Behold! 2012

If the world is really going to end this year, I predict I would die happy after a great year of derby. 2012 is making out to be a fantastic season and I can't wait to really get things started. We are just rounding out an exciting schedule and to make it even better, we found out Tuesday that we FINALLY graduated to the WFTDA big leagues. It was quite the surprise since it was mid-quarter and we weren't expecting any announcements until March.

That day it was also in the high 50s, in January... in Iowa, so I decided to celebrate with an outdoor skate. It kind of made for the perfect day. It made me wish I lived somewhere  that had no winter so I could potentially skate outside any time I wanted to.

Deadwards approves.

We returned to skating practice on the 4th and are just starting to get back into the swing of things. Taking a month off from skating practice didn't turn out as bad as I thought, and I'm sure we have our strength training at Fit2Live to thank for that. Without skating, all I had was planning to throw myself into; for fresh meat practices, PR stuff and anything else I decide to stick my nose in. I started getting overwhelmed and think I forgot about the fun side of derby. Skating again reminded me that this should be about the camaraderie, fun and skating. I'm going to try to make an effort this year to balance it all a little better so I don't get burnt out.

I feel like doing pack drills at practice gives me an indication of where we are all at as a team. Wednesday we did 40 laps as a pack, non-derby direction and it felt good. We all felt very cohesive and strong, not at all what I expected after a break and going clockwise. That's a good feeling since our first bout this year is a mere THREE WEEKS from today, against the Minnesota ALL-STARS. Oh god. I think I'm having panic attack deja-vu. This time it's not a vague version of their All-Star team-- it is them straight up. We're also hitting the road and are going to be playing on their awesome track at the Roy. I'm excited about the venue, but nervous about the giant crowd it holds.

Last year I seemed so mentally and mostly physically prepared for that bout, but somehow lost it all when things got tough. I'm going to try and work on my mental game prior, so I can hold myself together and give them everything I got. I've got to start getting used to tough competition since our schedule is stacked with WFTDA teams. It is going to be a very trying season, but with our league in its 4th season, and having brought in some awesome talent from recruitment, I am ecstatic at the possibilities 2012 holds.

Here's a little blast from the past that gets me emotional every time I watch it. It is a sort of video blog I recorded when we drove up to Madison last spring to play the Unholy Rollers. It is an example of how my team continues to amaze me and I want to tap into that power this season as we start taking on some harder teams.


See you on the track.

-L4D