Author: hsteeves

Hard Dash

Team USA, meet your Grim D Mise

A new occasional series

Photo by Walter Romeo
Photo by Walter Romeo

You haven’t seen Grim D Mise at nationals. You might not have seen her ever — but the people who have seen her skate remember her. Grim is a jammer for Maine Roller Derby. She’s speedy and jukes and jumps unlike anyone else in derby. Jammer got style.

And she’s a really, really nice human being. When her friend recently made a “get Grim to Team USA tryouts” kickstarter (girl be broke), she raised her goal within hours, then an extra few hundred bucks the same day. Because once you see Grim play derby, you’re a fan. She’s just unicorn magic sparkle dust.

Grim could jam for any league in WFTDA — and I happen to know she’s been wooed by a few — but, the skater, although from Florida, is a Mainer. When I asked her a while ago why she didn’t just move to Boston, New York … Portland, Oregon … she said: “I’m definitely not knocking the skaters who do decide to move to a certain city to pursue higher roller derby challenges. That’s just not my plan. My plan is to help facilitate the growth of the league that I owe so much, to the point where we ARE competing at Regionals regularly and at Champs, and ultimately earning the Hydra.”

Finally, she’s trying out for Team USA. We’re going to follow her through the tryout with periodic updates. We’ll talk to her right before her July 1 tryout, right after, and when she hears she makes the team*.

Here’s Grim:

Skating background?
I tried out for Maine Roller Derby in October of 2008. When I tried out, the league was experimenting with a “process of elimination” style type of tryout so there were actually four separate tryout dates that I had to attend and pass before making it onto MRD. Twenty-five girls tried out, five made it. I passed tryouts have been skating with MRD ever since!

Previous to roller derby, my background in skating was strictly aggressive in-line skating. I lived in South Florida where I could skate outside yearround. I would do laps around the neighborhood, skate to and from school, get my friends together for street hockey and visit the skatepark on weekends. Let’s put it this way: Growing up, if I was outside, I was on skates. Having that background was a major factor for finding myself comfortable on quadskates and it made the transition that much easier.

Why didn’t you try out for Team USA last time? I know you’d talked about it.
I registered to tryout but I failed to get myself to Pennsylvania on time. I was late by a whole day. D’OH! I’m never late for anything, but I completely dropped the ball on that one. It goes without saying, but I also clearly lacked the focus, drive and desire to try out which tells me I wouldn’t have stood a chance to pass tryouts two years ago.

She got lead. Photo by Tyler Shaw.
She got lead.

So what is different this time?
At first, I didn’t regret missing tryouts. “What are the chances that I actually would have made it anyway?” I told myself. “You’re a big fish in a small pond.” Was something I also told myself a lot too. Then I watched Team USA skate. I had a patriotic fever I could not shake. The best of the best representing USA in the first ever Roller Derby World Cup. That athletic talent, drive, teamwork and show of sportswomanship made me feel all crazy inside. Comparable to the time you went to your first bout except you’re really jacked up on pixie sticks and Red Bull.

I grew to regret missing the opportunity to even skate on the same track as some of “the greats” during tryouts, and even if I had tried out and not made it, I would have walked away with the experience and feedback to help get me to the next level. Two years is a long time to regret something, but it’s been fueling a fire ever since.

Why try out now?
Last year, I made a promise not pass up on a single derby opportunity that came my way in 2013, whether it be traveling to Regionals just to watch, or full-on competing in a banked track tournament, or trying out for Team USA.

Up until this year, I was really limiting myself in my derby pursuits due to the financial aspects of this sport and it has been the biggest mistake of my derby career. I’m super ultra hyper broke now, and it’s been a serious struggle this year, but I wouldn’t change anything about the decisions I’ve made regarding roller derby.

I’m fully committed to devoting the great majority of my time, energy and resources to this sport, my league, my team and my own derby path.

Grim at Crossfit

What are you doing to train for the tryout?
I’m reaching out to several different skaters who were previous Team USA skaters (or who tried out last time). I’ve received a lot of informative feedback on what I should be working on and I’ve been working on it in my own time.

I am training one-on-one with a speed coach one to two times a week to help build my speed and endurance.

