For our April 16 bout, the Rat City Rollergirls are bringing you something special–our first interleague double header at the Key Arena! Bust out your Rat City Green (or check out some of our new merch items at the game) to support your local sports teams! Our two travel teams, the Rat City All-Stars and the Rain of Terror will be facing up against regional rivals in Bay Area and Denver. Get to know our ambitious travel teams a little better before seeing them on the track! Rat City All-Star Captain Primp Daddy took a few minutes to tell RCRG fans a little more about the All-Star Team and their goals for 2011. The Rat City All-Stars play B.ayA.reaD.erby Girls in the late bout of our April 16 doubleheader. Get your tickets now!
It’s only early April, but the Rat City All-Stars already have 5 games under your collective belt, including 3 against DNN-power-ranked top-10 teams. What have you, as both a captain and All-Star player, learned from the games thus far this season?
Well unfortunately, I sustained a significant knee ligament (MCL) injury in February which kept me from skating at Wild West Showdown. Therefore, I actually ran the bench in that tournament which gave me some unique insight. Our team has stellar players and I’m proud of everyone. Our defense is strong and with a number of newer players, teamwork has been a major focus. We’ve also learned how penalties can devastate a game outcome and have also worked hard to bring those under control. We’ve played some high level games already and have learned some valuable lessons that we hope to take into our game against BAD next Saturday.
As a new team captain, can you share a little about your training plans and goals for the season?
Well, I was a captain on my previous home team back in Cleveland, Ohio. After that, I promised myself that I would never captain again as it’s a ton of work. But…look what happened?! I love this team and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to work with such an amazing group of athletes who are also very fun people. I wanted an opportunity to return to the championships with Rat City (our last trip was 2008). I can tell you that we are training hard this year with a focus on skating skills and strategy as well as athletic conditioning and our mental game. We’re taking a very balanced approach. The early part of the season involves learning to work with the new people and finding our groove as a new team as obviously there are changes in team members each season. In addition, we have increased our practice time and have worked hard on and off the track to prepare for all of our games. Each of these games is a stepping stone and learning experience that will hopefully lead us to the WFTDA Championships this year—our ultimate goal.
There are a number of new faces on the All-Star team this year, in both skaters who are new to Rat City and skaters who have developed into All-Star caliber skaters. How has the team evolved since last year? Who should fans keep their eyes out for?
We are lucky to have new transfer skaters Glitter Hitter from Santa Cruz and Corre Caminos (the roadrunner!) from Utah. In addition, we have nationally known Goodie Two Skates as a transfer from Rose City Rollers. Newer skaters to the team that have come from within Rat City include Trouble Loves Mimi and Shorty Ounce. I can’t tell you what a phenomenal addition all of these skaters have been to our team! The fans should keep their eye on ALL of these new girls! Corre is our newest jammer and fans have already had a taste of how she can rack up points and penetrate the defense. Blockers Mimi, Shorty and Glitter are a force out there and I feel sorry for anyone that has to take a hit from one of them!
As someone who’s followed derby for a while, Bay Area is always a dangerous and unpredictable team and this is their first All-Star bout since the 2010 WFTDA Championships in Chicago. Can you tell fans a little bit more about your opponent?
Bay Area is a phenomenal team that can never be underestimated. They went through all of 2010 on an upward trajectory and absolutely blew people away with their performance at Western Regionals last year which earned them a much coveted trip to the WFTDA Championships (only 3 teams get selected from the highly competitive Western Region). They are also a very fun and flashy team that love to show off a little bling. In Rat’s last matchup against BAD during August of 2010, we lost by a single point. So I can promise the Rat City fans that we are in this game to win it! With a hot matchup like this, there is SURE to be some excellent, hard hitting and strategic roller derby. This bout is sure to deliver to derby fans everywhere!
Any additional thoughts about Saturday’s game and the upcoming season?
The All-Stars are very excited to bring awesome derby to Key Arena for our fans. As far as this season goes, each of these games is simply a stepping stone on our march toward Western Regionals and the WFTDA Championships. Each game should be taken seriously and lessons should be learned each time we take the track. Every game that we play is a dress rehearsal and preparation for our ultimate goal which is our return to the Championships!