This page is meant to be an additional method for you to search the drills. All of the solutions below are just suggestions, they may work for you or they may not. A.D.D. definitely does not claim to know all the solutions to all problems :)
If you have any problems or solutions to existing or new problems that you would like to submit, please send an e-mail to allderbydrills (at) gmail (dot) com and we'll post your questions/suggestions here!
Problem
Skaters are skating really upright and/or are not getting the proper derby stance and form down.
Solution
There are many reasons why skaters might not be using proper form and stance, inluding (but not limited to): Not having practiced it enough, forgetting the importance of a low stance, not having a strong enough core, feeling unmotivated, and perhaps even skater lazyness. Here are a couple of different drills that will give your skaters a chance to just skate so that you can give each skater individual feedback about their form and stance, and drills where part of the purpose is to stay in the correct stance or in a squat the whole time which will hopefully help your skaters strengthen their core and at the same time build more muscle memory for staying low and keeping "proper" form.
- Just Skate
- Jammer Hell
- Don't Leave Me Hangin'
- Push-n-Pull
- Push-n-Pull Pyramids
- Leg Burners
- Jammer Relay Race
Problem
The skaters are having a difficult time controlling their speed and are frequently bumping into each other.
Solution
Practice speed control and agility. Knowing how to get around a suddenly stopped opponent is as important as knowing how to stop short right behind her/him. Below are a couple of suggestions for drills that help you practice speed control and "body control" (agility + speed control).
Problem
Skaters know how to properly give and take hits in pace-line and partner drills, but during scrimmages they seem to be at a loss at how to incorporate them into the game, and/or forget to use contact in a pack -situation.
Solution
First of all: Remember that contact is not the end-all-be-all of roller derby. It is a tool in your toolbox that you can use when it makes sense to use it; it can often be smarter to use positional blocking rather than contact blocking. Having said that, as everyone who plays roller derby knows, there is A LOT going on during a game. When you're new or newer to scrimmaging and playing, there is so much happening around you that some things are just inevitably forgotten or everything just seems so chaotic that you don't know when to use which of the tools that you've amassed in your derby skills toolbox. So, in the following drills the game is broken down a little bit and the skaters get a chance to practice hitting in big groups and pack formations while doing just a couple of other things at the same time (i.e. looking around, staying in a tight pack, using agility, etc.), they don't have to do all the multi-tasking that is required in an actual game. That should at least help your skaters get more comfortable and used to using contact blocking in game play situations.
