The one skill you need to master to become good at roller derby

Apex jumps are cool, but this one is cooler

I don’t think I’m ever going to be one of those skaters that people have heard of, and that’s cool, that’s not my goal anyway. But the reason I say it is because at the same time, I am pretty damn good at roller derby. I’ve gotten to travel internationally for it. I’ve played at the Big O. I’m on the B-team of one of the top ten leagues in the WFTDA. I’ll be around for a few more years, trying to get rostered for the WFTDA champs. I’ve played and taught this game for almost eight years at this point. My point is, you probably will never know who I am, but I do know what I’m talking about. And here, I am going to break down what I consider to be the most important derby skill. Period.

When you start out playing roller derby it can be really easy to think that the most important thing is learning skating skills quickly, and being the best at them. I have experienced the feeling myself, and also helped nurse heartbroken freshies through it, of profound envy and jealousy when someone in your cohort unlocks transitions while you’re still tripping over your own feet. Rinse and repeat for crossovers, backward skating, apex jumps and the dreaded 27/5 *spits*.

As long as you keep at it though, the skating skills come and it’s time to start playing the game. And it feels like, again, the most important thing is having constant, dramatic success. You’re either apex-jumping your way to a 30 point haul as a jammer or…