Sfbaytimes article about the last BAD Girls game.
A bit of a new perspective from a new derby fan.
This is a terrific video of highlights from two of my favorite Roller Derby teams: Rat City's Derby Liberation Front vs Texas' Honky Tonk Heartbreakers. The camera caught some brutal hits and near misses - a great capture of roller derby action. DLF ended up losing to the undefeated Texas team - but I hear it was still a nail biter for Texas fans.
What's one thing that you hope to do or accomplish before the end of this year?
In September I hope to WIN (ok or at least place in the top 4) the One Reel Bumbershoot Flat Track Roller Derby Tournament.
This feels like a much bigger deal than the Dust Devil Tournament in Tucson - and not just because I didn't play there. Playing in a venue that the Seattle Sonics play in, and where I once saw the the Indigo Girls and the Shins perform, gives a weight to the sport that is hard to comprehend.
He may not be my favorite today - but I do remember as a kid being really in to Fozzie. I still have a soft spot for the clown of the group.
Last night's exciting and very well attended bout final score: 65 to 71, Gold Diggers won. But the Escapees fought hard for every one of their points!
The first period was close - a good warmup for the crowd as well as the players. The Escapees were able to remain just a few points behind - but with only 9 players and 2 jammers I was beginning to worry about the players' stamina. 2 more periods left of the game and some girls were being worn out playing almost every jam.
We regrouped, discussed strategy, and came back out ready to pull up in the second period. Unfortunately the team was having a rough time executing the strategy - made worse by losing players to penalties, a scoring discrepancy, and a jam that had to be "redone" due to some ref calls leaving only one player on our team (a no-no in the rules). End of second period had us trailing by 25 points.
While I've seen and played in games with a larger point spread that were completely upset in the last period, the BAD Girls have typically had games that were either close the entire time or complete slaughters. I don't think I'm exaggerating by thinking most people went in to the 3rd period without hope for the Escapees.
I went back to the locker room and gave the best coach talk I could: 25 points is hard, but doable. Stop getting penalties. Nickel and dime our way through the jams, every single point counts. In summary - you only have 20 minutes left of this game, play it harder than you ever have before. And F*CK SH*T UP!!!
Those ladies came back and did exactly that. They scored 25 points in 10 minutes - while the opposing team scored just a few. There was one moment where we were down by just 2 points! The crowd was going crazy, my heart was pounding. And this jam started with their jammer in the penalty box. Unfortunately we also started with just 2 blockers, and in the end weren't able to score points. If we had maybe just one more jammer, or more players so our girls weren't so tired, it could easily have gone our way.
I'm so proud of the team. Most of these girls played for their first time ever, and the girls who had some experience had played in just one other game or were just back from a long injury break. Most people doubted they could pull it off - but they *almost* did. All the girls had smiles on their faces at the end of the game, and were obviously excited to come out of their first game having so much fun. They knew that even in their loss they played the best they knew how.
I wasn't sure how I would feel coaching instead of playing a game - I was worried I would be frustrated and want to strap on skates myself. But the whole night was about this team and their hard work together. It is an amazing sense of accomplishment to help train and watch them pull together and apply so much they learned in such a short period of time.
Next up: BAD Girls All Star League plays in Seattle at Bumbershoot. 6 weeks of training left and this time it is my turn to get my butt in gear.
Tomorrow night is the B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls Alcatraz Escapees VS Treasure Island Gold Diggers bout. I'm coaching the Escapees so wear blue and cheer us on!
| Date | From July 15, 2006 8:30 PM Until July 15, 2006 11:00 PM | ||
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Tickets will be available at the door, or you can purchase online.
