We have loads of dedicated athletes training with Roller Derby Athletics all the time. But every now and again, someone comes along and knocks our skates off with their dedication and determination. And we can’t help sharing our #rdaallstars success with the world!
Introducing: Diana, proud member of the Los Angeles Derby Dolls!
Coach Maloik nominated Diana, as she is a dedicated member of our Essentials Training since August 2021 and has completed over 32 workouts with us. Diana is pretty new to skating and was doing a lot of self teaching when she started. She decided to join up with her local derby league’s fresh meat class just to get some instruction on skating safely and properly. Even with her demanding career and past injuries, she’s worked so hard both in fresh meat and training with us at RDA. She recently was surprised and delighted to pass her fresh meat class and is enjoying derby so much more than originally expected. Her hard work has paid off in a great way and she is a joy to work with! Thank you and Congratulations, Diana!!
Q&A with Diana
What do you get up to when you’re not playing derby?
I am a Lead 3D Printing Technician at a company that is attempting to build the first 3D printed rocket! I work long hours and my free time used to be filled with fabricating sterling and gold jewelry, but now it’s full of skating!
What are you working towards in derby right now?
I’m working on building up the fundamental skills necessary to play.
Any big successes or milestones for you in derby recently?
I started taking skills lessons 10 weeks ago, and while I worked super hard the last 3 weeks to prove I had learned something useful, I didn’t actually expect to make Fresh Meat for the LA Derby Dolls.
How has off-skate training contributed to your derby experience?
It’s really helped me figure out how to build up the coordination and which muscle groups I really need to improve.
What is your favorite thing about training with RDA?
I can choose what I want to work on and when.
Do you have a favorite RDA workout?
I prefer the agility workouts. I’m not the most coordinated person, I had a difficult time with sports growing up. I also never knew which side was my dominant side. Nothing ever felt quite right. Turns out I was born left-handed and forced to be right-handed. I’m sure that didn’t help.
Anything else you want to tell the world about your derby or training experience this year?
Derby was never on my radar. I was just another pandemic skater who wanted to learn to dance, realized I was terrible at it and decided I should try street skating. But I was pretty terrible at that too. When I saw the derby skills classes I figured that would help me gain confidence on the street. Then I found this website for training the muscles for derby skating and combined the two. I finally realized I was really enjoyed the derby lessons and after MUCH convincing from classmates, I tried out. And here I am. Still a newbie, but getting better every time I go out. I now trail skate probably 3 days a week and do my derby practices. I’ve never been this sporty in my life. I’m 41.
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Congratulations to Diana! Thank you for being such a joy to work with and sparkling addition to the derby community!