My Growth Playing Rollball

The first time I ever put on skates years back I never knew I would grow to the point where I can run in skates and suddenly stop, pass, or catch a ball. That day at Aga Khan Skate park, I met my couch who kept encouraging me that in two weeks, I would be moving independently in skates, but I did not believe her because I thought she was just saying that to encourage me. Nonetheless, I took the chance and began committing to learning the sport weekly on Sundays. Three years down the line, my skating skills have grown so much that I feel proud of myself every time I step on the pitch to play rollball.

When you begin learning how to skate, the first lesson you are taught is to how to stand, move, and fall. In the standing position, you should have your knees or feet shoulder-width apart and always bend your knees. Having the knees or feet shoulder-width apart is the natural way you would typically stand, allowing you be in control of movement. To move forward, you need to lift each foot, place it ahead, and then drag it on the ground. Moving forward requires that you aim to form a ‘V’ to create the rhythm of forward movement. Conversely, to skate backwards, a skater should aim to do the inverted V. All this time, you should ensure that your knees remain bent because it makes you be in control and protects your stability while falling by lowering your center of gravity. To fall, you need to always aim to fall on your butt first because it is the best body part to absorb the shock of impact on the ground. I fell down several times that I got used to it and my heart would stop panicking whenever I sensed losing control and hitting the ground. I learned that even with falling, experience matters because the mind learns to adopt to sudden movements of falling and reflex action swoops in to save the moment. On a personal level, this challenged me because I was not used to falling, and getting comfortable with it forced me to learn to get used to it. Over time, I developed a schedule to practice what I learned and became comfortable moving on my own.

A few months later, I approached a friend to join their rollball team because I needed a new challenge. Rollball game is like basketball, except that players play in skates. The game involves throwing passes at each other until the team mates create an opportunity to score a goal against their opponent. When I joined the team, I used to be so tensed to run and I later learned that I would have to get used to it and overcome my fear of falling. Running in skates is the most challenging thing I have ever done in this sports because it requires good mastery of when to stop while focusing on the ball. Some players are typically so fast and have excellent skating skills that they can literally jump and grab the ball mid-air. I always thought this has a lot to do with ignoring the fear for falling, which is something I struggle with to date. I may be moving fast, but most of the times my mind is stuck in expecting and avoiding to fall. Besides, most of the times I end up giving blind passes because of this tension. I am still working on overcoming this challenge through regular practice, and I hope that in the coming September league season I will be ready to defend my role.

Looking back, I am proud of myself for taking a chance at skating and playing rollball. I appreciate the people who held my hand and showed me how to move in the field and tackle challenges. For all the injuries that I sustained, I am happy that I did not let them deter me from continuing to play the game because the goal has always been to play better than last time. This is a game that I would love my kids to learn and master from a young age and just have fun with it.