The Tenderiser
Wow! Seven weeks done already. The sessions have been rolling by quickly.
So far, week seven has been the best week! Of course, without all the previous weeks, week seven wouldn’t even be possible. This week’s skills conssited of Transitions and toe stop skills.
Transitions were tough and had me land on my butt once and then left me feeling rather insecure about the whole thing.I’ll just have to practise. (Note to self: add to list.) I found some videos on youtube which I think might help me find the right technique for me. A transition is basically a quick turn from skating forwards to backwards and vice versa. It was easy while standing and not skating and was easier going from backwards to forwards because your turning into the direction you are moving. Going from front to back however, was sticky and clunky and fall on my tushie (no harm done).
After that, we moved on to using our toe stops, that’s the round rubber bit at the front of the quad skates. We learned to stand on them and run on them – visualise a a cartoon character tip toe-ing across a room. It looks a little funny but it’s a great way to pick up speed and start moving fast from a stopped position. The way a swimmer will push off the wall at the end of a lap and use power to get them gliding fast, skaters tip toe to push off the floor with grip before skating. It works! I felt ready to take flight.
Following our regular 90 minutes of skills and drills. We got an additional 90 minutes of fun and games! In teams we relay raced, played musical chairs (we used talons placed on the floor on the inside of the track instead of chairs and yes, we had to sit on them), limbo under a pool noodle and more. We got teams points for winning games/races, for team spirit and for adding a little flare. The musical chairs game was fun and hard on the butt – now my right buttocks feels like a thoroughly tenderised piece of steak. It was all worth the fun.
What did I take away from week seven? Fun and games! That’s right, hard work is important in everything you do but it’s as important to have fun and play games. Team sports, team work comes through in these times, you build strong relationships with your team mates, you put your skills to the test withough even realising it and you surprise yourself because you’re no longer focused on a single skill, instead you’re focused on a goal and on your team. You’re relaxed and that’s when things just fall into place and come together. For all the hard work you do, on skates, at home, at work, always make some time for fun and games.
A big shout out goes to Electro-Cute and The Law for leading us in week seven shenanigans. Thanks for the fun and games. I vote we have a shenanigans session every week or other-week, open to all levels. I’d sign up for that in a flash. Just sayin’…