BagelTrollop

Hey Smarty Pants! LOVED watching you skate the All Star Game at NEDC 2016!

Do you have any advice for how to mentally deal with facing skaters that are much, much more advanced in skills? I played a mashup scrimmage this past Sunday between our league's A and B travel teams recently and while my fellow B Team blockers were pumped at the opportunity to play with and against our own Lake Effect Furies, as a B Team Jammer, I felt nothing but fear and anxiety, which led me to be pretty down on myself before, during and after. How do I turn these experiences into positives?

Fair answer! Benefits are awesome. These days, it's all about networking, so knowing who you would be working for is awesome. I'm glad it worked out. How old is your daughter now?

How did you end up in this profession?

These questions come from my coach/derby-mom and derby-wife respectively.

• What are some of your favorite books/resources that have helped you with training?

And

• What are the most effective off-skates training regimes, in your opinion? Do you differentiate off-skates workouts between blockers and jammers?

I DO skate with Buffalo! Queen City Roller Girls love you. :)

You're right that I was pretty shut down before it started (work, mid-season burnout, the thought of skating against people like Bricks Hit House, yadda yadda). I'll definitely start looking to and thinking about my teammates and how badass they are going forward. It took a long time on Sunday to take the mental step back from my own anxiety. I realized I wasn't going to get anywhere pushing, so I started using some (legal) tricksy shit to draw penalties on people. If you can't outgun, best to outwit, I suppose.

You're right - it needs to be hard if I'm going to get anywhere doing this thing that I love. Thank you. <3 <3