Derby derby blah blah TL;DR
Oct. 25th, 2012 06:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
batskeetsSince this is enough for its own post: I have NOT been able to stop thinking about derby. I know that probably doesn't sound like it's saying much, but it's even more pronounced than usual. The next draft is November 15th, and a lot of things have happened since the previous draft. Several people on my favored team told me that they heavily discussed me at the last draft as someone they wanted on their team. One even said that they didn't get to draft as many people as they wanted, so team-ready people like me got left behind. The captain from my favored team made a point of quizzing me about how I've been liking practices, and whether I'd have any schedule conflicts on their practice days.
I also got feedback from another team saying they considered drafting me at the last draft. That team's captain said I have plenty of skills to impress, and that I just need to put it all together in scrimmage, and that was possibly the most dead-on feedback I've ever gotten. I had another player from that team say that she thinks I have the tools and that I'm draft-ready. So, it's a pretty safe bet that two teams are looking at me pretty seriously, and those are both teams that I think I'd like to be on.
I've been doing a lot of team practices to get a better feel for the teams, and it has definitely changed my perspective. The teams that were my favorites last year are now, well, not so much. The culture of one team has changed dramatically thanks to retirements and such, and I don't feel particularly at home there anymore. Another team--the one that used to be my favorite--seems to have a habit of shit-talking the opposing team, during scrimmage, in a way that hits me as more mean-spirited than I'd like. I know that's not how everyone on that team behaves, but it happens with a few of them often enough that I'm not wildly comfortable with it.
I feel lucky that the teams who seem the most interested in me are teams that I'd enjoy being on. I genuinely like everyone on Favorite Team, and I like the strategies they're working with and the atmosphere of their practices, and I have it on good authority that I could be exactly the sort of player they need. I haven't scrimmaged with them enough to know how we'd gel as actual teammates on the track, yet, but it's looking good, and they seem to like what I have to offer.
Team #2 used to be my least-favorite, but I've since gotten to know a few people there whom I really like and have learned a lot from, so even though there are still a couple of folks who rub me the wrong way, I'm not as weirded out by the social aspect anymore. And, well, I always seem to skate amazingly when I scrimmage with them. The game they play and the way they communicate just seems to work for me, and I end up being in the right place, at the right time, and doing the right things.
So, yeah, I feel confident going into November. I've been getting better and better, and I think it's being noticed. But, more than anything, I just want to get it over and done with, so I know where my home is among the home teams, and can give myself a bit of room to breathe. I'm ready to move on from Fresh Meat, both mentally and physically, and I'm already dreaming of a world where I don't have practice on Saturday mornings, and I only have to try and be super-best-friends with one team, instead of four.
Oh, and I can hockey stop now. So there's that. XD
I also got feedback from another team saying they considered drafting me at the last draft. That team's captain said I have plenty of skills to impress, and that I just need to put it all together in scrimmage, and that was possibly the most dead-on feedback I've ever gotten. I had another player from that team say that she thinks I have the tools and that I'm draft-ready. So, it's a pretty safe bet that two teams are looking at me pretty seriously, and those are both teams that I think I'd like to be on.
I've been doing a lot of team practices to get a better feel for the teams, and it has definitely changed my perspective. The teams that were my favorites last year are now, well, not so much. The culture of one team has changed dramatically thanks to retirements and such, and I don't feel particularly at home there anymore. Another team--the one that used to be my favorite--seems to have a habit of shit-talking the opposing team, during scrimmage, in a way that hits me as more mean-spirited than I'd like. I know that's not how everyone on that team behaves, but it happens with a few of them often enough that I'm not wildly comfortable with it.
I feel lucky that the teams who seem the most interested in me are teams that I'd enjoy being on. I genuinely like everyone on Favorite Team, and I like the strategies they're working with and the atmosphere of their practices, and I have it on good authority that I could be exactly the sort of player they need. I haven't scrimmaged with them enough to know how we'd gel as actual teammates on the track, yet, but it's looking good, and they seem to like what I have to offer.
Team #2 used to be my least-favorite, but I've since gotten to know a few people there whom I really like and have learned a lot from, so even though there are still a couple of folks who rub me the wrong way, I'm not as weirded out by the social aspect anymore. And, well, I always seem to skate amazingly when I scrimmage with them. The game they play and the way they communicate just seems to work for me, and I end up being in the right place, at the right time, and doing the right things.
So, yeah, I feel confident going into November. I've been getting better and better, and I think it's being noticed. But, more than anything, I just want to get it over and done with, so I know where my home is among the home teams, and can give myself a bit of room to breathe. I'm ready to move on from Fresh Meat, both mentally and physically, and I'm already dreaming of a world where I don't have practice on Saturday mornings, and I only have to try and be super-best-friends with one team, instead of four.
Oh, and I can hockey stop now. So there's that. XD
