Tales from the Fresh Meat Locker – FM Sheilah
I thought I had an idea what to expect as Fresh Meat. Honestly, I had no clue at all and Boot Camp was my first experience with skates in years. I came with this picture in my head of a bunch of jaunty, rough and tumble women. I envisioned something like Westinghouse’s iconic Rosie the Riveter; spirited girls with a can do attitude.
What I wasn’t expecting was for them to be as warm and encouraging as they are. These are real women with careers, children, spouses and commitments and they do this for the fun of it. From my first Boot Camp on I was and still am in awe of them, particularly T-Rex Ya Face. She was one of the first girls I met and she graciously lent me her helmet until I could get one of my own. And at that Boot Camp when I did time trials for the first time, I was struggling. BamBam skated right behind me on my last few laps cheering me on.
It’s a really refreshing feeling to have women around you can look up to. Frakendoll, Duchess, The Ruffian, Lips…each one has made me feel a little more confident in my skates when to be honest I’ve never felt more unsure of myself or my abilities.
In my almost 3 three months of Fresh Meat training I’ve learned 2 things about Derby. One: This is not the type of thing you can do half-heartedly. You have to be totally committed to it. Two: You have to trust yourself and you have to push your limits. After every practice, I can’t wait to get back on the track because I want to keep testing myself. I want to take in as much as I can, because each girl on this team has something to offer and things I can learn. And I watch them, how they move so effortlessly, like they were born derby girls. But I remember….they were once Fresh Meat too and they know exactly what I’m going through. And I want to get better so I can join them out there and make them proud. Because when we (Fresh Meat) succeed it proves what great teachers we have.
Tales from the Fresh Meat Locker | admin | 
December 15, 2009 6:31 am
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t.rex ya face, December 15, 2009 @ 9:57 am
Nice blog! I love me some Sheilah…wait do i spell that with a “g”? haha! Glad to have you around!