How to Skate with a Pack in Roller Derby

Video Transcript

"In this clip we'll talk about pack skating basics. In a roller derby game, unless you're the Jammer, chances are you're going to be skating in very close proximity to a lot of other skaters. There are ten skaters on the rink at any given time. Eight of them usually are making up the pack. So you need to learn to skate with someone to the right of you, to the left of you, directly in front of you and directly behind you. Now in the rules of roller derby, you may touch your team mates. You may not touch an opposing player anywhere. So you need to recognize who is your team mate and who is not. And you need to be able to skate while keeping your skates close to your body so you're not kicking anyone. Most of the time when you're skating in the pack, you're going to be doing something that's called sticky skate. Sticky skate is when you have all eight wheels on the floor and you don't pick up your feet at all. One of the things I train my gals to do is to skate in sticky skate in a nice low crouch, keeping your center of gravity low to the ground so you don't get knocked over in case someone accidentally or purposely bumps into you. I'll demonstrate three different types of sticky skate. The first one is the basic scissor kick. This is a really good one to work those thigh muscles and the hamstrings. And I always tell my gals those thighs are not screaming in pain, they're screaming in beauty. All right, here we go with the basic scissor kick. Out and in. Notice I never pick my skates up off the floor. You don't hear the wheels other than just the movement on the floor. The next one is called a salaam. You're going to go from the right to the left, to the right to the left. If you're a skier, you'll recognize this move. The last move is a figure eight. In this move, this is a good precursor to the crossover because your feet are actually going to cross back and forth in front of one another. If you've ever been interested in jam skating, this is also a jam skating move. Watch as I demonstrate."