I watched my first bout in Spring 2016 and was instantly hooked and in love. I had finally found my people!

Roller Derby was filled with people like me: determined and focused people with a zest for life and a little wild side. 

At a young age, I took artistic roller skating lessons at the local Wheel-a-While in Waldorf with a friend. My mom would take me skating as she thought that this would be a good opportunity to do something fun. Of course, my friends and I were the skate rats at every open skate night up until middle school when it then became “uncool” to roller skate. Rollerblading was then the new “in” thing to do. Whether roller skating or rollerblading, I was always rolling around in some form. There were times I would rollerblade around campus in college with a friend at 3 in the morning and there was even a time I took a trip to the skate park where I immediately fell on my butt and took a break for a while. As I got older though, I realized time had p...

Some people join roller derby because they need an escape from the unfortunate circumstances life seems to always throw at them at the most inopportune of times. Others join roller derby for the exercise and some people join just to feel cool. I, on the other hand, joined roller derby because a friend of mine convinced me it was what we needed to be doing with our lives. What I did not realize is, while I may not have joined roller derby to provide me a refuge from the turmoil of life,

that became exactly why I stayed.

I have always been the type of person that has to keep busy. Constantly working, doing shows at the local community theater, planning parties and special events and above all, never saying no. It didn’t matter what you were asking for. Need someone to be in your charity fashion show? Sure. Need someone to help you move? You got it. Goodies for the office party? I will give it my all. I love putting effort into things and seeing and hearing the gratitude on people’s faces or in their voices. I would work myself to the point of exhaustion and function off of like 2 hours sleep way too often. I was very happy.

I felt like I had purpose.

After getting married my husband and I wanted to start a family right away but we struggled. It was a very d...

Losing a child is a very lonely journey. It is a journey that will leave you so very empty and in constant search of something to fill the void and help with the grief that you are continually experiencing. After the loss of my son I was in desperate need of a distraction and so I began looking. I had no clue what I was in fact looking for, but I knew I needed something to help me get through this very difficult and trying time. Somehow amidst all the chaos,

I happened upon roller derby.

A friend of mine called me up one day and told me I should come check out this local roller derby league with her. I was certainly hesitant. Roller derby? I was very unsure for many reasons though I was most concerned about how a bunch of women were going t...