I have been a sponsored athlete at CrossFit Vindicta in South Portland, Maine since the beginning of February 2013. The amazing coaches at CFV have intensified my programming specifically to prep me for Team USA tryouts. Without going into too much detail, we are working to improve my balance, agility, endurance, stamina, (explosive) power, and overall physical strength.

Last but not least, I’m doing a lot of research and a lot of mental training. In 2011, the first round of tryouts lasted for four hours with very little water breaks. I’m mentally preparing for one of the toughest physical challenges I’ve probably ever had to face and complete better than anyone else there. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be harder if I’m not prepared both physically and mentally.

From ECDX. Photo by Dave Wood Photography.
From ECDX. Photo by Dave Wood Photography.

Any fears?
Not making it. I honestly can’t think of a time that I’ve wanted something so badly. I don’t want to think about the possibility of not making it though because that’s not going to help me succeed.

Anything else about how you feel about trying out?
Earning a spot on Team USA would mean the world to me and would be a privilege and an honor, no doubt, but my ultimate goal is to be a primary skater on the final roster for the team so reminding myself of what I plan to accomplish has been helping me push through the toughest of workouts on and off-skates.

Although I’m not originally from Maine, I’ve lived here long enough to learn that Maine is a place with a strong, supportive community full of people who genuinely care about each other. I take a lot of pride in the fact that I skate for a Maine team and I’d like to represent our state and its wonderful derby community on an international roller derby platform.

Last but not least, I want to be an asset to this team. I recognize that I encompass many skills that still need to be honed and fine-tuned in one way or another but I have been working toward that since day one. I still feel like I have a lot to offer and could prove more than useful if chosen for Team USA … but that’s what tryouts are for so let’s let actions speak louder than words, shall we?

Photo by Scott Lovejoy
Photo by Scott Lovejoy

I’ll be talking to Grim again in June. If you have a question for her, post it in the comments and I’ll add it in next time.

*don’t even.

QUIZ: Should you be a roller derby referee?

Refcosmoquiz

I made this for the fabulous and pretty Stegoscorus and the other pretty refs here, but it sort of took off on Facebook, so I’m sharing here too. Our refs needed promo material — so the smartass I am — I made this. But they are smarter(?) smartasses and actually like it.

Real names in roller derby: A case study

Enough of you have searched “women’s pro roller derby real names” to get to my blog, that — the thinker that I am — I figure you want to know about derby skater using their real names. Interestingly enough, my best friend, Mistress of the Knife — or, these days, Shevawn Innes* — recently joined Rose City Rollers’ Wheels of Justice and the home team the Heartless Heathers and plans to skate — get this — under both names.

She was kind enough to put up with me interviewing her:

This is Mistress of the Kni-- uh, Shevawn Innes.
This is Mistress of the Kni– uh, Shevawn Innes.

You’ve been skating under Mistress of the Knife for, what, 8 years now?

I’ve been skating on and off for that long but I didn’t pick a derby name till I was with my second league. I avoided picking one in the early days of Detroit.

Why did you make a derby name?

I showed up in Nashville and they wanted me to register a derby name so they could put it on the roster. I distinctly remember saying “can I just be myself?” Man they thought I was weird. I was told I had to have a derby name. I picked Mistress of the Knife because that’s what my beloved former (ship) captain had jokingly introduced me to passengers the prior winter sailing. Then there was the awkward time of people trying to shorten it, “Mistress” felt regal and dirty at the same time — not for me. Knife… now that I can relate to.

Me: "Want to stop the jammer Shev -- Knif -- wait, what do I call you?" Shevawn: "Baby, call me whatever you want" (hits jammer into infinity.)
Me: “Want to stop the jammer Shev — Knif — wait, what do I call you?”
Shevawn: “Baby, call me whatever you want” (hits jammer into infinity.)

But, to me at least, it’s always seemed that you haven’t cared what people call you. As your teammate I didn’t start calling you Knife until you moved here and then only because it’s confusing when people have two names.

I don’t care what people call me there is no difference between Knife and Shevawn. Turns out I’m the same person.

So why will you be skating under your birth name for the Wheels of Justice (travel team)?

