2014 Roller Derby Goals

This past weekend CarnEvil held our annual retreat where (among other things) we talked about where we've been in the past year and where we'd like to go in the future.  It occurred to me that I didn't really sit down and perform a similar exercise on a personal level last year.  I got drafted and then found myself awash in a generalized goal of getting better which is - of course - generally useless.  I therefore present to you my plans for the coming season.
Be Awesome
Being awesome has once again made the list for achievable objectives in the coming year.  In many ways this should come as no surprise but during my first season I'm afraid that what had once been my daily mantra subsided first to a foregone conclusion and then to a memory of something great.  True awesomeness requires occasional revitalization and redefinition.  To be awesome I must:
Remain Positive
I'm an outwardly cheerful person.  It's how people see me and how I see myself which is why I think it's so easy to let the occasional negative thought or comment slip suddenly into a vortex of spiraling disaster where the only person in my immediate vicinity who's looking at any particular situation 'the right way' is me.  The cheerful one.  Which of course is hardly cheerful at all.  I believe that negativity often stems from relying too heavily on my own perspectives.  I therefore pledge to keep an open mind so that I may hear the best of what other people have to say and see the best in what other people are doing.

I dislike pithy statements, but I needed to hear this on the day I first saw it.

To remain positive I will:
1.)  Refrain from responding to emails that irritate me in the hour that I first receive them.
2.)  Assume the best about the actions or in-actions of others unless proven otherwise.
3.)  Find and emulate enviable traits of those around me.
Live in the Moment
This is hard.  Like - driving down the freeway at 95mph while opening a bottle cap with your toes hard.  Perhaps my greatest asset and most serious flaw is that I tend to see myself in the victorious future rather than the messy present.  On the one hand, it's great to prepare for success.  On the other hand, success is difficult to achieve without a persistent focus on the task at hand and it's easy to get frustrated when what's imagined is too distant from what exists.
To live in the moment I will:
1.)  Look at my coach in the face when she's talking (or at other people's faces when they're talking).
2.)  Take 30 seconds to calm my mind of all thoughts before the start of any practice or scrimmage.
3.)  Imagine success 10 seconds (not 10 minutes) before it happens.
Encourage Others
There's a lot of research and philosophy behind why encouraging others is a great way bring success to your door.  You can call it karma, science or common sense.  I don't really have a word in my personal arsenal to sum up how I feel about that.  Sure - encouraging others will probably help them to encourage me, and that's all well and good.  But really I think that whole-hearted honest encouragement is a way to become larger than yourself.  If that's not awesome, I don't know what is.
To encourage others I will:
1.)  Give high fives with my heart.
2.)  Practice good active listening.
3.)  Tell people with words when I see that they've accomplished something really cool (even though that's sometimes hard for me).
I love being awesome, but I also have a few goals for skating itself.  So without further ado...
Skills
*  Plow with my left foot, because my right foot is tired of always doing all the work.
*  Hop laterally - for a good reason - during a scrimmage (which will probably be preceded by hopping laterally for no reason during a scrimmage).
*  Re-remember fearless jumping
*  Find my butt whiskers
*  Weak side force out/transitions.  (I'm SO close to being able to consistently execute this)
*  Juking
*  Good lateral agility while skating backwards
*  Do one scary thing every time I'm on roller skates
*  Hockey stop
Athleticism
*  I want to be physically able to jam all night on a Thursday without causing undue exhaustion (if I could manage this as a Cadet I can sure as hell do it now).
*  Consistent injury prevention strength training and PT
*  To get up quickly without pain every time I fall, no matter how many times I fall
Game Play
*  Increase my game intensity from a 6-7 level to a 9-10 level
*  To always be acting decisively to accomplish some goal during a jam (rather than waiting in indecision)
*  Finish re-reading the rules and follow up with with a ref on the questions already noted as well as those yet to be noted.
*  Make a regular habit to watch game play from other high level leagues whether online or in person.
*  To continue to develop my voice as a floor general
I think that pretty much sums it up for now.  Stay tuned for further developments for my second season as a skater!
<posted on 9.18.13>