Fall Small
Fresh Meat bootcamp, where veteran skaters train derby newbies in the sport, is a transformative experience. No matter how athletic you were in other sports, roller skates are a great equalizer. Learning to skate, to take and give hits, learning to get low, it humbles you while it equips you with the key skills you need to be successful on track. In my last post, I described my immense regret at not working on my squats in the weeks leading up to Day 1 and how that made getting low a challenge I needed to overcome. Today I will write about the second most important skill you learn as a rookie skater, falling small.
This is a great example of what can happen when someone fails to fall small. Here, that someone is me. In case it isn’t already obvious, I am the skater on the floor…. Morgantown Roller Vixens vs Rockland Rollers, Feb 2019 (Photo credit: Robert Lipscome)
One thing you will notice about roller derby is that there is a lot of falling. Whether you are watching a battle of the Freshies (rookie skaters) or a championship match between two of the best teams in the world, falls happen, often. Pretty much every jam, actually. Long ago, when derby was less of a team sport and more of a race, the intermittent falls drew huge applause. Some spectacular falls may have even been staged to improve ratings. Epic wipeouts taking out more than a few skaters as collateral damage, and the ensuing fist fights as retribution, became commonplace. Like some of the over-the-top theatrics in other sports, it was certainly entertaining as the thousands of adoring fans would attest.
But all that is a thing of the past; one thing you will see is that, while frequent, the falls of modern roller derby are quick and small. There are a couple of reasons for this shift. First, a fallen skater is not allowed to engage in game play until they are upright meaning that until that happens, they are not helping their team. Falling small helps you get back up as quickly as possible so you can rejoin your line. Falling small is also about safety and falling safely means falling forward onto your knee pads, tucking your arms to your sides, and keeping your torso upright and abs tight so you don’t snap a wrist or chip some teeth. It’s also about safety for other skaters in that while you are down, you aim to take up as little space as possible so that skaters around you don’t fall over top of you. Falling safely is easier said than done when you feel your skates sliding out from under you but, it’s a skill that comes with practice and that practice starts on Day 1.
Selfie from Fresh Meat Bootcamp. I had taken a nasty, not-so-small fall a few weeks prior that left my tendon strained and my shoulder bruised. This was my first practice back after that injury.
Falling small is clearly important in derby and in Part II of this story, I will elaborate on how this critical skill translates to the bench and to life.
