Little girls need a strong dose of empowerment just as much as their big-girl counterparts, and Seattle Derby Brats offers roller derby training for elementary-age kids through teens.
Derby requires toughness, endurance and hard work, said Jeanne McGrady, coach for the Tootsy Rollers, the program’s youngest skaters. The girls and young women discover that their bodies can be powerful. They learn to work together, she said, and at the end of even the toughest bouts, the players are all still friends.
“It is more than a sport; it is a family,” said McGrady, who also skates on the Camaro Harem team in Snohomish County’s Jet City Rollers league.
It’s family both figuratively and literally for McGrady, given that her 8-year-old daughter Lauren is one of the Tootsy Rollers. Lauren also plays soccer and ultimate Frisbee, but derby is a different kind of love.
I like “the toughness and the friends I make,” Lauren said.
Joshua Huston Derby Brats pivot, block and jam at practice. |
Founded in 2006, Derby Brats is one of the area’s two junior derby programs and has grown from an afterschool offering to a competitive program training more than 100 girls.
More than just fast, skilled roller skating, derby requires players to communicate and work as a team to score points.
Skaters play in one of three positions: pivot, blocker or jammer. The pivot sets the pace of the pack. The jammer starts behind the pack and earns points for each member of the opposing team that she passes. Blockers prevent the opposing jammer from gaining position or passing while trying to clear the way for their own jammer.
Derby Brats has four levels of play:
Tootsy Rollers; Girls 8 to 11 learn technique, safety and the different positions.
Division I: Girls 12 to 17 expand their skating skills, learning strategy and communication between players.
Division II: Full-contact derby for girls 12 to 17 who have mastered basic and positional derby skills and advanced strategy.
The Galaxy Girls: An all-star team that plays other junior derby teams around the Northwest.
Participation in Derby Brats typically starts with a new skater camp in the summer, followed by September tryouts. The season runs from September to June. For more information: seattlederbybrats.com.
