Back rolls

I am new to BJJ and am wondering what the point of backrolls are? Is it something I need to concentrate on? I have difficulty doing them.

They are a good warm up and a fundemental escape from various submissions. Don't get discouraged you will get it eventually just keep at it.

As we go into more advanced techniques, the back rolls will be useful for sure! Like Bjjbenoit mentioned, rolling is great for escaping tricky positions like omoplata - well, you do a front roll out of that, but it's the same sort of principle.

I definitely know where you're coming from though. When I first started doing BJJ, I hadn't done back rolls since kindergarten. I'm not even kidding!!! Even after a few months, I could only do it on one side (my right) and not on the other. A really useful tip I learned was to stick out your arm to the side you are rolling on, and then pretend like it's the axle of a wheel and you are just rolling around it. Go slow with the roll, take your time and soon I promise you will "get" it.

Stuff like this will help you build flexibility, balance, coordination and in the end those things all help you to become more comfortable on the mat. If you can do it stick with it. You will get better over time. If you can't do it try doing a modified exercise to build a foundation. Take care not to injure yourself in your warm-up. And as mentioned a lot of the 'warm-up' exercises mimic fighting movements (in part or whole). Investing time in the warm-up exercises and drills will help you down the road. Sometimes it is tough to get 'excited' about the warm-up but remember, the warm-up exercises are your friend.