You know you're are derby girl if....

Hey again, its Coco!

So I was thinking with a good friend of mine how you tell the difference between normal and regular people to derby girls. The more we thought about it, the more we came up with until....

YOU KNOW YOUR A DERBY GIRL IF!!!

So I just have to say muahaha because it a bunch of the things she and I thought up were really true. If you yourself are a derby girl/guy then keep reading and see if any of the things we have said are true for sure.

You know you're a derby girl if....

1. You get excited over the idea of new bearings.
2. you get excited over the idea of any new part you get on your skates.
3. you take the time to read a. the entire rule book or b. parts of the rule book before a bout so that you know for sure what the rules are.
4. you own a bizillion pairs of knee high/thigh high socks.
5. you find that other sports can be uninteresting because you find that derby is the best sport out there.
6. you experience skate with drawl as soon as you step out the door of a skating rink.
7. you get excited that one of the newbies on your team knocked you down.
8. you look up special in-soles for you skates.
9. you walk like you skate, such as crossing over when you turn corners.
10. you get excited when you go to the gas station before practice and the huge water bottles are on sale.
11. you daydream about derby.
12. you take pictures your bruises because you like the color and shape.
13. you laugh when you fall.
14. duck tape is on your wish list for you birthday AND Christmas.
15. you long for the most violent player on your team to come to practice so that you can fall at practice and get a new bruise.
16. you think that bruises are beautiful.
17. you wear slippers to practice because then you can have you feet tapped up and ready to skate as soon as you get there so you can have more skate time.
18. you look up water bottles on amazon.com to upgrade to a bigger one.
19. you talk non-stop about derby or find references to derby all the time during a conversation.
20. the prospect of someone touching your butt or you touching someone else's butt doesn't bother you as much as it should.
21. you can identify people on your team by looking at their butt.

Now sadly with that last one I do know that it is guaranteed because I asked my own team mates and some people on the womens team. Now one of my coaches has a very recognizable butt. At the championship bout that I went to, I was with some of my team mates and another one of my coaches. My team mate was looking for our other coach and I was able to point her out because I recognized her butt. I asked out other coach how often that actually happens, and she said it actually happens a lot. So it just goes to show that looking at someone's butt is a form of identification, if the butt is now shaped like it usually is, then you've either got the wrong person, or they have gotten plastic surgery that you didn't know about.

Anyway, thats all for now, read again next week for problems with your team mates, please comment down below with any questions or concerns you might have.

@Frank- First, thanks for reading! I understand what happened, and thats what I'm also trying to tell other people so that they know how joining derby can open you up and make you see yourself as a person, not a person pleaser. I appreciate your support.

Fact of the week: drink plenty of water because passing out of dehydration on the track is not fun.

Remember, its good to be a brat!

Coco Pow

The over looked but important part of the skate!

Hey again, its Coco! As I said last week, the topic I'll be talking about will be bearings. Surprisingly enough, there are a lot of derby girls I know who don't know what bearings are. Bearings are what make your wheels turn for all you shameful skaters who don't know what they are. In your wheels if you look, you have a nut, if you were to unscrew that nut and take of the wheel, there is something inside the wheel that is removable. The first time taking them out, have someone else do it because some bearings are very fragile and you can break them if you don't get them out properly. In each of your 8 wheels there is two bearings so you have 16 bearings in your skates. THIS IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO SKATE MAINTAINENCE. The A-BECK system: This is something that I hadn't understood until a friend of mine did some research. The A-BECK system is a way to rate bearings. A-BECK 1's are the best for learners, they don't spin as much so you don't have to worry about getting faster then you are ready for. I have A-BECK 7s on my own skates and they work lovely for me. A-BECK 9's are the best, I don't believe it goes up any higher then that but if I think that the 7's are good, then you can bet good money that the 9's are REALLY good. Bone Swiss: Okay, another type of bearing brand are the Bone Swiss which are pretty much the top of the line bearings. They don't follow the A-BECK system because they would rate much higher then the 9's. I know people who have Bone Swiss bearings and they just fly they are smooth and wonderful and the next time I get new bearings they are what I will be begging for. The best bearings that are out there, in my opinion and a lot of other peoples' too, are the Bone Swiss Ceramic bearings. Never again would you need new bearings because these last forever and are wonderful. They are also expensive. But these bearings are the best, they don't break because of the ceramic that they are made out of. I know some people right now are really bored, but when you are serious about skating you do need to know your skate anatomy. Bearings are one of the parts of a skate that are left out all the time. Everyone knows about the wheels and the trucks and the boot and the toe stop. Those are the easy ones, but the stuff that makes the skates really work such as the bearings and the plates and the axles are often forgotten. You really know that you are a derby girl when you get excited about the types of bearings you are getting for Christmas. Anyway, thanks for reading and I more will be coming soon. Next time I'll try for something that more of you will read more. Fact of the week: Don't ever skate in water unless you are suicidal. Remember, it's good to be a Brat! Coco Pow

How roller derby changed my world!

