Six Stride Hell

Alternative names: --

Objective: Work on acceleration from pack speed

Typical length of drill: 5-10 minutes

Materials needed: a skating surface

Skill level required: cross overs and the ability to skate on one leg in corners and straight aways (to be effective)

Description: Have all skaters on "the track" skating at their own "pack speed" spaced out randomly around the track.

On the whistle, all skaters take six hard, fast sprint steps from wherever they are then return to normal skating. Repeat whistle randomly for drill length. 

Additional notes: Generally at Pioneer Valley we use this as an ending drill, something to bring the heart rate back up, before skating a few laps to cool down and stretch.

This could be used as a pack drill to get teams of people used to speeding up and slowing down together.

While everyone is on the track, this is a drill about individual performance. Skaters should have a sense of urgency to skate the hardest and fastest six strides they can on that whistle. If it's 5 or 7 it's not a failure. The point is to begin the sprint from wherever you are and handle it through people also on the track.

Reverse Fire Drill

Alternative names: None (weaving / pace line variant)

Objective: 360 degree awareness, upper body flexibility, pacing, weaving, trust, c-cuts

Typical length of drill: 5 minutes or however long it takes

Materials needed: One passable object per approximately 8 skaters (Nerf balls recommended)

Skill level required: Generally people who are ready for contact have the skills needed for this drill

Description: This is an intermediate weaving or pace line.

As with the Squeezebox, I use this as a warm up drill when we will use drills later in practice which build on the skills. This would include blocking/hitting from the front, pack awareness, game awareness, pacing, and lateral movement. This drill moves the balls in the opposite direction of the Fire Drill. Skaters should already be familiar with and skilled at skating in a weaving or pace line.

All skaters line up in a single pace line about two arm lengths apart. The activity of the drill will enforce this.

Distribute Nerf balls through the line about one for every eight skaters. You can use other objects as well. For advanced skaters, weighted medicine balls work. Other objects could be stuffed animals, shoes, swim noodles, cones, other balls. I prefer Nerf balls with new skaters because they are easy to see and they are easy to grab with wrist guards.

As the pace line starts, the balls are passed forward. This requires skaters at the front of the line to be constantly looking back to know where the balls are in the pace line. Once a ball reaches the front of the line, the skater takes the ball and weaves backward through the line. On reaching the back of the line, they pass their ball forward and the drill repeats from there.

If a skater can tag the back of the skater in front of them without the front skater knowing the ball is there, the tagged (front) skater must leave the line and complete some activity, I usually require 10 push ups, then return to the line.

Additional notes:
After we started doing the Fire Drill at Pioneer Valley, it was simply a matter of my natural habit to always see if we can do something backward from the way we do it forward. Thus this drill was born. As with many things, this drill is a little more difficult than it is in the "forward" direction.

Coaching Notes
Encourage skaters to reach back for the balls in both the right and left directions.

Make sure skaters are making eye contact with the person behind them as they receive the ball. Encourage skaters to turn at the waist and to pass the ball, not throw it.

As a coach, intermittently I will remind the group to know where all the balls are, to remind them to look around. Be specific! If I have a green and two yellow Nerf balls in the line, I'll say "where are the yellow balls?" or "who is carrying the green ball?" The activity of having to look for something, identify it, and observe it's current process will help skaters learn the mental skills of judging and processing time passage on the track.

Especially when working with new skaters, encourage them to be in the right position at the right time. If they've fallen behind when receiving the ball because they haven't continued skating while reaching back, they'll have to catch up to the skater in front of them to hand the ball off. Use this as a learning opportunity of illustrating the need to be where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there and also to keep skating when looking behind you. Skaters cannot forfeit one activity (keeping up with the pace line - aka keeping up with the pack) for another (reaching back for a pass - aka giving a teammate whip).

