Checkmate

What a bout. I've been having difficulty over the last few days figuring out how to capture and quantify what happened at the Coliseum on Saturday night. It still blows my mind. The first thing I can say is that I am proud; I am proud to be a part of the Arizona Derby Dames; I am proud to be the coach of the Bombshells; and I am proud of the performance, determination, and heart my skaters left out on that track. Much credit to the Schoolyard Scrappers, the victors of the spectacle that took place on that battlefield of steal and masonite. But this bout was more than just about the hard hits, fast action, and derby girls who, for a moment, grew wings. There was something more than that going on underneath what everyone saw.

I come from a very competitive family of shit-talkers. One of the most beneficial moments in my development as a punk-ass kid was when my Dad taught me how to play chess. And I don't mean when my dad taught me that white moves first, or that you must protect your king, or that the knight moves in an "L" shape direction. I mean, when my dad REALLY taught me how to PLAY chess. The lessons he gave me about the strategy of this ancient game still reside in the way I live life today:

-play by the rules;
-use your mind to defeat your opponent;
-figure out what they're doing before you plan your attack;
-always plan three moves ahead;
-never concede, force them to beat you;
-be gracious in victory and defeat.

When I reflect on the night, it reminded me of the many intense chess matches I would get into with my little brother Miguel when we were younger. There was a battle of the mind taking place on the board, but there was also an external skirmish of egos between Miguel and I. We would talk so much shit to each other before the game ("Hey bro, you wanna get whipped up on the chess board or are you scared?"), during the game ("Dude, I got you on the ropes. Your knights are already gonners, I dare you to move that bishop, and your queen, pfft, just hand her over now so we can get this over with, please."), and after the game ("Hey, next time bring your A-Game bro, 'cause its just not fun for me to beat you like that"). It was fun and funny. We played this gentleman's game with the mentality of a couple of street ballers from Rucker Park. And whether we won or lost (and boy did we hate to lose to one another) we always looked forward to the next match.

The bout on Saturday gave me a flashback to those moments. Everyone in the building that night saw the external battle that went on between the Bombshells and the Schoolyard Scrappers in the form of vicious shoulder and hip checks, but I venture to guess that very few were able to see the chess match that was going on underneath. Saturday's game was a very intelligently played bout by both teams. Minor adjustments were made on the fly, major adjustments were made during half-time, strategies had to be altered based on the moves made by the opponent, and personnel had to be moved around accordingly. This bout played out like a chess match. Like pieces on a chess board, these ladies moved on the track like they only had one thing in mind: Checkmate. But it wasn't gonna come easily. The best chess matches have mentally strong and highly skilled players who won't allow you to win in a few moves. Some of the best matches take hours and you usually don't know who's gonna win until its over. Such was the case on the banked track last Saturday night.

In this man's mind, the Queen of the track is always Lady Lawless. Regardless of my personal bias and forget the fact that she's the team's captain, when you think of Lawless in terms of skaters, she's the most powerful piece on the board. She bears the abilities of all the other pieces in that she can play all positions and can move in any direction. She was used to defend the Scrappers' assault with her annoying booty-blocking and crowd arousing hits. Or, she was the tip of the spear of the Bombshells' offensive attack on the Scrappers to score points with her physical jamming style. When she was ready to score points she directed her teammates and sliced through the pack. When she was stifled by The Plaid Curtain, she fell back to help defend her pack.

Then you have the supporting cast of pieces. The Rooks, Bishops, and Knights.

The Rooks are our rookies, Dottie Danger, Elizabitch Taylor, HollyHood, and Sweet Revenge. These ladies are still new to our system but they can hold their own. Right now they see the game on a linear plane and are still learning how to be creative on the track with their skills. Mentally, they're still in a spot where they see the game as moving in only a few directions: forward, and left and right. The game doesn't move in their heads like it does with some of the senior skaters so they don't see all the angles and turns of this game like our bishops and knights. That's something that they'll acquire from experience. That's one of the advantages the Scrappers had over us: experience. They got nice a core of veteran skaters that skate so well with one another. Once these rooks get a few bouts under their belts they'll skate with so much more confidence and their vision of the game will become 3-Dimensional. I haven't completely crunched all the numbers but just from what I remember at the bout, the Bombshells performance of the night came from a rook, HollyHood. She even surprised me. However, I wasn't surprised by the skill we all know she has. I was more surprised and impressed by the heart she skated with. I saw a side of her that I could have never caught a glimpse of during practice drills or scrimmage. She played with emotion and when you mix uncanny skill with heart, the last thing you want to hand a person like that is defeat, because it makes them stronger. She was ready to get back to the drawing board as soon as the bout was over. She did it all on Saturday night. She put a 10 point jam up on the board and laid more than a few Scrappers down on the track.

