Ever feel like a dummy-dumb-head?

So last night was practice. We have a couple of girls that came in that we had not expected to see. The lovely Cherri Chokehold was feeling like she wanted to try skating again after her horrible fall a few weeks ago, and it was great to see her. Then Wicked walked in. We were all thrilled to see WIcked, as her husband is in the hospital recovering from a significant surgery and nobody really expected her to come. She told us all she needed it, and she had been chased out of his room for a couple of hours anyway for some reason or another.
Yay!
So we warmed up quickly and did a quick series of stretches then we got right into it. This week we were separated into two teams. These are the teams we will be playing with at our little mini-bout next month. The idea is to get used to playing with the same women so that we can develop strategy and learn how to help each other out. We have a nice group, but it felt a little like elementary school, waiting to be chosen for our team. Obviously, I was not chosen first. There are a lot of girls who play better than me, skate better than me, and are generally cooler than me. There are some that need work, and I skate better than them.
I'm okay with that. I have no jealousy for these women. We all work our butts off, and some of us have more natural talent. Some of us started out looking like confused hippos on wheels. Whoopdeedo. I like the ladies on my team. We are going to be a great team.
We each had two of the vets to help us out with our "strategy." I use the term loosely, as right now, a few of us are still struggling to keep up with the pack. I feel like we DID improve over the course of the practice, and with more practice, will continue to do so. It was really nice to hear our team mamas , both of whom I respect mightily (even if they DON'T read this blog) discuss our improvements. One of our mamas was telling the other that she was quite happy with our group as a whole. She stated that she hadn't seen a group of girls improve so much over the course of one practice. We all agreed that a lot of it had to do with the nature of our league. We all play the game for the sake of the game. There is no competition with other leagues, we have a "No Drama" policy. As a result, we spend more time thinking about the game than the drama associated with it.
I love my league.
We had a great practice, and while I feel that I am still one of the girls just working hard to keep up with the pack, I plan to skate my butt off, literally and figuratively, to change that.
Here's hoping that the Utah weather continues to cooperate, and that I can get those new spiffy wheels I've been coveting before the rainy season hits, while the snow is still gone.