It had been 15 years since I last laced up a pair of skates – but what the hell, it’d be like riding a bike, right?!

Nervously putting on the ‘Fresh Meat’ (beginners) kit, I hoped I hadn’t lost all confidence on wheels. Looking around the room, we were all in the same boat, and after a couple of laps it was soon coming back to me.

As I started fooling myself that this roller derby lark was going to be a doddle, the guys started saying things like ‘pace-line’, ‘pack-work’, ‘min skills’, ‘laterals’, ‘derby stop’, ‘jammer’, ‘pivot’… s***!

It turns out there’s a fair amount to learn and it seems I learn something new every training session I go to. It may be tactics, skate skills, or derby rules but 6 months down the line I’m still having the best time I could be having on 8 wheels!

Here are a few reasons I love this awesome sport:

• The obvious one: it keeps you extremely fit! It also makes you want to improve your fitness so you can chase down that jammer, fly past that blocker, or get an extra lap on your 27-in-5 (you’ll find out).
• Stress relief. There’s nothing like having a bad day at work then getting to hit a few people; it’s very therapeutic!
• Everyone involved with the sport are the friendliest people you’ll ever find. They all look out for each other – and you’ll gain the most awesome teammates you could ask for (your Facebook friends list will get a boost too!).
• You get to travel all over the place and meet even more awesome people.
• Derby ladies are AWESOME! (My wife said I could say that.)
• You get to give yourself a cool name, like Hurt Cobain or Courtney Shove.
• I like that my kids get to come and watch the home games we play. My 5 year old son wants to be a Broller when he grows up.
• At 35 I’m reliving my youth and loving every minute!

So, if you have even a tiny spark of interest, I suggest you STRAP ON A PAIR and get down to Fresh Meat! You’ll make a lot of friends, you’ll get awesome at skating, you’ll get bruised and battered, and you’ll never look back.

Wreck-it Wragg

Join our next men’s intake on June 2nd: https://www.facebook.com/events/632870993467672/

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