This was the second hour of my plyos on skates practice at the space:
Fast feet forward, jump sideways
1. Line up behind turn four. One at a time, run on skates forward and jump sideways and diagonally forward at every ten foot line. Run and jump like this halfway around the track. At the apex, sprint hard home and hockey stop at turn three.
The hard part is controlling your forward roll so that you can abruptly make lateral moves. Don't glide so much, something more like a duck run will let you brake quickly to change directions.
2. Now practice this with bodies. Line up in a pace line spaced about ten feet apart, and roll out. From the back, run up behind each body and jump sideways and then in front of her.
3. Now practice faking or changing your mind. Run up behind each blocker and jump sideways and then to the other side behind her, and then in front of her.
4. And now, with blocking. Each blocker can block once to the inside or outside. If a blocker opens up a space in front of you, jump forward for the love of god. If a blocker closes a space in front of you, jump to the other side behind her and then in front of her.
5. Once you have the above down, try this as a blocking free for all. Because in a game, blockers will have more than one shot on you...
Fast feet sideways, jump forward
1. Line up behind turn four. One at a time, shuffle on skates sideways along a ten foot line and take two jumps forward. Shuffle and jump like this halfway around the track and at the apex, sprint hard home and hockey stop at turn three.
2. Practice this with bodies. Line up in a double paceline spaced about ten feet apart and partners spaced about six inches apart. From the back, run up and jump forward between the bodies.
3. Now practice with visual obstacles. Pairs lightly cross arms and put hands on each other's knees, visually closing the space between them. No multiplayer blocks! From the back, run up and jump forward between the bodies and bust through those arms.
4. And now the pair will try to keep you out. Wedge that fly leg in there, and transfer your weight from your spring leg to open the space up.
Generally speaking if you're skating in derby direction, it is advantageous to fly with your outside leg and spring or push with your inside leg. This is because your next move will be to fly with your inside leg and spring or push with your outside leg, which will push you in the proper direction of travel.
There is, however, a situational consideration, and that is whoever in the pair has fallen slightly behind is more vulnerable to your block and if that's the inside partner, you fly with the leg closest to them. Which is your inside leg, block them to the inside using your outside leg for push.
Fast feet forward, jump forward
1. Line up behind turn four. One at a time, run on skates forward along the inside line and take two jumps forward at every ten foot line. Run and jump like this all the way around the track, as close as you can to the inside line without stepping out of bounds.
2. Now practice this with bodies. Line up in a single pace line spaced about ten feet apart and about six inches away from the inside line. From the back, run up and jump forward along the inside line and don't step out of bounds.
3. And now that blocker will try to keep you out, same as above. Wedge that fly leg in there, and transfer your weight from your spring leg to open the space up.
