Over the May Day bank holiday I had full weekend of skating.
On Saturday the weather allowed me to get out to People’s Park for 4 hours. Much of this was spent messing around. I also helped a young disabled lad with his skating. I used to see Zed in a wheelchair with his carers and always said hello. Over time his mobility improved – he still needs support but he can walk and just recently he turned up wearing roller blades. With help he is very happy to roll around the park. We don’t have any formal arrangement, but his dad is keen for me to help. I’m told that skating has helped with the circulation in his legs. He tires quickly, so rest breaks for him are frequent – so it’s really not much work to hold his hand while he skates a little. I did do some practice; slalom in my quads – they are so clunky compared to inline skates when it comes to cornering!
Sunday was practice at Whitcliffe. We practiced walls for an hour then scrimmaged. The scrimmage, to start with, felt very one sided. A change in the mix of players fixed that. Mandy makes a lovely bench/line up manager – telling those that are confident to take care of us newbies. It was a good session – one without injury!
Then on Monday I made it to People’s Park again for a couple of hours. Imogen and Ash came too. Mo did a little skating. Ash helped me with my plough stop – it is getting better, but there is plenty of room for improvement.