People that have met me and hear that I play Roller Derby usually assume that I play as a blocker. I myself have allways assumed I'm a blocker as well. I'm tall, I'm strong, I'm steady and i'm not super agile (as in fast direction changes and stuff). However, today another trait of mine showed it's face and proved to be very handy.
We did some game training with four girls on each team (so three blockers + one jammer) and swapped rolls after each jam. Just to see where people's talents lie and to see the game from different points of views. When it was my turn to jam and I started to aproach the pack I noticed that some of the opposing girls were deliberately not stepping in my way and one tiny voice even screamed: "Dutchess, du är läskig!" and then she moved aside. Also, when I have a bit of speed (which you are supposed to have when jamming) people marking their spots on me (soft tackling/blocking/nudging) didn't really have a big effect on me.
This experience has really opened up my eyes even more on bodytype vs RD role. All the different bodytypes and playing styles have different advantages in all the roles. Body type really isn't the deciding factor for if you will be good at RD or in which position you will play. Especially with jamming. Jamming is much more about seeing the paths through the pack and seeing how these paths change and anticipating on that. Knowing the postions of your own blockers and knowing how they play, how/where will they occupy that other blocker to open a path for you?
Heh, this kind of reminds me of a game I used to play when I was younger. I used to bike through the city center shopping area (pedestrian zone) and try to bike as fast as possible while still avoiding all the pedestrians. I felt so cool when I was on a roll. Because you know, it's an important skill for ... erm.. jamming later on in life!
Today's training was awesome! I've learned so much. I love this sport!!
Derby kisses,
Dutchess
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