****This entry was hiding in my draft box for a while....****
If anyone has ever had to produce a home bout, you should know that it's a learning experience and it takes a village.
And there are some team players, and they are not. I feel like I am definitely a team player. But I could be wrong.
Anyway....each bout seems to have a smoother and smoother set up, which is fantastic. Cause that is the sucky part of roller derby, that's why traveling is kind of awesome.
But man, I tell you, there is something about hometown crowds that are incomparable. They are fantastic :) Granted, the numbers aren't always what we want them to be. But there gusto never disappoints. They are becoming invested in us as a team and it's great to put on a bout to thank them....it's awesome.
As a non-rostered skater it is most definitely the HARDEST thing to sit back and watch your derby sisters relish in the glory of knocking your friends down. It hurts, and it sucks. But there are definite ways to stay involved. And well not to toot my own horn but I make sure that my presence is known :) I usually tend to NSO which is fine but you hardly get to watch the bout. (Don't tell the refs, but I totally sneak in some time to watch) I like NSO-ing because I feel I can learn a lot about the rules and regulations. Plus, I feel like I am contributing to the team.
This bout was a little different, I was given the opportunity to bench manage one of our home teams...the Gargoyle Brigade. I was stoked, and completely under-estimated it. I thought "I can dispatch officers, I can dispatch roller girls" WRONG! boy was I so wrong. Girls are too emotional :P It was definitely all me, I let human nature and emotion get in the way of strategy. I wanted to make sure everyone got to play, because it was our home bout and it was supposed to be fun for all. I made some mistakes (duh) and wasn't confident in my decisions. UFFDA. The Gargoyles did win, by one point! It was intense and the feeling was bittersweet. I'm glad we one, but I was definitely disappointed in my preformance and was afraid that the Dolls would be mad at me. I almost didn't go to the after party.....almost. Let's face it, we Dolls ALWAYS win the after party. So I went, and everything was fantastic...no hard feelings.
I learned a lot, I don't think I would actively pursue that role again, but if they asked...I would do it.
The hardest was when I had to cut a girl from our lines because someone was in the box. I felt like the executioner going down the line to pick my next victim. The girls (some of them) looked up at me with pleading eyes, asking me, begging me not to cut them. It was tugging at my heart strings and I felt bad, but then I was also really annoyed. These girls are the newest rostered skaters was their first bout for a few. I read an article on derbylife.com it was a list of things that they wish they were told when they were fresh meat. And one of the items on the list, will always stick with me, and it's something I wish every new skater could remember. If it's your first bout, don't expect to play much, if at all. As much as it sucks it can very much be the truth. And boy is that a hard pill to swallow. But that's the truth of. So i was frustrated that the girls didn't understand it, but also I felt really bad because I wanted all the girls to play all the derby.
It all worked out in the end, but some girls feelings were hurt and I hate that....
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