Big hi out there to all who is reading this! Okay, my name (well, derby wise) is Coco Pow. I live in Arizona and I am on the Phoenix Derby Brats (a.k.a. the Bruising Brats). I started my derby career in October of 2010 and I want to let other people know about how I have dealt with my problems that I have faced when I was just starting.  Derby:  For now, we'll just stick with the facts. Derby is not a very well-known sport. It also has a bad reputation too. Only people who have met the girls on the teams and been watching and supporting derby for a very long time can see derby as a fun and life-changing past-time that it is. Derby, as you know, is seen as a very violent and harmful sport, but anyone who has actually played derby will tell you differently. The point of the game is not to just find satisfaction in hurting someone, but to play the game. Yes, derby has hitting, but its not the kind that is trying to hurt someone. This is what a lot of people don't get when they think of derby is that when a girl hits another, we aren't just trying to hurt someone, we are doing our job and our job is to get our jammer through the pack to score the most point while making sure the other jammer is stuck in the pack and not scoring points. Having played derby I can safely say that when I hit another player, I don't feel very good. After the jam, if I've really knocked them down, then I do go over and apologize, and the same goes for any other person on my team.  Pros of Derby: how its changed my life From the day that I am writing this, one year ago I can tell you exactly what I was compared to who I am now. One year ago, I was a shy girl with no self confidence, people who had known me for years still didn't always understand me because I was like Chinese food. Unappetizing at first, then getting unexpected surprises as you keep eating the dish, being afraid of what you will find next. I had ingrediates that no one would touch, and my true self was locked away, only seen by my family and the occasional person who I could trust my life with. Now, I am a confident and open derby girl and I am better friends with the girls on my team whom I've only known for 7 months then people that I have known my whole life. Now, I am like a bowl of Jello. When you meet me, you know what you getting and what I'm going to taste like. Not only that, but you change physically as well. I hid behind my hair, like I was putting and curtain between me and the rest of the world, not wanting anyone to know me. I also was a little over weight, and I usually didn't look that healthy because the expression I kept on my face was meant to make people look over me, through me, not at me. Now I hold my head up high, I have lost 20 pounds in 4 months and for the first time in my life, I can actually attract male attention. Not only that, but the muscles you build are worth having. Its like I shed my old skin, and grew a new one.  Some of the other perks of derby is the friendship. As I said earlier, the girls on my team know me better then people I have known all my life. Why? Because you bond with girls who you have to forget every sense of personal space and modesty because you cannot play the sport if you can't bring yourself up to have to touch another girls' butt. Not only that, but you are all cheering for each other, you are always helping your teammates and just being girls and having a good time. In my league, you can join the team if you are between the ages 12-17 and happen to own a pair of skates and other derby necessities. I have friends who are as young as 12 and in 6th grade and girls who are 16 and juniors in high school. This is a great way to meet new people and it teaches you how loyalty to your friends is important. Through derby, I have found my best friends, and a soul sister. Her real name is the same as mine, we both have younger (obnoxious) sisters, without meaning too, we got the same kind of skates. At one point she had a boyfriend named Michael and I had a boyfriend named Michael. When those relationships ended, they ended in the same week. Both of our derby names have something to do with breakfast cereal, so we are called things such as, breakfast, the cereals, or the best one is the cereal killers. We would have never found each other if it hadn't been for derby.  So thats all for this week. More is coming and some of the upcoming topics will be the following: -bearings: their brands, rating, and the do's and don'ts -you know your a derby girl if... -problems with your teammates -derby injuries: the risks you take So keep following if you are interesting in a. joining derby, b. watching derby, or c. are in derby and just want to learn about my experiences as I begin my derby career.  My fact for the week: never doubt duck tape...it will rule the world one day. Remember it's good to be a brat,  Coco Pow