I love roller derby.

The camaraderie. The sweat. The hellish warm-up drills, in which I am not quite to the point I can do 15 push-ups in skates and full gear. The rock pouring out of the speakers, keeping time with the pace as we languidly lap each other around the track, laughing and playfully smacking each others asses. The snark. The sisterhood of the skate.

My girls are strong, and strong minded. They speak their minds, and aren’t afraid to chew someone out or offer an encouraging word in the same sentence. They are mothers, sisters, daughters. They work, some two or three jobs at a time. We meet here, at the rink, and become something greater than ourselves, three nights a week.

We go through the growing pains of a new-found league; trying to form our structure, make sure all the positions are covered, place people where their talents will be best utilized.
Our numbers fluctuate wildly; a girl is out for surgery, another (more…)