Our Bishops are Prima Donna and Samba Slugger. They're quiet, calm and patient. They're not as aggressive as the knights, but what makes these two skaters such an important part of our team is the manner in which they choose their moments to attack. They really level out the personality of this team with calculated moves that often frustrate me because I would rather they get in their and bust shit up! But it took me a while to realize they balance out our team effectively. It wouldn't be a great thing to have a bunch of skaters who are like bulls in a china shop. We need skaters like these that can play a cerebral game. Watching them skate on Saturday night, I can tell when they're planning their next move deliberately, they wait, and when the moment is right, they locate the angle to attack.

Our knights are our fiercest skaters. Veterans of the game who are battle tested and command respect on the track from their teammates and their opponents. Our knights are Sho'Nuff, Ruff Ryder, Hellcat Maggie, and Celeste. These ladies have been around the track more than a few times and their is very little they haven't seen on the field of battle. These ladies understand the game and how to play it. Their skill and experience allows them to move in just about ever direction on that chess board of a banked track, be it physically or mentally. Sho'Nuff is really starting to own her position on the track. The timing of her hits is coming close to perfect and once she gains the ability to move laterally up and down the track, people are going to be afraid to skate on the low side of the track when she's on it. She taunted the Scrappers' Jammers to try and take that inside pipe, and on a few occasions she made them pay by sending them into the infield. She faced some tough blockers and always kept her head on despite how they overwhelmed us in the second half. Hellcat Maggie has taken her play to another level on this banked track. Her communication on the track is crucial and her line-ups consistently do well because of the way she directs her pack with authority. Her voice pierces the ears of both her teammates and her opponents. To us, its music to our ears. To them, its like that annoying beeeeeeeeep that'll come on TV from the Emergency Broadcasting System from time to time.

It was a well fought game by all the skaters. Each piece played the role they were supposed to, and though we came up short to an excellent team, there is much that we took away from this. And just like Miguel and I, as soon as that bout was over, we were already excited and ready for the next one. Ready to fix all the mistakes we made to let that bout slip away from us. In fact, I don't think its even fair for me to discount what the Scrappers did by phrasing it that way. We did let it slip away, but more than that, the Scrappers took it. They got on that track in the second half and to me their skating said, "We're going to take this from you." I admire that killer instinct and its something that I aspire for our team to have. It will come with experience. We learned a lot playing the Scrappers. We learned a lot about the game and we learned a lot about their skaters. The Matrix Reloaded is my favorite movie of all time and a quote from that movie came to mind when I reflect on the bout. Seraph, the protector of the Oracle (ok, I just officially entered geek-mode) said: "You don't truly know someone until you fight them." And I've never thought more about that quote than I did after this bout. I have much respect for the girls on that team. They exposed their hearts, their strengths, and their vulnerabilities. The Bombshells exposed a side of them that I don't think ANYONE has seen this season. We challenged them and pushed them to their limits. I think everyone that night saw the Scrappers at their very best, and it was a little scary to watch how good that team was.