Skaters in line must be told to keep their line and to keep it straight. Early feedback in developing this drill is that the skater weaving back must be able to feel they can trust their line to be where it's supposed to be when it's supposed to be there. Newer skaters will have a tendency to flinch and try to get out of the weaver's way. Ultimately that will lead to crashes, so this should be kept to skaters cleared for contact. This is a great opportunity to teach this pack skill - stay where you're supposed to be and skate in a way your team can predict where you'll be.

Encourage people to keep up with the line. Newer skaters will also tend to slow to allow the weaving skater to go in front of them. This creates bad habits. If a weaver misses a spot, they should go for the next one. Skaters should keep pack pace.

Pre-instruction on how to weave includes the following tips:

• Be looking back over your shoulder closest to the line as you weave
• As you're crossing through the line, you should already be shifting your weight to skate back through the next gap
• You do not actually skate backward, the pace line is simply moving in the forward direction faster than the weaver
• You are not moving slower than the weaving line, you're actually moving faster - laterally. This makes your forward movement slower than the pace line.
  
• Recognize this weaving movement is the precursor to blocking and hitting from a forward vantage point
• Trust your line to move as it should
• If weaving is too easy, then jump/hop through the line
• Always anticipate your next move

This drill works well in both derby and non-derby direction. I usually run this drill for half the time or at least one full cycle of the line in derby direction, then lead the group in a figure 8 to reverse direction and run it again or the remainder of the time.

Participants may be split into lines of appropriate speed keeping the faster line to the outside and the slower line to the inside. At Pioneer Valley, we have 10' markers that are only about 2-3' wide. For a single line, the line must stay over those markers. For two lines, the inside line stays between the inside track boundary and the inside of the markers while the outside line stays between the outside of the markers and the outside track boundary.

Side Note
While you have balls out on the track, an added benefit we have at our practices is we throw the balls around while doing warm up or cool down laps. This is not a pace line thing and is helpful for all levels of skaters.

• Develops hand eye coordination
• Develops a sense of learning to aim for where someone will be (especially with slow Nerf balls) not where they are
• Takes attention away from the activity of skating and helps skaters gain comfort on their feet
• Encourages sub-conscious speeding up and slowing down to catch the ball
• Encourages full track awareness (Where are the balls? Is one being thrown to me?)
  
• Helps skaters learn to get low to pick up dropped balls at speed
  

Fire Drill

Alternative names: None (weaving / pace line variant)

Objective: Learn the basics of a pace line while using some basic upper body movement

Typical length of drill: 5 minutes

Materials needed: One passable object per approximately 8 skaters (Nerf balls recommended)

Skill level required: none

Description: This is a very basic weaving line or, as some might call it, pace line.

I use this drill with the freshest of fresh meat as soon as they are able to skate well enough to keep up with a line, pass someone, and weave between two people.

All skaters line up in a single pace line about two arm lengths apart. The activity of the drill will enforce this.

Distribute Nerf balls through the line about one for every eight skaters. You can use other objects as well. For advanced skaters, weighted medicine balls work. Other objects could be stuffed animals, shoes, swim noodles, cones, other balls. I prefer Nerf balls with new skaters because they are easy to see and they are easy to grab with wrist guards - something new skaters are just getting used to.

As the pace line starts, the balls are passed backward. This stimulates the activity of turning and looking backward while skating forward. It also enforces the pace line spacing without skaters having to think about it too much. Once a ball reaches the back of the line, the skater takes the ball and weaves forward to the front of the line. On reaching the front of the line, they pass their ball back and the drill repeats from there.

Additional notes:
The name, Fire Drill, should be fairly obvious since it is basically a bucket brigade. I believe this was a Pioneer Valley invention because I brought our coaching kit that I made with the Hellions to PVRD and we were looking for something to do with the Nerf balls on a skills practice night. I had bought the Nerf balls to play Dodge Ball on skates (will write that up as a drill soon). If memory serves, it was Pink Panzer who came up with the idea to do this.

While this is a drill designed to help brand new derby skaters grasp the pacing concepts of a weaving line without barking orders at them, this can be used for more advanced skaters as a part of a dynamic warm up routine. Add other dynamic stretches to this for a nice, easy warm up that keeps the mind active and alert while skating as a team.

