Kerrie Lee

We started with off-skate quad work today. It didn’t escape my notice that the other girls who had makeup practice on Thursday didn’t show for practice today. One might say I’m more dedicated. I say I’m starting from further behind most of the girls and need every chance I can get to improve.

The off-skate work was particularly difficult for me since I’m still recovering from last week. I did well during the first half of each drill, but started fading fast toward the end. Thankfully, the quad work didn’t last long, and we were able to get on skates and try something new.

First, we started with some stationary two walls. I picked up on the mental aspect of it quickly, but my body still doesn’t move as quickly or with as much certainty as my mind. Then we played a game they called four corners. The jammers started in one corner and as they approached each consecutive corner, a blocker was added to the track. My first attempt was a failure. My second attempt was better, but I lost my nerve when it came time to block at a high speed. My third and fourth attempts were much better. I might even say they were pretty good. I really need to work on my snowplow stops though if I hope to roster as a blocker… which I think I do.

Wednesday’s practice proved that my progress on Monday wasn’t just a fluke. Not only have I started to cross over correctly, but I can now suddenly do a correct squat. I’ve been working on squats for months with little progress, and now after working with a chiropractor for a week, I can squat. Forty years of incorrect squat form corrected with five adjustments. For me, this is monumental.

Practice started off skates and we focused heavily on quad work. On Thursday, Coach Ozone held a makeup practice off skates. I didn’t need a makeup, but I figured the extra practice would do me good. He also focused heavily on quads and after two days of quad brutality I’m having some difficulty walking.

But I can squat. And that’s monumental.

Both the Dames and Dolls had away bouts this weekend, so there was no practice on Sunday. Monday night it was back to business as usual at 7 Flags. My ankle was looking much better, but despite having it taped up before practice, I felt afraid to skate on it. Thankfully, we started with skating laps, squats, and planks.

Then we moved on to something new. We’ve practiced skating in packs somewhat, but last night they introduced strategy. While observing, I found myself thinking about strategy rather than skating, and a curious thing happened. While circling the outside of the track, I forgot to be nervous and started crossing over. Suddenly, something just clicked and I was able to get my feet to move the way they’re supposed to move.

I’m cautiously optimistic about my progress until I can get on skates again on Wednesday, but I feel pretty confident that this is real improvement. Also, my ankle felt really great after practice. I don’t know if it’s the skating, the taping, the adjustments, the use of arnica, or something else entirely, but it’s healing faster than I expected. Yay!