Apr 1, 2014 | Bout News
Roller Vortex: Preview with All-Stars Coaches
This Saturday, the Minnesota RollerGirls All-Stars will play their first bout at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium of 2014. The Minnesota RollerGirls will face off against the No Coast Derby Girls of Lincoln, Nebraska in an A/B doubleheader. The All-Stars will take on No Coast’s A Squad – the Mad Maxines – while the All-Stars’ B Team (the Minnesota Nice) will take on No Coast’s B Team – the Road Warriors. Besides giving Minnesota fans a chance to root for two incredible teams, this bout gives both leagues a chance to showcase their deep roster of skaters.
To see what the All-Stars have been up to at practice, we sent our own Fire Wally to catch up with head coach Betsy Wrecksie and bench coach Garrison Killer.
Fire Wally: So tell me what you’ve been working on at practice lately?
Betsy Wrecksie: A lot of our main focus right now is working on skating skills overall and just bringing everybody up. We’re doing a lot of what we call “dance steps” so that we can function together as a team.
FW: Wait, what are dance steps?
BW: The different movements on the track when you’re with your teammates. When you move from a wall to the different positions you take up defensively.
FW: So moving hips one way or the other, moving your feet one way or the other?
BW: Yep.
FW: Got It. So does practice feel different than it did last year?
BW: I hear from the skaters a lot that they feel like there’s just a bit of a different atmosphere, just because we do things a little bit different. I have a different style than [former head coach Danti Gravity]. Dan’s more quiet, laid back, observant. I’m more excited and upfront… and I jump around a lot.
FW: [Laughs]
BW: I do high-kicks and things like that. Different personalities, it leads to a different atmosphere.
Garrison Killer: And similarly, the bench coach position is a new one for us in terms of…
BW: That’s what they do.
GK: Right! This is the first time we’ve had a tryout for a bench coach.
BW: So he can just focus on running the bench, whereas before if you have a skater filling in that’s injured or somebody that’s just learning more about the game, they have other focuses. So now we have Garrison and that’s his job, that’s his one focus and I think that’s a huge attribute to the team.
FW: And that leaves you to be able to focus on what’s going on on the track.
BW: Yes
GK: Exactly. We talk through the game, we make sure that we’re on the same page if there’s an individual player that’s doing particularly well or a grouping that’s doing tremendous out there, but it means that we are really able to compartmentalize. We’re slinging wonderful players out there and they’re doing all the right things.
FW: Right, right. So for the good of the readership, what are MNRG’s goals this year?
BW: To take it to the top.
GK: Mmmm-hmmm.
BW: We are completely underrated right now and we know we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re really focused and we want to take home some medals. I’d like to bring the trophy home.
GK: We have an aggressive schedule, the teams in front of us are all teams in the top 40, they’re all very good teams, and most of them are right around our ranking. We believe that when we actually play them on the track that we’re going to get some remarkable results.
FW: Cool. So then looking forward to No Coast, what are you hoping to get out of the No Coast bout?
BW: The No Coast bout for me is like a tuning fork for the team to get ready for the season. Basically I want it to be a similar outcome to the Team United game. That’s kinda where we’re setting up.
GK: Our defense looks so much better than it did even two months ago. You know, here in Minnesota we like our defensive walls, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so stuck in there, so tight.
FW: So if you’ll indulge me in a little armchair bench coaching, it seems that looking at the roster you’re going to bring against No Coast, what strikes me is that some of your best jammers are also really excellent blockers: people like Slambda Phage or Second Hand Smoke. How are you managing using a skater as a blocker versus using a skater as a jammer?
BW: It’s all about percentages and watching what’s happening on the track, and that’s where our communication comes in. We have a set idea of how often we want skaters to play…
FW: OK
BW: And then we know who our strongest jammers are based on the numbers, so we look at that, and we aren’t afraid to throw somebody in randomly just to switch things up on the other team.
FW: Sure
BW: So we’re really working on developing all skill-sets for all skaters. I’d rather have a team full of double threats than a team full of five jammers…
GK: And nine blockers.
FW: Right.
BW: Yeah. I always say I have cargo pockets full of jammers that I can just pull out at any time.
The All-Stars face off against No Coast on Saturday April 5th, with doors opening at 6:30 PM. Get your tickets now so you can see just what Betsy pulls out of her pockets Saturday night.