Coaching Notes
Encourage skaters to pass the balls back in both the right and left directions.

Make sure skaters are making eye contact with the person behind them as they pass the ball. Encourage skaters to turn at the waist and to pass the ball, not throw it.

Especially when working with new skaters, encourage them to be in the right position at the right time. If they've fallen behind when the person in front of them is trying to pass the ball back and now they have to catch up, use this as a learning opportunity of illustrating the need to be where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there.

Brand new skaters will get a bit nervous when weaving through the same space as a ball passing backward. They'll get over it.

This drill works in both the derby direction and non-derby direction. I usually run it through in one direction for half the time, then have the line follow a figure 8 to reverse direction and repeat it in the reverse direction.

Side Note
While you have balls out on the track, an added benefit we have at our practices is we throw the balls around while doing warm up or cool down laps. This is not a pace line thing and is helpful for all levels of skaters.

• Develops hand eye coordination
• Develops a sense of learning to aim for where someone will be (especially with slow Nerf balls) not where they are
• Takes attention away from the activity of skating and helps skaters gain comfort on their feet
• Encourages sub-conscious speeding up and slowing down to catch the ball
• Encourages full track awareness (Where are the balls? Is one being thrown to me?)
  
• Helps skaters learn to get low to pick up dropped balls at speed
  

Pack Blood & Thunder

Alternative names: Blood & Thunder, Queen of the Rink

Objective: Fun, hitting, pack awareness

Typical length of drill: 5 to 15 minutes

Materials needed: a marked derby track or similar

Skill level required: contact eligible

Description: Like Blood & Thunder or Queen of the Rink, this is a "last skater standing" game.

All skaters get on the track between the jammer and pivot lines. At the whistle all legal contact is allowed between skaters. In addition to being removed from the game if you fall down or step out of bounds, you are also removed from the game if you are out of play. Generally OOP is considered to be 20' from the bulk of skaters, but as the game winds down to the last few, it is reduced to 10'.

Coaching Notes 

Help skaters recognize when "opportunity blocks" are happening on the track.

• Did a skater not quite fall or go down from that last hit? Can I take the next hit and complete someone else's attempt?
• Is there a skater not paying attention because they just hit someone else down or out that I can put down?
• Is there a skater who is going for a big hit that I might be able to use their momentum to take that skater and their target out by following behind?

 

Help skaters recognize block avoidance tactics

• Maintaining a front of pack but in play position is often the least likely spot to be engaged. Encourage newer skaters to stay there.
• Would disengaging from this skater allow for the hitting skater to continue down or out of bounds while the receiving skater would stay up and in bounds?
• Point out when people have been taken out because they weren't paying attention behind them or were too proud of their last hit (B&T can be a humbling game)

All legal hits include

• Hitting with legal blocking zones
• Hitting to legal target zones
• Hitting while stepping or skating in derby direction
• Hitting while within 20' of "the pack"
• Pushing and leaning
  

As the game winds down to fewer skaters, implement a "shot clock" of 3 to 5 seconds. Have everyone not playing count "ONE one thousand, TWO one thousand..."

Keep the games moving along. Encourage alliances on the track, especially to make sure the last round's winner does not win again.

Additional notes: This pack modification was introduced to the game I play by my derby wife, Will Jettison, when he was coaching the Hellions of Troy back in 2008. We quickly found it made the game more derby-like and used more derby skills while not reinforcing bad derby habits like skating away from the pack. In traditional Blood & Thunder, it can quickly become a game of speed and avoidance.

At Pioneer Valley Roller Derby, where we typically have 30 to 45 skaters at practice, we divide up into three groups, run each group until we're down to 3 skaters, then have a final match of the top 3 from each round. I would recommend packs of no more than 15 skaters.

Squeezebox

Alternative names: None, but this is a waterfall or cycling drill

Objective: To practice waterfalling and communication while programming a sense of track space.

