trying out for roller derby was an awesome idea, despite my complete lack of athletic background, the fact that I'm lazy, clutzy, woefully uncoordinated, and that my daily exercise consisted of turning the pages of whatever book I was reading. So, I sent out two emails, one to the Windy City Rollers, and one to The Chicago Outfit. WCR happened to be the one to respond first, so off I went to my first fresh meat clinic with my new helmet and pads, and no idea what I was doing. I hadn't been on skates in about 12 years, but I managed to get through the clinic without falling. A large group of us turned up and, lead by the amazing Athena DeCrime, worked on starts and stops, and basic skate skills.

Skip ahead three months and it was time for tryouts. I'd been going skating at least 2 times a week to open skates and speed classes, and was much more confident on wheels. Tryouts, however, had me terrified! All we knew was that there would be an off skate workout portion, and an on skate portion. When we showed up the day of, we were trying out in front of the captains of the 4 main teams, incredible women who we'd watched play all season, and were completely in awe of. The off skate portion was the hardest thing I've ever done. I definitely came into this in less physical shape than many of the girls I tried out with, but I never stopped trying. The on skate portion was a bit less terrifying, since I felt confident that I could skate well enough to at least not make an idiot of myself. I finished sweaty, exhausted, but exhilarated. I got an email that night saying I had made it! I have never been so happy or proud. I did something that was so incredibly hard, that went completely against the grain for me, and I succeeded.

Little did I know that was just the beginning!