Becoming a roller derby athlete

This is only the absolute tip of the clock-related strategy iceberg, but this is a great breakdown of how teams run down the clock to get a player out of the box, and how to counter it.

What’s super handy is that the video is in very, very slow motion, with captions describing what’s going on and pointing out which players are on each team. Obviously, this is no substitute for team discussions and practicing these strategies, but if you’re not entirely sure how they work, this is a great way to get it broken down.

Roller Derby Rule of the Day goes one step further than the WFTDA rule page and actually breaks down and explains the rules, one per day.

They have a facebook page where people can ask questions to clarify confusion about the Rule of the Day, and request upcoming Rules of the Day that they’re unsure about. The link to the facebook page is on this website and it’s really very highly recommended, for skaters and referees alike.

Often the WFTDA ruleset can look as though it’s in a foreign language, so having the opportunity to discuss rules and ask questions can be absolutely invaluable, particularly if you don’t have a crew of really experienced refs you can interrogate.

Krissy Krash (then a few other skaters) started recommending Herbalife supplements to roller derby players a few years ago, and thus, Derbalife was born. I’m including this recommendation based on personal experience.

Even if you’re not trying to lose weight (which, of course, is a common desire for people I know who have tried it) there are a lot of great supplements for athletes. Beside multivitamins and a plethora of other tablets and stuff, there are shakes for pre- and post-practice protein hits (sorry for the hideous alliteration). And, very recent has been the addition of the new Herbalife24 products, specifically for athletes. I haven’t tried them personally, but hey, the rest of the range is quality stuff, so you’ll probably be right.

This is an advertisement for Icebox (whatever that is) but it also has some really great ideas on improving speed and agility. This, combined with your plyo workout is going to make your juking and sprinting away totally excellent.

You totally don’t need to buy these products - if you don’t have similar ones, you can absolutely improvise. Use books instead of cones, and eskies instead of the little hurdles. Anything you have around the house will work.

The narrator says “explosive” and “acceleration” about 400 times in this video, which gives you an idea of the sorts of goals these exercises can achieve. Whether you’re a jammer or a blocker, obviously increasing your agility and speed is going to give you a tremendous advantage.

This article was specifically written about volleyball, but is still totally applicable to roller derby. As Coach James says, a sport is a sport!

You’re probably familiar with setting personal goals, and your team/league probably has a couple of goals as well. If either you or your team do not have some goals in mind, change that! It will help add much more purpose to your season, games, and practices.

What this article specifically talks about is how to align team goals and personal goals, as sometimes an individual may have goals that are not necessarily in line with the league’s goals and/or values.

This resource again is probably going to be most beneficial for those involved in coaching/running the team, but is absolutely worth the read even if you aren’t in those sorts of positions.

BUY THIS BOOK. It was written by Kasey Bomber and Axles of Evil, two of the original modern roller derby skaters, who both trained the actors and actresses for the movie Whip It. Down and Derby couldn’t be more thorough, with a precise history of roller derby, from its humble beginnings in the late 1800s to its current incarnation.

There are skater profiles, tips on improvement, stories to be regaled by, and everything in between. I had been suffering from DMI (see further down) for a while before I bought this book, and I’m not kidding when I say that it cured me of my injury. It’s very uplifting and reminded me why I play derby.

If you have any say in your league’s coaching - hell, even if you don’t! - check out this site. Pitch it to your coaching staff if you aren’t one of them. It really is just what it says - all derby drills. They are arranged in categories in the right hand side toolbar by what they work on - speed, agility, teamwork, endurance, jamming, footwork, hitting, and so on.

Each post describes the drill, as well as how many people it requires, props you’ll need, skills it requires and skills it develops.

Following on from Bonnie D. Stroir’s advice that anything you can do on roller skates will make you better at roller derby, comes this kick ass article from Rollergirl.ca. They thoughtfully put together a PDF you can print out and take with you to the skate park, which includes pictures and information about how to get started skating in a bowl or on ramps.

Angel City Derby Girls’ founder Estro Jen is a big fan of aggressive skating, although the fact that she does it without any protective gear is terrifying and totally not recommended.

It goes back to what you were told when you first started skating - wear your skates when you’re washing the dishes, doing your laundry, vacuuming your house. The more comfortable you are on eight wheels, the better. Plus, it looks like the most fun ever, and you know we’re all about fun.

Roller derby, despite its uniqueness, has a lot in common with other sports. And by that, I mean it has the same problems and hurdles as other sports. Training, strategy, evolving game play, penalties, fans, statistics, rankings: all issues that other sports have dealt with and overcome in one fashion or another. But when it comes to roller derby people seem to treat our issues as unique.

King James’ last line in this quote is the real kicker here: when it comes to roller derby people seem to treat our issues as unique. Roller derby is a unique sport, which is why we love it, but at the end of the day, it is still a sport. We face the same issues everyone else does, but rather than looking to other athletes/coaches/teams who have dealt with these issues, we skaters seem hellbent on reinventing the wheel (lol skate puns). 

When Bonnie D. Stoir suggested I read books by football coaches to help improve my derby coaching, it was a pretty radical concept. “But Bonnie, I’m not coaching football, I’m coaching roller derby!” I thought. What I didn’t realise was, it’s all the same thing. It’s still about motivating people, coming up with strategy, and winning games. It all translates, because it’s all sport.