Typical length of drill: 5 minutes

Materials needed: One derby track. A clear inside line is critical while the outside could be cones. This makes this an excellent spatial drill for teams that practice in spaces smaller than a full size track like a gymnasium.

Skill level required: None

Description:
I like to use this waterfall drill as a warm up, then expand on it later in the practice session and use drills which emphasize the motions of the Squeezebox.

I'll describe the motions of this drill, but here's a small Flash video to demonstrate how it works.



Divide your skaters into groups of three (3). You can have as many groups of 3 doing this on the track at the same time as you require. If your group is not divisible by 3, then a group of 4 or a group of 2 may happen and that's fine - the fundamentals are the same. I've seen this work with over 60 people on the track at once, so use this for your mixed skills practice or to warm up for travel team - it's all the same.

The key of this drill is that each member of the group of three needs to know and practice what they should be doing at each key point on the track.

On the Straightaways:
The inside skater needs to be covering the inside line
The other two skaters are spreading wide over the track covering as much width as possible and using eyes and finger tips to keep in communication, ready to move as needed (pretending a bout situation)

Approaching the odd corner:
The wall begins to contract. The middle skater communicates with the inside skater they will have the inside line covered by the apex. The outside skater comes in closer to the middle skater. The inside skater begins to move ahead of the pack.

The inside skater moving faster is a natural occurrence with skating a smaller circle. It is also going to be easier to cover that tight inside corner with a 12.5' radius with two different skaters - one that leaves it and one that pulls in from outside, effectively making it a wider circle to defend.

At the apex:
The inside skater has now fully moved ahead of her teammates. She may receive a small whip or push from the previously middle skater to move straight toward the outside on the even corner. The middle skater has moved to the inside and the outside skater stays tight in that corner moving to the middle and being prepared to defend anywhere on the track coming out of the corner.

Leaving the even corner:
Skaters have shuffled now and should come out of the corner nearly together. All skaters will make minor adjustments in their speed and may assist each other to even up and remember to begin the expansion over the straight away.

If you watch the video or do this drill, you'll find this is the most efficient use of the track distance by a group of three skaters. Over the course of every lap and a half, each skater has traveled the same distance. Speed is not critical here. Skaters should skate in their walls at a comfortable pace. Movement, positioning, and communication are more important than "keeping up".

Adding a few "jammers" to the mix to try to get around the Squeezebox walls while following the Squeezebox pattern will emphasize how it is okay to move off the line so long as it's covered and will reinforce the need for constant communication. Encourage Squeezebox skaters to block while keeping with the Squeezebox pattern. The inside skater leaving the inside line does not have to go in front, she may go in back with blocking a jammer, but must end up in the outside position.

Additional notes:
Purpose and Intent:
This is a drill I developed with Ballistic Miss L of Pioneer Valley Roller Derby. We combined a cycling drill she had learned from another league with a wall drill I had learned from another league. At first we called this the Accordion Drill, based on the expanding and contracting nature of the wall. After our first attempt, with it being a successful drill, we renamed it Squeezebox for notoriety. What I love about this drill is it is a strategy drill disguised as a warm-up drill.

I use this drill whenever I'm teaching teamwork and strategy as a guest coach. For me this is fundamental use of track space with a wall. It encompasses all wall components:

• Cover the inside line
• Communicate between skaters
• Learn communication styles as a skater and coach
• Effectively and efficiently cover the width of the track
• Helps build muscle memory and awareness of the playing space
• Creates multi-skater defense opportunities on all areas of the track
• Focuses the mind and energy to the competition space

Coaching notes:
Frequently the straightaways are where skaters get lazy. Skaters often need to be reminded to keep the inside covered and to expand wide across the track in this section. Remind skaters to not throw away this 35' of track in anticipation of the upcoming corner.

Encourage strong, positive communication as the middle skater covers the inside line and the inside skater leaves it. This can be physical or verbal, but in real bout situations, we need to know someone will be there before we leave that line. Do not let the repetitive nature of this drill get comfortable and shortcut the communication.