Personally, I feel like the sport on a national — let’s also call this international —  level has gotten so amazing that I’m taking huge pride in my years of hard work paying off, so much so I would like to put my family’s name on that. Am I trying to ligitamize the sport? Yeah. I want to do this for a living — for a paycheck.  I wanna see derby in the Olympics. I want the “good people” and the huge sponsors to take this sport seriously and put a bunch of money into my friends’ pockets. Too legit?  Too legit to quit.

So then why skate under “Mistress of the Knife” for your  home team, the Heathers?

When I’m playing national derby I see myself as an ambassador for my city, my family and the sport of roller derby. I want to represent by being me. Shevawn Innes. When I’m home I’m home — I’m not an ambassador for my city if I’m in it. But I’m always an ambassador for the sport. When it comes down to it, I guess it just feels right.

What are your teammates saying about your choice?

No one has said anything. Well, except, “what should I call you?”

Do you think other people should skate under their real names?
If they want to. Everybody else can represent themselves however they want — that’s the beauty of this ever-evolving sport.

Do you think you have anything to lose by skating under your birth name?
Maybe some street cred. Maybe gain some.

OK, thanks for the interview, bffls.
OK, thanks for the interview, bffls.

*Innes rhymes with Guinness, announcers.

5 reasons you should outdoor skate this summer

The prospect of outdoor skating can be scary, but you should do it anyway. Here’s why:
1. It will make you better at roller derby.
Skating outside is the only reason I have a solid “c cut” (quick cut to the in and out. Often used in drag-out hits or to gain position in a one-on-one scenario). A year ago I couldn’t plow stop with confidence, and when you’re headed down a hill toward a road with busy traffic you have a few options (if you’re not good at stopping):
A. “Cut” down the hill like a skier.
B. Fall
C. Die
I also learned lessons in stability (Hello rocks, sticks, cracks in traffic, sand …) and awareness (And hello to my friends: “dog who hates roller skates,” child, traffic …) and jumping (fuck you, broken pavement, those bumpy sewer tops, dead squirrels …).
Stopping, awareness, stability, agility? Yeah, that’s helpful.

SUMMER!!!!!!
SUMMER!!!!!!
2. It will even you out.
When you outdoor skate — unless you’re that girl who is trying to do derby drills on a fake track she made in the high school’s bumpy parking lot* — you can even out your muscles. Long, straight paths, hilly trails, they challenge your muscles more equally than skating counterclockwise for hours.
3. It can be good for your league.
Wear your league shirt. Bring fliers. Go to a bar or cafe in your skates when you’re done. Be nice. It’s amazing how many people want to chat about the sport when they see you in skates.
4. You’re too pale.
I said it.
5. It’s fun.
Duh. Grab a friend. Go for a skate. Get some sun. Crash, exhausted on someone’s lawn (STAY OFF OF MY LAWN) and remember why you love roller skating.
*Totally not me, guys

What small leagues have going for them

It’s nice to be in a larger league. It’s so nice. The league here is a 501c3 and already has its life together and leadership and some paid employees. But I’ve been talking with some skaters from my previous league and I’m missing it this summer.

Here’s what small leagues have going for them:

–Tight teams. By the numbers alone, smaller leagues’ teams are well meshed. When you’re in a league of 30 people total, you know how every one of them jams, blocks, evades. When you’re in a league of 150+ people, it’s impossible to get the same level of familiarity.

Sinner of Gravity is my last (tiny) league's star jammer. I felt I always knew what she wanted from me.
Sinner of Gravity is my last (tiny) league’s star jammer. I felt I always knew what she wanted from me. Sometimes, a backward-ish whip.

–Close communities. By nature, smaller leagues are usually in less populous areas. The league has to be an active community member to stay skating. And while going to every parade in town (Lobster Parade*, Fourth of July, other Fourth of July, skating for kids’ programming at the high school …) can be draining, it’s also so cool to get a small community buzzing with excitement before a bout. It’s hard to get a whole city pumped, but a small town? Everyone knows a derby girl in a small town.

