A new choice

I've been struggling for some time over how I fit into our roller derby league in Salem (Cherry City Derby Girls).  I started out last November not knowing how to skate.  Over several months, I learned to skate pretty well, and I tested up to level 2 in May.  If I were to pursue testing to level 3 and pass, I would be eligible to be drafted onto a team. 

I started off very gung ho in level 2, but things went awry early in the summer.  My best derby buddies stopped coming to practice, and one of them left the league altogether.  Attendance at practices became sparse, and it was hard to be motivated to show up when I might be the only one there.  I found out in June that I had skin cancer on my scalp that would require surgical removal.  During the healing process, I was not able to wear a helmet, so I was off skates for 2 weeks.  Then I got two ribs knocked out of place at a derby promotional event in July, and I did not get that completely fixed for a month.  That entire time I was not skating, though I was still riding my bike and doing other activities.  Eventually, I started Crossfit as an alternate workout, and I quickly became hooked on the way it seemed to help the shoulder issues created by my misaligned ribs. 

I never really went back to skating after that. I tried to be a rec skater, but it was primarily for a workout, which I didn't really achieve in that case.  So I just stopped going.  I felt bad.  I felt like I was betraying the league by even considering leaving, but I really felt like a second-class member if I wasn't skating.

Last week, I finally came to the realization that I could actually be a very important and much-needed league member by serving as a ref or an NSO (non-skating official).  Hearing that a couple of other people I know have decided the same because they, like me, cannot commit the time required to join a team.

Tonight is my first night at practice as an official instead of a skater.  I'm nervous but excited, and I hope this ends up being the place I was meant to be in the league.