There's only a single complaint I have after such an epic bout. Both teams played their hearts out and its seemed both teams would leave the track respecting one another like two MMA fighters who hug one another in respect after beating the shit out of each other. But Kat Von Double D's had to leave a bad taste in our mouths for her team after such a delicious bout. She is such a great blocker on the track and she has a lot of experience on skates. In my eyes, she's a knight on that board but her attitude reduces her down to a pawn. In the last few moments of the final jam of the bout and shortly there after, we all got to see an unfortunate display of horrible sportswomanship. She had just gotten handled and sent into the infield by one of our blockers, slow to get up the pack went on and she ended up about 40 feet behind it. That's when she eyed Celeste coming around turn 2 and decided she was going to try and take her out well outside the engagement zone when her team was up by 20 points and the bout was practically over. That's not only illegal in this sport, its dirty and its dangerous. Most of all, it was pointless. The rules state that you're not allowed to engage a Jammer if you are 20 feet outside the pack. She took it a step further by doubling that distance and tried to take out our best Jammer when it didn't even matter. Classy. And when that was over and the Scrappers took their much deserved victory lap, every single Scrapper slapped hands with a Bombshell to show respect for a good bout, except Kat. She skipped our entire line to wave at the crowd and flash her ass. Very classy. Even in victory you should be gracious to your opponents, to not be is worse than being a sore loser. But like Seraph said, "You don't truly know someone until you fight them." She showed her true colors that night and it was disappointing because I think she would have so much more respect from people as a skater and a person if she cleaned up her act. The reason this entire sequence disappoints me is because the move she pulled was negligent. Since the first demo bout at least one skater has gotten hurt at every bout. Dolly de Los Muertos, one of my favorite human beings, had to hang her skates up after the Demo bout because of a concussion. Angela Darkeness, a phenomenal jammer, is no longer on skates with the league because of shoulder injury she suffered in her first bout. Mia Pow Wow and Venus Vendetta also suffer from shoulder injuries. One of the Bombshells former skaters, Juana Band-Aid, had to hang her skates up for a while as well because she separated her shoulder during banked track training. Its almost guaranteed that at least 1 skater will get injured at every bout. Shoulder and knee injuries are becoming all to common in this sport and after the move that Kat pulled on Celeste, the Bombshells now have a jammer with an ailing shoulder. And for what? So that everyone could see her in all her attention-begging glory. Everyone is here to have a great time playing derby and sometime rules are broken on the track during the heat of the game and they're usually unintentional, but her display was calculated and deliberate. The proof is in the video I possess. Its despicable to watch. No one is here to get hurt and with the judgment she exercised in that last few moments of a memorable bout she's fortunate that things didn't turn out worse. I'm happy there wasn't a serious injury to Celeste to weigh on her conscience. I would feel like shit if I pulled something like that and hurt another skater when it didn't even have to happen. Phenomenal skater and blocker, horrible representation of her team.

But you know who rocked that track on Saturday night, Cruella DeMille. If I had to pick a Queen piece on that team, she would be it. She owned her position more than anyone on her team. She's a blocking specialist and her team uses her so well. And if you know me, effective blocking is more important and impressive than fast jamming. She frustrated the hell out of me because she's so good at what she does. She was movin' and layin' Bombshells down on the track all night long. We had very few answers for her. I'm glad Mizz Nashty was on the track Saturday night. She showed a lot of heart getting out there with her ailing knee. Her team needed her leadership and I for one was hopeful that she would be on the track Jamming for the Scrappers. If we were going to beat them, we wanted to beat them with their full squad on the track, and her with the star on her helmet. And finally, we got to see a great game out of Vanessa Velocity. Her finger prints were all over this bout. We got to see her jam against Lady Lawless in the first half and it was an entertaining jam. Lawless got out the pack first but VV was right behind her with the help of only two blockers on the track. It looked like she had no skates on the way she ran after Lawless and caught up to her. She saved her team a lot of point because the Bombshells had 4 blockers to the their 2. Lawless was forced to call the jam off and skate off with 0 points. So frustrating for us, but mad props to her for not giving up and saving the Scrappers some serious points. After the first half the Scrappers reduced her Jamming frequency and dropped her to the back of the pack to be a power blocker against our Jammer. And it worked. She's skilled and you would never expect the brutal hits she delivers to come from the frame she has. We had difficulty dealing with her as a blocker.