–F-ing dedication. We’re all dedicated to our sport, but if you’re in a league of 20-40 people, it takes a lot more volunteer time and dedication to the not-fun jobs than if you’re in a larger league. Someone still has to be president, organize WFTDA paperwork, do insurance, make bouts, make posters, run practices … but with fewer bodies to do the work.

–More relaxed fun (?). Everyone cares about getting plays down, talking strategy and perfecting hits, but when you’re not worrying about a national ranking, there is time for roller disco lessons and games as drills.

–Creativity. I’ll say it. I’m going there. It’s the same philosophy as above: When you don’t have to care about a ranking, or your stats, or making travel team or being on wftda.tv or whatever, you can loosen up and think about lining your whole defensive wall up backward in a “rugby start” or other weirdo ideas. Less pressure, more risk.

–More track time. At a large league, you might split the track with a junior league, home teams, travel teams, etc etc.

–More game time. If you’re on a small league, it’s easier to make travel team. It’s easier to get rostered. It’s still hard. It’s hard everywhere, but there’s less competition.

What am I missing?

*That’s a real thing.

Fresh meat to travel team: Do our insecurites ever change?

Last week after a practice I spoke with a fresh meat skater. Then I spoke with a travel team skater.

The fresh meat skater said she is nervous that people don’t notice her. A home team draft is coming up and what if no one wants her?

The travel team skater said she’s nervous that her coaches don’t notice her. A bout is coming up and what if she doesn’t get game time?

What does this say about us? Derby doesn’t get easier. Your insecurities don’t go away. You just get better.  — Is that the takeaway? I’m not sure, but this has been rumbling around in my brain all week.

What do you think?

It’s your fault the media thinks derby is a sideshow

 Tomorrow I’m giving an interview on media’s effect on roller derby.

It seems the interviewer wants to know about the media’s portrayal of derby and how it affects the sport, etc etc. Ughhhhhhh.

It’s a hard situation, because basically my answer is, “it’s complicated.” And no journalist or researcher likes that answer. It’s not clean and tied up with a bow. To organize my thoughts pre-interview, I wrote it out:

The way the media portrays the sport is a direct reflection of how society views ambitious women: scary(?), laughable and highly sexualized.

Skaters work their assess off to create nonprofit organizations — not as a job, but on the side — and also to become athletes. Yet countless news articles and TV shows condescendingly report on the sport like a quirky little side show.

You probably saw my long list of “by day, by night” leads on news articles. (“By day Heather is a serious reporter, by night she puts on eight wheels and hits bitches!”) Those — from different papers of different sizes from different places by journalists of both genders — show how society thinks it’s ridiculous for a woman to both have a good job and play roller derby. Connotation: playing roller derby is not serious. It’s silly. (And hot?) Don’t you have babies to take care of?

Then there are the reality shows that put women who’ve never skated before (and probably never wanted to) on skates and say, “this is roller derby,” as Em Dash recently wrote about.

Blah blah blah.

It’s equally our fault.

Many leagues market themselves (bouts, fundraisers) as a hard-hitting, fast-skating, sexualized spectacle. Otherwise, they might not sell tickets. It’s how we lure people into the sport. THEN they see athleticism, teamwork and everything it takes to run a bout.

It’s frustrating that a women’s sport has to market itself that way to get an audience and then to hope the audience learns who the sport actually is.

I got a lot of response to that post about the $50 million derby story. The comments that weren’t from skaters/refs included a dissenting minority with the totally valid point of — “but you guys wear fishnets and have your bums hanging out of your metallic panties!”

People don’t walk into their workplaces dressed like that. Or soccer games for that matter. Because they want to be taken seriously. They instead dress like workers. Or soccer players. We are in a sport where people don’t dress like athletes. There is the struggle of how a lot of us see ourselves (serious athletes who eat for their workouts, think for their workouts, plan their practices and goals, committee members building 501c3s …) and how we present ourselves. And until we resolve that, it can’t totally be the media or fans or anyone else’s fault for thinking of derby as side-show-like or super sexualized. It’s hard to see the thousands of hours of nonprofit work, the training, the athleticism behind fishnets and gold glitter shorts*.

So, like I said (“Ughhhhhhh”) — it’s complicated.

