Jamming Skills: Holding Position versus Fleet of Foot.
Technical jamming skills can often be split into two main categories: Aggressive Skills and Evasive Skills. Understanding the difference between these two skill categories can really help when trying to make improvements in your jamming. The game has changed a lot over the last couple of years, and a lot of skaters that had previously ...
Coaching:When saying nothing is best.
For about a year I’ve been trying out a technique for coaching that, on the surface, seems counter-intuitive and not like coaching at all. It involves not saying anything. Not being so fast to give verbal feedback if skaters don’t instantly do something ‘right’ (or how I imagine it should be done when ...
Learning
I’m keeping this short and sweet today as I’ve been coaching 4 sessions a day for 3 days with one more day to go tomorrow at the AMAZING Derby Revolution in the BEAUTIFUL City of Gent in Belgium. I am mentally almost spent (hence all the CAPITAL LETTERS- I get enthusiastic when I’m exhausted), BUT ...
The time I forgot teabags: Packing for Derby Travel.
If there is one thing that derby has added to my life that I definitely wouldn’t have had without it, it’s Travel. Some people are jetting off all of the time in their real lives. A different city every month, exploring and adventuring. A permanent overnight bag sitting in the hallway, and lunchtimes spent on ...
Downloadable Track and Players to Cut Out and Keep
I’ve made a downloadable, printoffable, cut-outable, keepable version of my Derby Track and Players. It’s in the new Fun Stuff section of the website. Click on the link in the menu to get to the full size ones. Have a great week and say hi if you’re at Derby Revolution this weekend.
Train, Training, Coach, Coaching.
I love training, and I love coaching. I’ve been travelling around the UK a lot over the last few months coaching a wide range of awesome leagues. The one thing that they all have in common is a total eagerness to learn, push themselves and get better. It has been such a privilege to be ...
Auckland Bootcamp: Day 2
It’s a little bit late coming, but day 2 of the bootcamps I ran in Auckland this month was all about strategy. Strategy bootcamps involve a lot of talking and a lot of preparation. For this one I had about six pages of notes, all of which were launching off points for drills and more ...
Auckland Bootcamps 1 and 2.
Kia Ora (it’s too orangey for crows) I’m in New Zealand. It’s summer! There’s sunshine and I can do my plyometrics workouts outdoors! And this weekend 7th and 8th January 2012 I’m hosting two bootcamps with the help of Auckland Roller Derby. Saturday I’m teaching ‘Loading Up Your Toolbox: Skating Skills for Derby’ and ...
The Anatomy of a Bootcamp
I’m back from my weekend in Glasgow and Leeds teaching ‘Strategy of Champions’ with Stefanie Mainey. It was an incredibly fun weekend. The standard of skating skills at the Glasgow one was exceptional, and then the atmosphere at the Leeds camp so much fun. It taught me a lot about bootcamps as, although the ...
Strategy
What is Strategy Of Champions? In December Stefanie Mainey and I are running two bootcamps, in Leeds and Glasgow, and we’ve called them Strategy of Champions. These are the first bootcamps that we have run that contain a significant proportion of off-skates strategy breakdown. Why should i go? If you saw footage ...