Each year when Eastern Regionals rolls around, the derby world becomes temporarily infatuated with the Steel City Derby Demons of Pittsburgh. In the past two years they have played several impressive games before ultimately falling to one of the perennial powerhouses of the East (Charm City in 2010 and Philly in 2009). They then return to relative obscurity, in large part due to being geographically isolated within their region. The team has many standout players, but one of them,** ‘snot rocket science*, has impressed me since 2007, when in a game versus the heavily favored Ohio Roller Girls she scored 64 points and got 12 lead jams in a memorable performance (under a rule set where points were *much harder to come by than they are today). I have been a fan ever since, and recently had a conversation with her.

'snot rocket science at the 2009 East Regional tournament. Click to enlarge. Photo by Katy Henderson

Caesar: What is your background in sports prior to roller derby?

‘snot rocket science: When I was smaller my first sport was soccer. I played from about the age of 6 until I went to college (I still played a little bit in college, but just not on an organized team.) I stopped playing soccer for a few years in there, actually to roller skate more. I lived fairly close to a rink and I took just the basic lessons there when I was younger, which was probably when I was about 6 or so as well. A couple years later the owner of the rink, who also taught the lessons and was the coach of the skating team, asked me to do the [figure] skating team thing which I did for about four years. I competed in that all around the region and went to nationals a few times, then quit and went back to soccer. I was definitely a rink rat.

Caesar: How did you find out about SCDD and how did you start getting involved with them?

‘snot rocket science: My real estate agent at the time was one of the refs and he told me about it. This was when SCDD was starting, they hadn’t formed yet and they were having an informative meeting. I get there and they’re like “we’re full, we can’t take you”, so they started the league and the first group of fresh meat they had come in before they started bouting, so I was involved with the league for their exhibition bout with the home teams and started playing the first season, the end of the first season with the home teams. I still give them a hard time about that.

Caesar: You’re in the position of being in a really strong region, where it’s hard to break the barrier of the top three that get to nationals. What’s it like to be “on the bubble” for a few years now, and what do you plan to do to break that bubble and move up?

‘snot rocket science: This season [2010] has been really exciting, we have been training really hard and as a team we’ve been more together than we ever have been, with more of the same ideas. I feel like last year [2009] going into regionals there were a few of us who were very optimistic and our goal was (whether it was that year or the next year or the year after) “we wanna go to nationals”; this year that was the whole team. As far as being in the region and getting past where we are, we just gotta step it up. We are working on getting more off skates training for the coming season starting in the off season. I’m organizing that right now, and just [a] harder game schedule. Knowledge of the game has come a long way for us and we still have more to go with everyone being on the same page, so as much as we are amazing as a team right now, it just needs to be a little bit more in sync. We’re on a great path to get that this year, so I’m excited, very excited. I was very excited last year and even more so this year.

'snot rocket science trying to stay in orbit during the 2009 East Regional Tournament vs. Philly.

Caesar: When you watch games, how do you learn something from them?

‘snot rocket science: The first thing that my eyes go for is if there’s a standout player, someone that I can try and learn a lot from and figure out what they’re doing. If there’s not that then I look straight to what the team is doing strategy-wise. I remember last year at regionals [2009 East Region in North Carolina] was the first time that I’d seen really good derby. Watching Bonnie Thunders, I noticed the way her head is always up. It wasn’t so much her footwork that I was watching; I know that she was always looking well beyond where she was. She was already way past every move that she was making, and she was on to the next move or the move after that in her head. Then let’s see, Joy Collision of course, trying to somehow work in her maneuverability and speed in there. It’s all little individual things I watch in games and then I’ll go to what is the team doing, and relate to a drill that I can bring back and suggest to the team.

Caesar: What has been your worst injury, if any?

‘snot rocket science: I haven’t broken anything, and I’m knocking on wood right now. I took some time off for a knee issue which I didn’t see the doctor about.

Caesar: Do you do any kind of training or other physical activity outside of derby practice?

‘snot rocket science: I like footwork and plyometrics for off skates. I like quick movements. I do things with cones, some quick jumping or quick movement around cones. I’ve been told, whether it’s good or bad, that my style of skating is very improvised and I’m trying to kind of regulate that this year. I like the improvised part of it but it also can get a little out of control when I’m just kind of spinning out of nowhere so I’d like to reel that in just a bit so it’s a little more calculated.

'snot rocket science talking to Steel City coach BArf. Click to enlarge. Photo courtesy David Morris.

Caesar: Do you take a leadership or motivational role on the bench and in practices?

‘snot rocket science: I do sometimes. I’m not the loudest player; I tend to speak up more if it seems things are not coming across clearly for everyone. I try to mediate things, whether it s game play or if someone is misinterpreting an attitude from another player. So that’s probably more my role, mediator. [Since I conducted this interview, ‘snot has stepped into the role of co-captain for her Steel Hurtin’ team.]

Caesar: Do you have any thoughts or visions for what you want roller derby to be like ten years from now?

‘snot rocket science: It’s tough to say that I wouldn’t want to get paid; in fact I won’t say that. If I could quit my job and just play derby, as long as I’m not giving up too much, it just depends on who is paying for it, that would be incredible. Our league went through moving away from the “everyone can skate” attitude. If you don’t know how to skate you don’t make it. Its weird seeing it not be open for everyone. What I can see it turning into, and would probably be all for, is more defined levels. Most cities have a rec league and their travel team and it could develop into a structure that most professional sports have, where you have your professional level, and you have levels under there. As long as there’s a structure and people to support it, that would be my ideal. But the “mainstream, no derby names” argument- those seem to be just details that’ll be ironed out eventually.

Caesar: What do you think is wrong with roller derby right now?

‘snot rocket science: I feel held back because money and travel is such a big part of it, so that’s my least favorite part, having to figure all that out for the team. Not getting paid.

Caesar: Do you think that if some of you got paid, that you’d see a huge change in the sport, if you aren’t held back by money?

‘snot rocket science: Yes, if skaters only had to worry about training the game would be a lot different. The level of play, I don’t know if skyrocket’s the word, but I think it would move up significantly. I also think that we are moving up so quickly now, it would speed it along but the level of play is going there anyway. The top teams and players are so motivated and dedicated right now that you can tell how much time they spend training and practicing. So yes, it would change things but I don’t know [for] how many teams, the money would go to the best teams. I feel like we’ll see it soon enough, everyone’s getting bigger sponsorships, I don’t know about the money but either way game play is going to get harder.

Caesar: What advice do you have for a new roller derby player, a typical fresh meat, who wants to play like you?

‘snot rocket science: Just skate in general as much as you can. Learn everything they teach you, but also get outside of that as much as possible, get outside of your comfort zone, get off balance and figure out how to deal with that. I feel like most people just keep it too “middle of the road”. Throw yourself on the floor and feel what that feels like and as your falling down, think about how fast you’re going to be getting up. It’s always your next move, always be thinking about your next move. Figure out how to do your best while being uncomfortable. I hear people saying they hate going to [open skate] sessions because there are all these people, which I think is hilarious for a derby girl to say. It’s hilarious, and ridiculous. Go to sessions, and the skate park, skate outside running over rocks and figuring out how to not fall. Some of the best players that I know are very tentative about trying new things that they think they might not be very good at, but that’s how you get better, finding something that you are not good at and going after that instead of practicing the same thing over and over.

'snot rocket science launching in Pittsburgh. Click to enlarge. Photo courtesy Chris Bail.

Special thanks to Chris Bail, Katy Henderson, Darren Mayhem and David Morris for generously allowing use of their photographs, and of course to ‘snot and the Steel City Derby Demons.