Each month, Training Team honors a skater not only based on skills, but also attendance, attitude, progress, volunteering, and overall contribution to the league. Congrats to all Skaters of the Month! We look forward to your continued derby journey!
My derby name is a play on words of the "Croatoan virus" from Supernatural. My mom and I we're brainstorming name ideas and this one just seemed to fit. My derby number is my favorite numbers 8 and 13 with a zero added on to the end.
I was introduced to derby by a friend from school who played and told me I had to come to at least one practice. I've loved it ever since!
Tell us about your name.
When I started skating with SFV, my dad was working on a book about James Dean, the Rebel Without A Cause actor who lived his short life in the fast lane. 130 is the number he chose for his new '55 Porsche that he entered into a road race that he never made it to because of his untimely and tragic death. 'Jams Dean' seemed like a good alter ego for me because James Dean's carefree, cool, defiant persona is pretty much the exact opposite of my personality in "real life." The namesake serves as a reminder for me to live in the moment, be present, and experience all of the derby adventures with a sense of reckless abandon because you never know what life will throw your way, so enjoy the ride while you're on it.
My roller derby number 471 is the number of my karate black belt #, and my derby name Zora is after one of our cats! I was inspired to start derby from reading an article about roller derby from a kids magazine I subscribe to. It’s hard to say what position I play the most. I enjoy blocking the most because there’s a lot of teamwork involved. What I love most about the sport is that I’ve made so many new friends, and playing the game makes me feel strong. My My best memory is when we won the first game since I had joined the team a year ago. When I tell my friends and family I play roller derby, they say “You play whaaaat?!” It always makes me smile because my friends don’t know me as Zora. My family supports me and come to all of my games and take me to my practices.
I chose my derby name because I love Harry Potter, and my favorite character is Bellatrix! She’s really strong and scary and that’s who I want to be when I’m on the track! Sometimes I like to jam, but I’ll usually play any position. And my derby goal is to make it on the travel team.
Dovah, Iceboxx, Moose, Quake, & Gunner are the skaters I find most inspirational. Not only are they awesome players, but they have taught me a lot. And I just love watching them play. My favorite derby memory is my first date! I was very happy about joining and that was the first day I learned how to skate, so every time I’m feeling down about my skating, I think back to that day and remind myself that I came a long way!
Tiger Lily is favorite flower, and 34 was my room number when I was in 4th grade. I'm 10 years old. My friend Nyan Kat introduced me to roller derby. I really enjoy being the jammer! I love everything about roller derby! The challenge, I enjoy learning new things, and the adrenaline!
My most fun memory was when my skate flew off during practice. My friends think it's cool that I'm in roller derby and my mom says I'm a tough cookie !
Sammi SmackY-Yao #480
My family and I are super into boxing and my name is an ode to Manny Pacquiao for having quick hits.
My main derby position has been mostly blocking lately, and I've been working to don the pivot panty. I have mad respect for all jammers tho!
My derby goals are to be as amazing as Legacy and as tough/hard hitting as Sassy Stone. They both bring the old school derby and new school derby together quite well.
Inspiration comes from all around but if I have to pin point mine, it would be the penalty princess herself, Tokyo Takeout. She has been there for me since my freshie program and the "derby-ship" that has developed through the years is beyond belief. She is always with me and gives the best support or hard criticism that one needs to progress. She has all my respect and is an asset to our league on and off the track.
For my favorite derby memory, and I know I will get so much crap for living in the past but, when my home team the Reseda Wreckers beat the undefeated Maulrats a year or so ago. Our league is very competitive and when we play eachother it's on a whole different level, but it happened and it was glorious! It will always be my go to answer for this question because I love my Wreckers.
Age: 7 years old
My name shows people that I won't be too easy on them or hard. It's like a lollipop, except I'm gonna spin you around and drop you. I had other numbers that I wanted but they were taken, so I went with my birthdate--12/3. I went to a few games when I was 6 and found out there was junior roller derby, but you had to be 7. After I turned 7, I signed up right away. I most enjoy playing jammer because you get to hit people! What I love most about derby is that you get to hit people! My most fun memory of roller derby is playing ping pong at practice! My other friends and family think it's cool that I play roller derby, but the kids don't exactly know what it is. The grown ups say " cool!"
My derby name comes from a song called Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis that I am completely obsessed with. The song is named after the lead singers wife who used the name as her burlesque stage name. Turns out it is a play on the name Brittney Spears, get it, basic white girl name, sharp object? It’s an upbeat sunflowery happy song and I suggest you all listen to it and try to not get excited! I play all positions in roller derby! In my derby career thus far, I have always tried to be as versatile as humanly possible. I feel that the more flexible you are, the better off you will be in life and in derby! Although, I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of in love with jamming! Currently my short-term goal is to build up my stamina to get onto the Fer Sures, but long term is to get onto the Like OMGs. Every single person that I have come across on this team inspires me every single day. Whether it be the girls at freshie practice who relentlessly get up each time they fall, pushing themselves harder each practice, or drooling over all of the OMGs and their amazing skating skills and extremely positive and welcoming attitude. Two specific people that come to mind when thinking about who inspires me the most on the track is Dovahkill and AmericanHurL Doll. They are both fantastic skaters and I literally have to pick my jaw up off of the floor when I see them skate. They constantly inspire me to improve on my own skating skills so that I can get up to their level can kick my ass! My favorite derby memory is playing alongside and against my fresh meat family. I don’t think that I have ever had that much fun on the track with so many amazing people! It makes me tear up when I think about how flipping lucky I am to be surrounded by such an amazing group of people and I cannot wait for all of us to further our derby careers together!
