Street Skating

You know you always picture yourself skating down the sidewalk in your short shorts, legwarmers and big headphones – well get out there and do it! Street skating is a great workout and helps your balance. Not to mention that rolling over pebbles will make you comfortable rolling over the track boundary, fingers, dreadlocks or whatever gets in the way of your wheels.

Keep your knees bent and your weight equally distributed to your heels and keep your feet moving. If you’re skating with a group, have a good skater at the front leading the way and one at the back acting as a sweeper to make sure no one is left behind. Call out obstacles as you come up to them and everyone in the group should repeat the warning – rocks! hole! sand! car!

Softer outdoor wheels will keep your feet from vibrating off your legs, but any old wheels will work. Just don’t wear your favorite bouting wheels outside because they will get torn up! The smoother the concrete the faster you’ll go. When the Texas Rollergirls skate in neighborhoods without much traffic, we have the less experienced girls skate in the street where the asphalt is rougher and not as fast while the more experienced girls cruise on the sidewalk.

Don’t be afraid to skate in the dark, down hills, in parking garages and on asphalt or brick. Skate to events, gallery openings, street fairs – always bring fliers. There’s no better marketing than girls on skates around town!

Drill of the Month

Shell Game – this rotational drill can be done on the derby track, on the street or even on foot while running around a track. In a group of 3-4, rotate relative position in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction while continuing to move consistently forward. Try using verbal and physical commands to let your group know when to shift position and vary the timing of the shift. The goal is to learn to cover the holes created by your teammates when they shift position.