I didn’t join derby to make friends, but somewhere along the way it happened. Many people seem to walk onto a league and find an insta-social network. They shack up with a derby wife, go for beers after practice, rest assured in the knowledge that any life crisis will be attended by a legion of new league friends. It took me awhile to find my niche. Over my life I’ve accrued quite a few friends at my various jobs and schools and other activities, but I don’t make friends easily. I don’t open myself up quickly and I’ve long had a healthy dose of social anxiety, though I learned to mask it decently in adulthood, and in the past year or so let go…