This was a very defensive chess match between these two teams. In the Scrappers first two bouts they were able to put well over a 130 points by themselves. There were only 150 points scored in this bout altogether. Chess isn't always about the offensive attack. Most often its about how you defend your pieces. It was a neck and neck game through the first few jams of the 4th quarter. The Scrappers made a move, then the Bombshells made a move. It went back and forth, making for an exciting game. I had several people come up to the skaters and I and tell us that it was the best derby bout they had ever seen. That made me proud. Proud to be a part of it. Proud to be on the team that made a Scrappers bout interesting rather than a blow out. Proud to stand across the infield from fierce, challenging and worthy opponents. The fans are oh so important to the Bombshells so to put up on a good show in a losing effort was more than satisfying. In my mind, the skaters are #1, the fans are #2. I think both groups walked away from the bout on Saturday night with something they'll never forget. In the end, the Scrappers poured it on in the 4th quarter and it was they who yelled "CHECKMATE." Well done, Scrappers. Its my intentions to make sure our teams get another chance to sit at the chess board again during the playoffs.

My next blog is gonna be about the stats that came from this gritty bout. So though I didn't give you any on this post, be assured I'll be breaking down the numbers in the next one.

In the meantime, I'd like to invoke a little reader participation and I want to hear what was your favorite moment of this bout. Which skater blew your mind? Leave a comment below and share the moment from this bout you wont forget. Thanks readers!

Look Ma! No Skates!

The Arizona Derby Dames took time off the banked track this last Saturday evening to swing laps around a different kind of track. You wouldn't have found them on skates either because they were whippin' around this track for something greater than lead jam and points. Most significantly, there weren't just Bombshells, Coffin Draggers, Scrappers, Brides, or Beauties out there doin' work; it was Dames, all working as one on the same team towards the same cause.

The Arizona Derby Dames don't exists just to skate for themselves. As I witnessed first hand this last weekend, the Dames do great things to support local charities and the community. Last Saturday evening AZDD teamed up and got their sneakers dirty in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life to raise funds for cancer research. A nice handful of skaters in the league were actively seeking pledges over the last few months to support this cause. This is the third year the Dames participated in the event. Their involvement was initiated by former Runaway Brides captain and current Regulator, Ann Thrash, in memory of her mother whom she lost to cancer 18 years ago. A number of other skaters who participated also had loved ones who fought this battle. The way it works is teams of people camped out at a school in Paradise Valley and they took turns walking around a track. Each team has a person representing them on the track at all times while the event is going on. The cool twist on this event was that it took place over night from 6pm to 6am, during normal sleeping hours, to represent that cancer never sleeps, thus the fight against it shouldn't sleep either.

There was a calm and welcoming vibe in the air that came from a mixture of reverence, mourning, and celebration. Some folks were there to remember a loved one they lost to cancer; others were there to celebrate their or a loved one's victory over it; all were there to support the fight against it. As I walked down to the soccer field where it all went down I was blown away by the sight of the track and the way it was lit up by the bordering of side-by-side luminarias. From far away I absorbed the soothing effect candle light often gives off. There were thousands of them which created a very large but soft and steady glow around the soccer field. That feeling was amplified upon coming closer and discovering the details within these luminarias. Each one was decorated to memorialize a person's battle with cancer, whether won or lost. As I walked through them it really created a sobering picture of just how many people around me are affected by cancer.

This event was an awesome experience for me personally and I had a ton of fun spending time and getting to know skaters outside the Bombshells a little better. It was refreshing to put away the team camaraderies for a night and gain a greater understanding for the person that exists inside each of these roller derby girls. It was nice to be introduced to husbands, boyfriends, kids, and friends and to come back in contact with those I don't get to see as often as the skaters. We ate together, laughed and told stories together, and even played some games together. It really felt like I was hanging with family. I was only there for a short while but a majority of the skaters that participated stayed for the over-night long haul. Props to them!

Though final numbers haven't been calculated, the Dames raised over $2,300 in online pledges for this amazing event. I have a lot of respect and admiration for the abilities the Dames exhibit on the track that make them great skaters. On this particular night I was able to see beyond the hard derby girl shell and catch a glimpse of what makes these skaters special people. The track was made of dirt and grass, rather than the wood and steel they're used to, and it made no difference that there weren't a single pair of skates within reach. The Dames supported a great cause and still whipped around it like it meant something to them. These ladies don't need skates to show they can do great things.