5 Tips for the Roller Derby Off Season

energy goals off season recovery roller derby off season Dec 13, 2023

Fit these 5 things in your off season so you can kick all the butt & reach your derby goals in your next season of roller derby.

Every derby skater needs time & space to recharge their derby batteries. Derby is incredibly fun, but it's also physically & mentally taxing. The off season is your time to recharge & reset so you can come back to derby energized & enthusiastic!

#1 - REST

REST allows your body & your brain to slow down and to heal & it’s the most important step you can take to avoid mental and physical burnout.

Take time to turn off & tune out. No derby. No working out. That means no watching derby, planning derby, committee work, etc.

Many leagues have mandatory break periods during the off season for skating & derby jobs. You can go for much longer, but put on your vacation mode for at least a week ;)

Think of it like a good sleep. You get to fully relax and shut off. Your body gets to settle, your brain clears, & maybe you even dream a little. And you wake up feeling like a new person.

#2 - RECOVER

RECOVERY is crucial! Help your body heal during the off season. You can’t play your best derby, or even train hard for derby, if an injury or misalignment is slowing you down.

Rehab anything that's injured, tweaked, or out of alignment. A nagging issue that’s not healed will likely become a bigger injury during the season. And a bigger injury will be more painful and also make you miss practices & games. So do research. See a specialist. Stretch, do mobility work, do rehabilitation exercises, get massages.

This is a great time to emphasize prehabilitation and mobility exercises. You want to intentionally concentrate on the smaller muscles in your ankles, legs, glutes, shoulders, & back so they’re strong enough to support your full body when you start training hard.

Think of it like a tune up for your car. Make sure everything is in working order & fix any issues so you can turn off the check engine light & get back on the road.

#3 - REVIEW YOUR SEASON

Do a quick REVIEW of the season that just ended so you can analyze & celebrate what you did.

Grab a pen & paper and think allll the way back to January. Now start writing down what happened this season. You can close your eyes and recap your derby timeline in your mind if you're not a pen & paper person.

We tend to forget everything that happened in a full season, so a recap is a great way to really see what you’ve done & accomplished.

How did this past season start? What did you do? Where did you go?
What games did you play? How did they go? How did it feel?
What did you love? What did you accomplish? What would you change?
Who did you love playing with? Learning from?
What skills did you improve this year?
How would you rate this derby season overall?

Looking back on the good things AND the things you would change if you could will help you see what you want more of or less of in the next season.

Which prepares you perfectly for #4…

#4 - SET YOUR GOALS FOR NEXT SEASON

This is your time to get real about what you actually want. Your GOALS don't have to meet the expectations of anyone but yourself.

You may decide next season is the year you go to every local scrimmage. Maybe you're trying out for the travel team or stepping your blocking up to the next level. Maybe you want to apex jump in a game. Or maybe your main goal this year is to maintain a healthy balance of derby & work & family life.

Pick 1 or 2 goals. If you try for more than 1 or 2 at the same time, you won't be able to focus on them and make great progress. You can always add more once you reach your first goal. So pick what's most important to you now or what excites you the most & start there.

Now, brainstorm how to reach your goal. If you’re not sure where to start, ask someone you know who’s had similar goals how they reached them. Or research someone who’s accomplished your goal, analyze how they did it, and make a similar plan that’s tailored for you. When you have your plan, write it down.

#5 - BUILD YOUR SKILLS & GET TO WORK

You’ve rested, recovered, reviewed, set new goals, & made a plan to reach them.

Now it's time to put in the right WORK to reach your goals.

This may look like off skates footwork & quickness. Or working on your transitions, edges, & footwork on skates. You may be in the gym getting stronger with weights. Or researching communication skills and team dynamics. Or watching bout footage of yourself or your opponents to learn exactly what you need to change up & improve.

Get creative, involve your derby bud or teammates & have a blast in the process of getting to your next level of derby play.

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→ There's no strict formula or timeline for your off season. ←

Your goal is to take as much time as YOU personally need for each step. Your timeline will be based on what's happening in your life right now - stress, injuries, work life, family life, etc. You may spend longer on step 1 than step 4 & your teammate may be the opposite. That's normal & just means that's what you need right now & that's what they need right now. It's also normal to still be working on some of these things as the new season starts. Flexibility is key.

Congrats on setting yourself up for a fun, rewarding, & super successful season!! Now go have the best year ever!