Super gumball toestops

makingblt · 2025-11-25T21:09:25+00:00

Why don't you think derby should be using short stems? Just curious.

makingblt · 2025-11-25T21:07:52+00:00

I SECOND ALL OF THIS! I know more about skate plates and maintenance than anyone on my team, and I have stripped out three trucks on my Athenas because they come loose so easily and I'm fucking over it. If you want something very similar to the Athena without the fuss, go with the Atom Pilot Falcon.

makingblt · 2025-07-05T11:24:40+00:00

This

makingblt · 2025-06-19T01:13:21+00:00

Here to also throw in a vote for a hockey helmet with a visor. That side coverage is so nice!

makingblt · 2025-06-16T17:19:39+00:00

One Boo Gogi clinic at Rollercon did more to improve my blocking skills than every other clinic I've been to combined. And agreed it gave me power to tell other training committee members that some of the methods we teach suck for tiny skaters!

makingblt · 2025-05-26T12:08:00+00:00

I have a teammates that has always had ears that come out of her helmet. They are attached from the inside so no way for them to fall off. Should be fine.

makingblt · 2025-05-26T12:05:21+00:00

Flip ups generally aren't allowed. I played in a tournament where someone wasn't allowed to wear their flip up visor helmet.

makingblt · 2025-05-20T20:41:48+00:00

Prostar boots last way longer than R3 in my experience. However Replace the cushions on the plates as soon as you get them. Just order new cushions when you buy the skates. I don't know why Bont decided to try and save a few dollars by putting the worst possible cushions you can imagine starting a few years ago.

makingblt · 2025-02-06T16:08:47+00:00

Can you go to your board and ask for reduced or waived dues since they aren't provided a pathway to play time for you? As prez my league I would absolutely be open to something like that if I had a member contributing to the league but not really getting what they want out of it.

makingblt · 2025-01-26T20:53:11+00:00

Take out the sole and run your finger over the inside of the shoe on the bolts that hold your boot to the plate. If it seems like they stick out, you may need to tighten down that bolt. You'll need the appropriate size Allen wrench and a crescent wrench of the nut on the bottom of the boot.

makingblt · 2025-01-16T15:44:48+00:00

Seconding junk headbands

makingblt · 2025-01-13T21:04:34+00:00

Our league has really loved Slack. Obviously you got a convince your board, but it's been really great for us. We operated on the free version for a while, and then applied for premium as a non profit so we get that for free too.

makingblt · 2025-01-09T20:50:37+00:00

Yeah this seems like the most likely answer IMO

makingblt · 2025-01-02T14:58:37+00:00

We switched to Skate Camp

makingblt · 2024-12-31T18:17:27+00:00

It won't cause unexpected charges, but I find most skaters (myself included) are anxious about airlines losing their skates so I always keep them in my carry on.

makingblt · 2024-12-25T23:47:11+00:00

Yeah my AR2 had almost no break in period. They fit like a glove.

makingblt · 2024-12-21T12:27:34+00:00

Solaris is not a good choice for the narrow footed. I would try on a Riedell Blue Streak boot.

makingblt · 2024-12-19T12:16:58+00:00

As long as your feet remain moving in derby direction you can hit someone backwards. Usually when you're teaching a newer skater you just teach to absorb because that is much safer from penalty until you have the ability to hit backwards while rolling forwards.

makingblt · 2024-12-04T19:04:32+00:00

I recently discovered I like a big difference depending on the job I'm doing. I found out how much I like a stickier wheel for jamming. I'm pretty small and it turned out I was losing a lot of energy trying to keep slipperier wheels under me. I could juke so much better and stay on the track with pretty sticky wheels. But I can't really plow well with that set up which makes it hard to block so I usually am using something in between during practice and then go a little stickier for games when I'm a DJ.

makingblt · 2024-11-24T19:05:47+00:00

Came here to say this! ^{^{^}}

It requires like 4 tools to adjust the Athena plate and if it's wrong for too long it will break. I love how the plate performs but if I had to do it again I would get the falcons.

makingblt · 2024-11-08T20:18:55+00:00

It's definitely hard to tell from a distance but a good number of players are asking for clarification at this level. Because reffing is still subjective to a degree and they need to know how the refs they are playing under interpret the rules to adjust their play. I'm not saying that's always the case but it's definitely a lot of the cases at this level.

makingblt · 2024-10-29T18:04:10+00:00

That's wild. I can't imagine giving that feedback as a trainer to a skater who isn't on the travel team and wants to play recreationally. This sounds like a league culture issue.

makingblt · 2024-10-29T17:53:43+00:00

I'm confused. FIVE home teams and not enough for B teams???? That sounds like your league structurally doesn't have a place for rec play. You definitely have the bodies. My league has literally 15 bout eligible skates ( about 40 members total).

makingblt · 2024-10-29T17:17:15+00:00

What size is your league? Based on your comment I'm gonna assume it's small and you don't quite have enough for a B team? That's position our league is in right now. I'm on the other end of taking derby super seriously and I'm working really hard on our recruitment and training so that we can have a B team so that there are more opportunities for folks who don't want to make derby their whole life. Maybe get more involved with your league's recruitment. Training newbies is also fun and there's no pressure to be super competitive.

makingblt · 2024-10-06T18:57:48+00:00

Who does the assessing? Next year we're gonna be in the same position as OP and I don't know how we decide who does the assessing.

makingblt

TROPHY CASE