July 2015 Skater of the Month

MORTICIA BADDAMS
#0013

For the longest time, I tried to find my “thing”.  I took up new hobbies — knitting, playing an instrument, starting a blog, painting in watercolor … I even wanted to become a professional dog walker. At some point, I discovered the sport of modern roller derby while watching Whip It. I was never really into sports, but something about roller derby stuck with me and I thought about pursuing it for the longest time. 

During a mild quarter-life crisis, I met a group of awesome SFV Roller Derby girls who were passing out flyers to promote an upcoming bout. I expressed my interest in joining a league, but how I haven’t put on skates since I was nine years old. They assured me it would be okay. So, I showed up to First Date

One of my (many) favorite derby memories is that very first practice where I spent two hours crawling on the floor just trying to STAND UP in skates. Even during my worst days, I’m motivated when I see how far I’ve come since then and having the support of everyone in the league. I’ve learned to get up quick when I fall on the track, and that someone will be there to catch me when I "fall" off the track.

Morticia Baddams is my darker, more sinister sister. She’s way cooler than me and definitely more of a badass. One of my favorite TV shows growing up was the 1960s Addams Family series. Slightly macabre and supernatural, I admired Carolyn Jones’ portrayal of Morticia. She had an aristocratic bearing and detachment, and was always the calm center of chaotic events. Keeping with the tradition of all things grim, my nickname is Morti – Latin for "death".

In gameplay, I love to jam– what an adrenaline rush! Blocking is really satisfying too, so picking a favorite is a hard. Going forward, my goals this season are to continue getting stronger, getting lower, and finally being able to transition into a backwards skate.