*I feel obligated to buffer and say, “your feelings are valid. Wear glitter shorts and be an athlete. Get it girl. Just don’t expect fans and the media to take you seriously at first. And journalists only ever get an ‘at first.'”

 

 

My derby trip to Maui

It’s been a while since we last talked. In that time, I was drafted to my hometeam, the Heartless Heathers. Yey!

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I’m a viking ice queen now. Photo by Masonite Burn. (Who is awesome.)

It’s been a big change from trying to show my stuff (usually meant going offense, etc) to trying to mesh with my teammates and work well together. A fun, new adventure.

Speaking of a fun new adventure. Guess who went to Maui? Moi.

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Oregon put together a team of skaters from all around the state (and some from Washington state) to fly out for Maui Roller Girls’ 5th birthday. Happy birthday, Maui! The league had a few days of bootcamps with Mel Mangles (Rose) and Killer Kelly (Rat — and founder of Maui Roller Girls) before taking on the Oregon team.

It’s been seven months since I skated for my small league in Maine. Seven months is enough time to get nostalgic, but also to forget a little about how hard it is to be in a small, new league.

Maui isn’t all that new, but it is a touristy island. As I understand it, people come and people go. Skaters come and go. So, although MRG is five, a lot of their skaters aren’t. Lots of turnover.

It was sort of a plane flight back into time (Maui, Maine, totally similar, right?) watching these ladies hold their walls together, learn the intricacies of bridging, etc. And it was a lot of fun. MRG found a bout space in a hangar (more on that in a sec), so we were out of the rain. The game was close and ultimately Oregon won. But with an after-party in a thatched-roof Hawaiian canoe club open to the sandy beach along the bay, let’s be real, we all won.

After the bout was over, I stayed for another Maui practice. Maybe you’ve read elsewhere about Maui’s space. High rents mean no real home, so these ladies skate outside. This is nice when it’s sunny, but Maui is a bipolar island with a chunk of (beautiful) mountains — on one side of the island it’s usually sunny and gorgeous. On the other side, torrential rains fall sporadically. Guess which side the league is on.

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Thankfully, the weather held on the night I skated outside with them. (And thankfully, they found a place to bout inside) All it took was them setting up a bunch of lights (in a very creative way — attached outdoor lights to poles, put poles through wood horses. See pic above. Easy. Cheap. One extension chord did the trick, I think) And man was it fun. It was fun to play with varying skill levels and intensities. I remembered my roots a little clearer and how fun and frustrating learning to play this sport is at that stage. And how much enthusiasm and love it takes.

So, thanks Maui! Thanks for playing with me, putting me up and letting me practice with you.

❤ Dash

Mental toughness, by Scarlene

My league-mate Frisky Sour keeps a blog about derby and manatees. This week she featured one of my other league-mates, Scarlene, who talked about mental toughness. Listen to the lady. She’s hilarious, pretty and smart. Woah.

Here is an excerpt of their interview:

Frisky: What is mental toughness, and why is it important?

Scarlene: In my humble opinion, roller derby is 80% mental. You have to convince yourself that you aren’t tired, you can get back up again, you aren’t afraid of anyone you’re blocking/jamming against, you know what to do when your teammates get penalties and leave the track. The list goes on and on. When everything else fails, or seems like its going to fail, you can really only rely on your brain.You practice strategies and skills over and over again – do you do the same thing for your brain? Do you visualize greatness or agonize over mistakes? We are most critical of ourselves and need to look inward for strength when, for lack of a better term, shit is gettin’ cray.

 

You led a session at Derby Daze last summer about mental training, which I hear was super popular. What do people want to know?

I have a lot of catch phrases I use in my life. Almost every time I step on the track I have to have a mantra to stay focused. I shared a lot of those, and stressed the importance of staying positive. Instead of saying “I’m not going to the box,” say “I’m going to skate clean.” If you’re plagued with arms penalties, think about putting emphasis on your hips instead of thinking about NOT using your arms. Many moons ago a coach told me to stop looking at the wall I want to bust through and look THROUGH the wall at my destination. It was such a simple thing but has always stuck with me. I use that for my mental game as well. I don’t think about the thing I don’t want to do, I think about what I need to do to succeed instead …

Read the full article here.