Inside skaters moving to outside from the apex generally should skate straight to the outside of the track. Ultimately they want the shortest distance around this modified oval and to spill the speed they had from inside. If skaters aren't understanding this move, encourage them to envision that jammer who has chosen an outside path around the corner and picking them off at the widest point where they have to convert from turning to straight is the easiest spot to cut them off or hit them.

Assists to move off the inside line and to keep the wall tight between all skaters coming out of the corner are encouraged. Keep in mind, however, this is not a drill focused on assists! Plus, the middle-becoming-inside skater might push the inside-becoming-outside skater as much slow her self down to stay on the line as to help the skater move out. It's okay for the inside-now-outside skater to reach back and assist the outside-now-middle skater to come up with the wall. Assists given should be gentle adjustments and tactile communication, not huge transfers of energy. The natural speed of a skater on the track should take care of most positioning.

For Referees:
Referees who choose not to participate in this drill in the walls, should be encouraged to follow some of the walls from an inside pack or outside pack POV and watch for multi-player blocks and skates going over the boundaries. I would encourage referees to participate in referee groups. The communication of moving around and switching places in tight corners is something I use when I referee on the inside (jam, head, pack). But if they're not comfortable doing so, taking on the challenge of observing as a referee is acceptable as well.

Guest blogging: Bitches Bruze



Bitches Bruze #802


A.D.D.'s next gues blogger is Bitches Bruze of Pioneer Valley Roller Derby, the first league in the U.S.A. to have both a women's and a men's team.  Her bout of guest blogging will be "Back to Basics with Bitches - drills for bringing your team together through basic skating and position skills."

For Bitches Bruze, skating became a part of her life as a little girl and on up through the sneaker skates of the 1980s. In 1985 she was awarded the University of Florida Choir’s award for “Soprano on Wheels” a result of roller skating to every class on campus, and right up to her chair as first soprano three times a week. She traded in those sneaker skates for roller blades in 1990 and, finding inlines to have no soul, hung up her wheels. Fifteen years later, looking for a team sport to stay in shape, she found roller derby through a Wikipedia search and her derby career has been filled with many exciting twists and turns.

 

“I’ve never been your traditional athlete,” says Bitches. “I have a deformity in my right knee which makes speed in skating or running difficult. But I have a lot of strength in my legs and upper body. In high school, I stuck with things like playing goalie on the varsity field hockey team, long jump, triple jump, discus, and shot put. I was also into drama club, writing, and the only freshman on the math league. Really, my derby career reflects that same kind of all around, involved in everything kind of skater.”

 

For Bitches, the complexity of a sport that involves simultaneous offense and defense ignites her love of game and strategy. “This sport really requires amazing all-around athleticism and a sharp, observant mind. For all intents and purposes, roller derby can be classified as a ‘war game’ – and it’s full contact and on wheels.”

 

In order to better learn and understand the game, Bitches began early in her career getting involved with every aspect of the game. Since she started in the summer of 2007, she has filled every single role in a bout – from skater, head referee, videographer, announcer and every NSO position (except score keeper). She’s worked more than 150 bouts and been on roster for more than 50 bouts. “There isn’t an aspect of working a bout, even outside white board, that doesn’t give a skater a new, more involved, look at the game.”

 

Outside derby, Bitches teaches computer programming and applications at the Community College of Vermont in Bennington, Vermont. “I love teaching. I’ve done so many things in my life and to bring ideas and skills to people is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.” For fun, Bitches and her husband (who is also now her derby wife), Will Jettison (of the Dirty Dozen) like sailing and pioneering. When they aren’t traveling to some bout somewhere, you’ll either find the two of them on a lake with sails up, or cutting down trees and milling them into posts and beams for their house.

 

Bitches is available for guest coaching and specializes in bringing drills and strategy to teams and leagues in their second year of derby who are looking for cohesion and that next level of play which gets into the complexities of flat track derby. You can learn more about Bitches’ approach on her blog http://promiseofderby.com/ or visiting her on Facebook http://facebook.com/bbruze802.

 

Welcome Bitches Bruze!